#you may not use these for any public or commercial projects

[evegwood]

I've finally compiled a whole bunch of my conlangs and conscripts on my website! If you're interested in made up languages and alphabets, you can read my painfully detailed write-ups at evegwood.com/languages.

[born-in-hell]

Hi!

As some of you might know, southern Brazil, specifically the state of Rio Grande do Sul, has been struck by heavy rains and a consequential flood. The rains started on monday (29/abr) and only stopped today (5/mai), in Porto Alegre ─ the state capital, and the city i live in ─ and in the other cities nearby.

The lake that borders PoA (named Guaíba) has reached more than 5m up its normal level. This is higher than on the historic 1941 flood. The city's center ─ a big residential and commercial hub, beyond being the host of most of our public services (such as the city hall and the state government) ─ is completely taken by the water. Many other neighbourhoods were also affected.

Smaller cities that also border Guaíba were even more heavily affected, such as Eldorado do Sul, whose territory was almost 100% flooded.

The state is, for a lack of a better word, abandoned by the people that were supposed to aid.

Our governor, Eduardo Leite, is more worried about his plitical campaign ─ making dramatic videos, changing his facebook pfp to one of him with a public defense vest, making streams with no useful information ─ than with the people's lives. This year, he destinated only R$50.000 (~ USD250.000) for the Civil Defense. For the entire year. He is now, delegating the responsibility of recuperating our state to the Federal Government, stating that "the rbuilding of the RS will demand a Marshall Project".

Porto Alegre's mayor, Sebastião Mello, has vanished. He sold our city out to big enterprises ─ Melnick, Zaffari and Panvel, mainly ─, and hasn't destined any public resources to maintaining the Mauá wall (a wall built after the 1941 flood with a system made to protect the city from other floods), which caused many points to fail and the water to invade the city.

This is the danger we all face with a neoliberal system.

Neoliberalism is an individualist ideology. All these people and companies I named did close to nothing to help us. Or even made it worse. The Civil Defense, for example, published a map of all the areas that would be affected, but had to take it back, since it didn't consider the topography.

Its the people for the people.

This situation is being aided by people using their own resources. Donations of various natures and volunteer work. It is very beautiful, in a way. It shows that colaboration and union can do great things. It shows, at least to me, that the world can reach, one day, a self sustaining way of living, contrary to the ultra-individualistic capitalism some preach. Humans can, and are, good.

But it also lays out how much the people that govern us failed us.

Human lives were lost because of their negligency.

This flood isn't normal. It is a product of the huge levels of degradation multi-billionaire companies are causing the world, supported by higher class and their representatives. Eduardo Leite changed almost 500 points of our state's Environmental Code, for the worst, when he was first elected in 2019. His actions, and the actions of all other neoliberal politicians, such as our ex-president Bolsonaro, are what created this situation. They are responsible for everything that is going on here.

This flood isnt the only environmental crisis this state has faced in the last 6 months. This isn't the last one that will happen.

This text is, beyond a personal vent, a warning. We need to keep fighting against a system that is actively trying to kill us. Please, do not support ideals and people ─ especially if said people will rule you ─ that go against the environment, that preach that the capital, the money, the posesions, are more important than lives. Of the people, of the animals, of the environment. Fight for a better world, i know there can be one.

Always be aware of the climate in your areas. Things like this won't happen only here. Please be safe.

Sorry for the long post.

If you're interested in donating, @decaf-lesbian made this post with some links for international and national donations.

-> If you're from Brasil, check this link, that has a copilation of maps of risk areas, shelters, places to donate to, etc, made by a UFRGS student.

[michaels-reality]

ANNOUNCING MARCH COMMISSIONS

5 Full Body slots available! First come first serve

Sketch slots unlimited

Please DM if interested or you have any questions :)

Will do Won't Do and TOS under the cut

Will do :

- Humans/Humanoids

- Furries and Anthros

- Selfship

- Moderate Gore/Blood

- Suggestive art and Nudity

Won't do :

- Detailed Mechs

- Ferals and certain non humanoid characters

- NSFW of minors and any pr*ship content

- Hate speech and calls for violence

- Inc*st

TERMS OF SERVICE

I reserve the right to refuse any commission for any reason without question.

I will not accept explicit sexual commissions, but suggestive and partial nudity will be considered.

Clients are not permitted, under any circumstances, to use any part of their commissioned artwork for non fungible tokens. Use of the artwork for any advertising or profits associated with non fungible tokens or cryptocurrency is strictly prohibited.

I reserve the right to display the commissioned piece on my website(s), online galleries, and in my portfolios. (If the character is an original character, you will be credited accordingly). If there is any issue with the display of personal commissions, please clarify or contact the artist to remove the artwork from public platforms.

You may use the commissioned work for personal use only (this includes avatars, signatures, wallpapers, etc.), but credit must be given.

I reserve the rights to the artwork, so you may not use the commissioned work for any projects (commercial or nonprofit) without express permission, nor redistribute the artwork as your own.

Using artwork for teaching any Artificial or Neural Network without permission is strictly prohibited. If given permission, you may not claim the artwork as yours or leave images uncredited to the source.

Other General Rules

If you want your commission done within a certain time then there is no way I can promise that. If you have a time frame (like for a birthday present etc.) then I will try to get it done on time. If you pay for a big commission though, please do not expect me to get it done on your time.

Refunds are possible during the sketch phase and mid lineart. After lineart is done I will not be taking refunds.

Please try to be specific as possible when commissioning me. Give posing, expressions, designs, etc. If you’d like me to take creative liberties you can tell me.

You can even tell me if you’d like a specific style that I’ve drawn in before because I have plenty! If not I will just draw how I usually draw.

Having a flexible budget when commissioning me helps because prices may change based on the complexity of what you are asking of me. Just a heads up!

[koegama]

Welcome! This is a blog for the worldbuilding and development of Koegama: a soft fantasy sci-fi and biophilic setting, where multiple sapient species exist together. Its main topics are about culture and your ties to the world and others around you.

Koegama is both a worldbuilding and an ARPG project. For more info, check below:

The main creator and person behind the blog is me, Lemmy (@frogcroaks), but my friends Mouse and Silver also are part of the project and help with development, lore, etc. I'm the only one who works with this blog though, so things might flipflop between "we" and "I"

You are free to ask question about the Koegama setting, species, lore, cultures etc. Please note that not everything is finished.

This project is also an ARPG (art role playing game), where users can have their own Koegama users and participate in prompts and events. Thus, some things may develop as players go. You are still free to follow and interact with Koegama even if you are not interested in ARPGs. The ARPG is currently under construction.

Extra info:

You're free to create Koegama species ocs, and you're free to use them as you wish non-commercially (innapropriate use such as bigotry, pedophilia etc will lead into a block though). In the ARPG, you'll need to follow guidelines of the game, but outside that go wild and have fun.

We do not police people using the setting of Koegama in private, but we ask for no public media based on Koegama be made--games, public rps and tabletops, other ARPGs, comics, etc--whether they're commercial or not. If you wish to participate in a public community, consider joining the ARPG instead. Speaking as Lemmy and not the entire team: this is a very personal project and I'd rather for any branches of it to stay private!

Feel free to take inspiration in any parts of Koegama for your own projects. We prefer this over using our world 1:1, in fact.

[lonelyroommp3]

You've talked before about a Taylor Swift jukebox musical you made, and now I'm wondering: if ttpd had been released at the time, which, if any, of the tracks might have made it in and why?

this is suuuuch an interesting ask i have been thinking about it non stop since i got it thank you so much

anyway i kind of have two different answers/approaches to this. the first is if i read this question as "which tracks would have made the specific jukebox musical i put together for my MA project", which was an adaptation of the teenage love triangle plotline from folklore, and the answer to that is honestly... probably none of them? there are certainly songs on ttpd that could fit plot beats in the show, but i don't think there's any that i would choose over the songs i chose at the time, whether in terms of suitability, how easy they'd be to sing & act in a musical theatre context, or from the commercial producer's perspective in terms of maintaining a strong "setlist" (as it were) balancing deeper cuts & fan favourite tracks with greatest hits that are likelier to put audience members' bums on seats if this were to be a full fledged production. with that said songs that would make the shortlist but probably not be included might be:

so high school - i could see this as an alternative to "our song", which i used as a setup for betty & james's relationship before everything famously goes to shit, or possibly in addition to "our song" in the context of an expanded show as a means for setting a broader scene with not just them but like, our theoretical B couple, supporting cast, etc. i think the repetitiveness of the lyrics (in terms of the same sections coming back over and over) could be a challenge to work around but it wouldn't be impossible

i can do it with a broken heart - in the actual show i had a mashup of "22" and "the moment i knew" setting the scene for the party james famously gatecrashes in "betty"; it was a whole thing of juxtaposing betty's friends trying to hype her up and mend her broken heart while she is quite clearly not feeling it whatsoever. so obviously this would fill a similar niche but quite frankly if i may stroke my own ego the 22/tmik mashup is one of my favourite pieces of arranging work i've ever done and you could not pay me to replace it or add another song in there

peter - natural choice with the "peter losing wendy" parallel from "cardigan" (which was not in my show due to time constraints but i've always imagined it as an opening number framing device type deal in a full expanded 2 act version). also an evil little part of me really would love to watch my actors fighting for their life trying to think of enough different ways to act the line "you said you were gonna grow up then you were gonna come find me" over and over and over 😭 with that said, however, i already gave betty more than enough heartbroken ballads in this show lmfao, there is just simply not room for another one

my second way of approaching this question would be "what songs from ttpd would work in just, any hypothetical taylor swift jukebox musical?" - honestly when i first got this ask i thought nah, this album is a bust for musical theatre-able (?) songs because it is so much more lyrically specific than a lot of her prior work, and a lot of the reason i chose taylor as the case study for my jukebox musical thesis is because in her earlier output she usually hits the perfect sweet spot between "too generic to act effectively" and "too specific to shape into another plot", which can be a difficult balance to find in a lot of chart pop & is a big reason jukebox musicals sometimes get a lot of flack both critically and in the discerning public eye.

but then i thought about it more and i think some of the songs go so far into specificity that they become theatrical (i've already made a semi-jokey post about how there's something almost company-esque about the line "chloe or sam or sophia or marcus" hahaha) in their own right. like i literally started going through this album and thought wait no. this is a really actable album for the most part. in fact, i think some of them go so far into depicting self contained narratives that i don't think they could work As A Song To Advance The Plot In A Traditional Book Musical but i do think they are insanely actable in the context of like, a song cycle. or as a standalone song to bring to an acting through song class lmfao

anyway a selection (a selection! that's how many options i have) that i think could work in the context of a traditional book musical:

who's afraid of little old me - come ONNN this would be so fucking fun to stage. it's giving no good deed

the smallest man who ever lived - i thought about orchestrating that bridge and nearly blacked out

the black dog, guilty as sin, and maybe even down bad (not going to get you any points for range in an audition but might be fun to act) are also options i could see working

finally i think "clara bow" is like, made to be the finale if you were specifically doing a taylor swift biomusical

a selection that i would love to see in a revue/song cycle/audition/i have been asked to bring a pop song to my acting through song masterclass type of situation

but daddy i love him - this is one of those songs that is too self contained to actually advance a plot but would be very fun to present as a standalone piece imo

the bolter - such a fun little storytelling option

thank you aimee - mate i won't lie to you i have actioned this song while singing along to it in my bedroom. i need this to become a sleeper hit from the album so i can start recommending it to actors when i do repertoire coaching that's how much i love it as a potential audition piece. hits musically AND lyrically

[netherworldpost]

I NEED to know about this CMS / Project Management that actually works. But mermaids are also very good.

Combining your asks, and no worries. It works because the dryad is married to a mermaid ;)

So the big issue is I do... a lot of stuff.

Which is both why Netherworld Post hasn't launched yet, but is also why we haven't gone bankrupt even though we are "behind" schedule.

I'm putting "behind" in quotes because I am the singular wallet behind this + I am the one who set the schedule -- so it matters, but, also, it'll be fine

(probably)

It's a big traffic system. I historically name all of my tech after Scooby-Doo because delight is necessary.

Project 01: Do this, then this, and then this.

If Project 01 is delayed because Project 01 : Question 01 arrises, then move to Project 02.

Project 02 : Section 01 is painting a canvas in preparation for Project 02 : Section 05. Base prep time is estimated to be 1 hour including buffer.

Does today have 1 hour available? If so, do Project 02 : Section 01 and prepare Project 02 : Section 02 as 'on deck' for when it is ready.

Does today have 1 hour available? If not, reschedule Project 02 : Section 01 - 05. Move to Project 03 : Section 01, which should take 20 minutes. Unless Project 01 : Question 01 gets answered, then revert back to Project 01 to complete because from start to finish it should take 3 hours and has only one section.

etc.

On one hand it seems very intense. It's not. I don't work 24/7. I work very reasonable hours, but I'm also experimenting with a lot of things at once, so hobby time and work time blends a lot.

My comments about making a Super Mario Brothers chapbook of poetry are lighthearted but accurate (I don't know how to write poetry) (yet ;)

I used to paint a million years ago but haven't in years and years, so I'm relearning painting with acrylic on paper, acrylic on models, and watercolor on paper

Illustrations for products and comics

Writing comics, stories, web content, brushing up on current marketing trends, tinkering with programming for the systems in place...

Animating. That's a whole thing.

Dealing with printers and web hosts

-- and and and and and and and and --

Plus back office client work which is lots of research and writing and designing and production brokering. There are a lot of feedback loops -- "I found PRODUCTION THING for a client, I can use that to reduce costs for Netherworld Post"

and/or

"Hey client I'm writing a story about mermaids, you expressed interest in MERMAID CULTURE THING, here is a sales pitch for you to fund it. I get THIS PART and you get THAT PART."

When I was consulting, I called it the rocket ship fuel problem.

To launch a rocket into space, you need fuel -- the heavier the rocket, the more fuel you need -- but within the equation to figure out how much fuel you need, you also must accommodate the weight of the fuel you use to launch the rocket.

I should rename it "wind sail fan problem" for this post maybe.

I could scale up Netherworld Post's back office (client-facing)

This would allow me to more tightly focus on singular aspects -- maybe instead of re-learning how to animate + becoming acquainted with modern animation software, I hire freelancers to handle this.

HOWEVER

I would have to scale up our back office income enough to ensure the Post could invest in animation experiments and partnerships. It is a huge unknown if silly little commercials will help the Post grow or if it'll be a cash-sink (albeit a fun one). So that investment may be worth it! Or not!

So everything has to be really carefully balanced.

The Big Goals are to decrease dependency on any single social media platform (in progress)

to have a lot of fun (daily achievement)

to make a lot of stuff (I am, most of it is private, in time it'll be half-and-half public/private)

I am not built, as a person, to be an influencer. So all cash has to come from products sold and/or back office clients, which is fine, I'm not concerned about this.

What I am concerned about is we are watching Twitter or X or whatever it is called now implode. I'm not up on their latest style guide and I've grown repulsed by the program.

We're watching Automattic say "...hm."

We're watching Meta... be... Meta.

Various content curators who call themselves content creators say "this is mine now" and just outright steal content.

In an environment with rapidly rising interest rates (good, bad, and/or indifferent) making business-cash aggressively more expensive today than it was just a few years ago.

Which is going to add more and more pressure on social media networks to make a profit (or a larger profit)

The conceivable arc in the next 5+ years is launch the shop, continue making small experimental things to help it become known, and if cash rolls in, use that to make larger experimental things to help the shop become known.

It is a tight balance.

It is an amazing amount of fun.

If the shop launches and never makes a penny, it'll still be worth it.

Thank you. I recognize this is maybe more than you were looking for, but by your excitement, I think there is a 50% chance it's close to what you're looking for?

[theomnicode]

Erosion of trust

In a very topical manner, the hero associaton finds itself in deep waters as it continues to erode the trust of everyone and everything around it.

Using AI to doctor a commercial is easy way to make your most capable heroes not trust the association in manners of commercials any longer, no matter how much the approval ratings may rise.

Not to mention sets a dangerous precedent that whatever video they may have of heroes, they're capable of using AI to doctor them as they please to project certain type of image of the heroes in question to the masses and even to the point of inciting harrassment on said hero.

Tatsumaki was understandably enraged how it violated her consent because she did not agree to become a cutesy pop-idol gal for the association and how it depicted her entire image completely wrong and faked her without her consent, rather she wanted to show the heroes what kind of grit is required to become a hero.

Between not trusting it's own heroes and tons of corruption behind the scenes, it's understated that the heroes themselves are not happy how the HA is being ran, where the donation money is going because it's not going for the heroes themselves who keep the HA going and even those outside the HA employment question their practices. Scouting others and negging your own employees is not a good way to present the association after all.

(Axel really does not mince meat in this chapter, he tells it how it is)

Neither is treating your employees as expendable goods who are just doing grunt work and protecting the rich people make the HA look good. What the public does not know, the heroes see plain as a day that HA does not pay it's heroes enough for the work they do and this shows up in the applicants that show up. Not even Tatsumaki who is an S-rank hero, can live in a lavish house and most of the A-rankers moved to HA headquarters just so they could afford their rent better and have more free time outside other work to have time for hero activities as HA originally was meant to allow them to do.

There is only a finite amount of people wanting to become heroes and they do not sign up to be killed by demon level monsters like Axel's teammates who met unfortunate fate, much less monthly dragon.

(Major reforms would have to be implemented indeed)

Once you lose that S-rank fighting force due to internal affairs, there's really not much the association can do against Dragon level threats which are getting more and more common, as the A-rankers are not yet quite on the level to be able to take on high level dragon monsters even as big group. Not that HA offers them any kind of training regimens or sources to improve themselves, because it only cared for the S-rankers already being good enough fighting force. But again, there is only a finite amount of people and seemingly infinite amount of monsters.

Hero association is in deep waters indeed. Donations not going towards your own fighting force means said force will eventually diminish both in ability and in quantity. When neither employees or the employers can trust each other to do their jobs well, the entire organization is ready for a collapse.

[jonayariley]

so i have been curious for the longest time since the couple was revealed in all your projects, and its piqued, idk if you've answered something like this before so if so just throw me the link if needed but i must know your elchixie thoughts.

like the hows, the whys, what hc's based off canon, fanon, whatever you have for em just, ramble bout em, i find myself curious on many a crackship and the urge to poke brains on the reasonings for em (and no offense i just, don't think i can go through so many fic chapters to learn some info on this ship sorry)

Oh boy oh boy you sure did come to the right place! I may have talked about this in other places, but idk that I've ever have someone just outright ask, and I think you'd probably be sifting through mostly commentary on Friendsim 2 to find any details and that's like... hours of video to watch, so this ask was a good idea!

I guess the heart of why I love the Elwurd/Chixie dynamic so much is a combination of "I can fix her" and "they should have talked." Allow me to elaborate!

Elwurd

So, I really like the idea of exploring how characters can grow and change (or, conversely, refuse to change) over time. When I was writing my Hiveswap novels (and I later carried this over to Friendsim 2, but those came first so they get first credit here), I really wanted to explore how Elwurd could evolve as a character. Like, in the original Friendsim and Hiveswap games she's kinda one-note - not, like, bad or anything... just she's gay and flirty and she's kinda a jerk sometimes. But there's only so much you can do with a character in a short visual novel route and a handful of dialogue boxes as a side character in an adventure game.

But I wanted to explore the idea of how Elwurd's outward "fuck everyone else" attitude might be something she puts up as a way of not having to deal with the horrors of her reality. The combination of being expected to support the Empire as a cerulean (something she doesn't have any interest in doing) and still being kinda powerless to actually do anything to change things. So she throws herself into escapism - drugs and booze and casual hookups. There's a line in Delightful Abattoir that I keep circling thematically with Elwurd:

I just want to not have to feel that pain all the time. So I do things to escape from it a few minutes at a time. Is that so bad?

And that's kind of where she's at in the beginning of her arc, headspace-wise. Like I said, I carried a lot of this forward to Friendsim 2, albeit with a more grounded take on the world that follows the original Friendsim.

Chixie

She's someone who exists in this precarious space - a lowblood who's in the Alternian entertainment industry, which already puts her under a very uncomfortable spotlight. As a marginalized person, you don't really have a lot of room to make mistakes in the public eye, because you're judged way more harshly for it - or seen as a representative for your entire class of existence as a person. So that's already a lot of pressure, added to the whole secret identity thing with the Mask.

And tbh, I see the Mask as being kind of an open secret - like, she doesn't even change clothes, so it doesn't seem like no one would be able to figure it out, but also I really like playing with the idea of the Empire allowing a certain level of performative/superfluous rebellion among the population. Basically, you can talk about it as long as you aren't actually causing problems. And that's going to be frustrating to Chixie too because she wants to actually make a difference.

I see her as someone with a lot of trust issues - not a lot of super close friends, and she's clearly not dealing well with the stress either, given that we see her in canon having issues with substance use.

In my Hiveswap novels and Friendsim 2, I added the extra layer of having to deal with having Zebruh as her manager - someone who wants to exploit her both from a commercial perspective and sexually (he keeps hitting on her in Friendsim 2 and in Delightful Abattoir they're in an outright abusive relationship at first).

Elwurd/Chixie

So, independently there's a lot going on, but the other part of this is I feel like these two would naturally run in some of the same circles. Elwurd is shown hanging out in a bar, partying, etc. in canon - and seems like someone who would absolutely be involved in the underground music scene and run in some of the same underground circles as Chixie, even if it was just to sell folks drugs.

In Friendsim 2, I added the layer of having Elwurd basically acting as a roadie for Chixie's band sometimes - she's just kind of hanging out in the same places and with the same people (like fellow dissatisfied cerulean blood Mallek) and the whole "just trying to avoid thinking about this shit too much" attitude is gonna drive her to do something to keep her mind off the existential bullshit that is her life. Why not help a pretty bronze blood carry an amp and run some cables, right?

I really like the idea of these two eventually talking and starting to connect over some similarities - disgust for the Empire, a feeling of helplessness in their lives, a desire for things to be different somehow. They don't take exactly the same angle towards things - I'd say Elwurd is far more self-destructive and Chixie is more kind of "rage against the machine" about it - but I think there's enough common ground that they could end up talking and getting closer.

I've always liked the headcanon that Chixie is demisexual - probably a good deal of personal bias going into that (and - yknow - "vibes"), but it's a fun element to toss in there. That means that Elwurd/Chixie is always going to be something that's a slow burn and is always kinda fragile. In Friendsim 2 you have to line a few things up right for them to actually consider being matesprits, and in the Hiveswap novels it takes a while for them to end up together.

And, like, I feel like their attitudes temper each other. Elwurd finds someone to ground her self-destructive tendencies, and Chixie finds someone who helps her feel less isolated and less inside her own head all the time. They both still run in the same circles, and Elwurd always struck me as someone who'd be down with the idea of fucking over the Empire, so the whole Mask/rebellion thing isn't a hard sell.

Anyway, that turned out very much longer than I expected, but I hope it gives you some insight into why I keep gravitating to that ship! As far as I can tell, it's a pretty uncommon one and it's like - just something that worked its way into my brain and now I'm obligated to include it literally everywhere!

[clairelsonao3]

🔥 + self publishing vs traditional publishing romance

Thanks for the ask!

Wow, okay. Let me preface this by saying my feelings on publishing are extremely complicated and evolving by the minute. I spent almost two decades dealing with the traditional publishing industry in different capacities (including working in an agency in NYC), and up to and including a canceled book deal (not for romance per se, but rather a memoir that incorporated romance), and it's safe to say it was so frustrating and demoralizing it came close to killing off my interest in writing altogether. I continued at it for so long because I had it so deeply drilled into me -- including during my MFA and even earlier than that -- that trad publishing was the only correct and proper way of publishing and anything else was suspect and "less than."

That's obviously changing. Publishing my work serially on Ao3, which I did as an experiment to basically attempt to pull myself out of a severe depression (which I'm sure was due, among other factors, to my frustrated writing career), has changed my outlook on self-publishing considerably.

So has being on writeblr, where so many talented writers have explored self-publishing successfully.

So has reading and buying more excellent indie fiction that I may not have even realized was self-published, it was so professionally produced, edited, and written.

So has realizing that many of the most currently successful romance writers started out self-published, including writers of boundary-pushing and genre-defying romances that probably wouldn't get a second look from traditional publishers, who understandably need to play it safe. (My current WIP most definitely falls into this category).

So has realizing that traditional publication is no guarantee that you will get any help with marketing or publicity outside of the basics (and most romance novels, because they're exclusively published as ebooks, don't need much help in that department anyway).

That said, I can say that personally, I plan to self-publish my current project for two reasons: a. self-publishing is looking increasingly viable to me and b. because I'm currently writing a book/series that has no realistic chance of ever being published traditionally.

That also said, there are romance writers who probably SHOULD attempt to publish traditionally, namely, if they have written extremely commercially viable manuscripts (which again, I have not). These are increasingly fitting into narrower and narrower niches, though, I feel. (e.g., if you're writing a historical, your MMC better be a Regency duke, and if you're writing contemporary, your story should either be a. a light, fluffy, frothy romcom about rival cookie bakers with nothing dark in it whatsoever, or b. a "dark romance" about two miserable, twisted, abusive, toxic people who slowly destroy each other's lives until the last chapter where everything somehow turns happy. (There's many other subgenres that are popular of course, but those are the main ones I'm familiar with). There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground for those of us who fit nowhere into those categories -- for example, who prefer to read/write about healthy relationships, but in extremely dark settings 😂.

That ALSO said, trad publishers (GOOD trad publishers -- let's assume for these purposes I'm not talking about vanity publishers, fly-by-night startups, or even outright scammers, which will often do a considerably worse job than what you can do yourself or outright rip you off, so PLEASE VET CAREFULLY - the SFWA website is a great place to get more info on publishing scams) can do a few things that might very much appeal to some writers: they will edit and design your book for free instead of you shelling out money from your own pocket (and high-quality editing and design is often not cheap), and they will get it into bookstores. However, again, if you do your research, you can get the same high-quality editing and design you would get at a trad publisher; and since most romances nowadays are sold outside of bookstores, so it's up to you how useful you think this is. (I'll add another caveat that right now, I'm also working on a YA romance, for which there is still to my knowledge NO market for self-publishing, because teens don't buy ebooks. I'm not sure why, but they don't. So if you're writing YA, I'd say it's trad pub or nothing, because only trad publishers have the marketing and distribution resources you'd need to get your books on store shelves and achieve any substantial sales.)

Addendum A: I have not yet personally self-published with Kindle Direct, Ingram, or any other popular method, so I can't offer any opinions on those. There's a lot of good information out there, though, including from other writeblrs who have been down that path, if you're interested.

Addendum B: There's also the issue of royalties, which I also don't have enough experience with at this point to be able to discuss thoroughly.

But watch this space because I'm sure I'll eventually be sharing more about my self-publishing journey.

That's all I can think of for now, and I hope it's useful! I have Feelings and Opinions on this, so I might come back later and add more to this answer.

[monstercollection]

As an alternative to AI art, may I suggest the joys of raiding the public domain and Creative Commons licensed works?

Obviously, if you can actually afford to commission artwork or purchase from an artist, please support them. BUT there are also so many places you can go to get copyright-free art without supporting something that is deeply damaging to artists.

89,000,000 public domain and Creative Commons images, video and audio recordings.

Any images taken or created by the US government are automatically in the public domain. And yeah, that includes NASA and images from the James Web Telescope.

While the majority of Picryl’s archives are free, you can shell out a little money ($7 a month) to get access to higher resolution images and images that have been digitally enhanced. This might be useful if you plan on making prints or selling things like t-shirts with artwork from the site (which is perfectly legal btw).

On top of the their collection of artwork scientific and historic images, the Smithsonian is also creating a database of 3D scans of their collection, in case anyone wants to print a model of Amelia Earhart’s plane or a whole dinosaur.

Library of Congress, as a US Gov organization, has also made their collections available for use by the public.

Most people associate Project Gutenberg with ebooks but many of those books have beautiful illustrations. They’re not always the highest definition but they have a little of everything. My favorites are the books that contain botanical and wildlife drawings. There are also some very lovely children’s books.

I’ve made several book covers for self-published projects from public domain art. As a small creator who just can’t afford to commission art right now (much as I wish I could), these archives are vital. And you can literally do anything you want with them and in most cases use them commercially. There might be a few that require you to double check the copyright laws in your country but by and large you’re free to do what you want!

[kellterntempest]

Art Commissions Open! DM me for details.

Feel free to message me or send me an ask if you are interested! I would love to work with you to create the artwork you want.

Read my commission guidelines and Terms of Service below:

1) You must be able to pay on Paypal via invoice. After both parties (artist and commissioner) have agreed upon the art commission and the set price, I will send you an invoice via Paypal. The commissioner will then deposit 100% of the price upfront before I start the commission.

By submitting payment for the commission, the client agrees that they have read and accepted the artists’ Terms of Service.

2) Additional costs can incur depending on the art request. For example: level of details, additional characters, mecha, wings, armor/weapons will increase the cost of the commission.

3) All transactions are to be paid in full upfront before work begins, and there are no refunds for completed art.

4) References must be submitted for original character commissions. If no references are given, it will be considered a character design commission instead and the price will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. 

5) Cost of NSFW commissions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

The scope of NSFW commissions I am willing to do include but are not limited to:

Nudity, sexual acts, blood & gore & some body horror, BDSM, some but not all fetishes (please ask for clarification)

NOTE: Please let me know if you do not want your commissioned art posted on my social media.

After 100% of commission payment is submitted, I will start the sketch. The commissioner will receive a minimum of 1 progress update during the sketching process. 

Once I have sent the commissioner the sketch/work-in-progress, the commissioner must give approval of the sketch before any lineart or color is started.

I will usually take up to 3-5 days to respond to your initial order inquiry.

You reserve the right to set a deadline for your commission. This deadline must be disclosed prior to payment.

I have the right to decline a project if there is too short of a time allowance. I reserve the right to take up to 3 weeks to begin work on your project, and an additional 4-8 to work on said project as needed.

Refunds: I can refund 100% of the payment only if I have not started working on the sketch unless discussed and agreed otherwise by my own confirmation.

Once I start the sketch, you may be refunded 80% of the initial payment. Past the sketching stage there will be no refunds.

If I cancel a project, I will reimburse the lost fees and refund 100%.

You may not use the Artwork for redistribution or external projects, commercial or non-commercial (i.e. t-shirts, mugs, public flyers, etc.) unless otherwise discussed.

You are not authorized to change, modify, edit or use my works without my permission.

You are not authorized to trace over my Artwork in any way, including the use of the artwork as a “base.”

You may display my work on external sites as long as it is visibly credited and linked back to me.

You may not upload or host my work in any gallery that is intended to display your own work only.

You may not claim my work as your own.

[allycat75]

Aren't you tired, Boston Dumb Fuck? I know we are!

As someone who is on record as not liking to be manipulated, aren't you tired as a perpetrator of it? Of all the lies and machinations? Let's just take a little look at the last few months, shall we. This is a bit long, but you have been busy and getting no where. In fact, further than no where (cue Paul Simon's "Slip Sliding Away"). And I recognize this may not be under your control, but you signed on the dotted line so you hold ultimate accountability. If you don't like what is happening in your name, you are a grown ass man with agency, regardless of what that contract says. There is always a way.

First, bravo for pretending to be married to a racist, antisemetic, fatshaming Lolita. Something I never thought someone who really loved love or was a good upstanding citizen with integrity would ever do, but you never cease to surprise me.

Then, creating the illusion of two ceremonies- the "East Coast" one (was it your house in MA, Cape Cod, somewhere in New York, your cursed place in Vermont?) with a random smattering of work friends who were in the area for other commitments (and had projects to promote but couldn't because of the strike) and your clout chasers who needed to boost their followers, all on your niece's birthday, I think (way to be a super user uncle- was all the prep for her party good cover for you? I am sure she appreciated your care and attention). Then the "Portugal" ceremony ("let's go Portugal") which only seemed to prove some of your family and friends got a free trip to Portugal at some point this summer.

But what we didn't get were sighting of you and the little wifey, not even puttering around town making preperations, or getting coffee at a local cafe. Were no phones working in either location? They couldn't give a shit about her, that I get, but I am sure a few people would have recognized you, even in your current sorry state, and at least done that thing where you pretend to take a picture of something else and catch you in the background (see "funeral dinner" below), and posted it in real time.

Seeming to be everywhere and nowhere, strategically planting anachronistic and ambiguously located photos on "random" people's SM. Or the blurry, Ghost Hunter-quality photos of people that could be fake, you and/or Fish Mouth or the image of your soul slowly leaking out of your body.

Like the one where you look healthy one day (and your bride looks exactly like she did in one of your lame-ass scare videos from years ago when you see her in the reflection in your glasses), then magically, two days later, you look like absolute shit. As if you are having a Mitch McConnell-like seizure!

But my favorite has to be the funeral dinner with Scarlet, Colin, Stanley and Fish Mouth, that was taken months ago (you looked much less sickly then). Interesting how the poster, for some reason, made her account public then made it private again once the damage was done. Colin looks like he just loves you and how you are using his wife so this talentless twit can get ahead. Awesome how you put one of your best friends in this awkward position!

The only seemingly legitimate sighting we got was on the plane where you didn't even sit together. Even stranger because you rarely fly commercial these days- I wonder why this time was different? We find her non-posing, feigning interest in something the stranger next to her is saying while someone in the aisle obviously takes her picture. Girl's not famous in any country- no way some rando traveler is just going to recognize her and stop the flow of passengers to take a photo. Then there was the ghost bag Fish Mouth was pulling. My theory is we thwarted a bad photoshop of you holding her hand, BDF, because you still don't want to touch her. Ah, true love!

(Side note- you do know you are paying for all this set-up and clean-up, by the way. Megan isn't doing a bad job out of the goodness of her heart).

Forget that this "marriage" and globe hoping could get you and the wifey into a heap of trouble with immigration, but you are a famous, rich, white man and she is an arrogant, entitle brat who seems to be able to pitch a tantrum until she gets what she wants so I am sure you will be fine. No need for introspection on how your decisions have consquenses. Sounds like bliss to me!

PS- don't give your crack (like the drug, not the compliment) team any ideas. One of the reasons I did this rundown was to show how absurd this all is. There is no amount of "proof" that could make your lies true at this point, so save the billable hours for your next crisis. We've seen the show and all its sequels and we are not buying tickets because it sucked from the very start. Don't insult our intelligence!

[madhogthymaster]

Mickey Mouse and Horror Cash Grabs: A Reasonable Explanation

Some of you might be wondering, why?

Why is the Mouse getting the Rated-R treatment as soon as Disney's clutches on its inkblot corpse had lessened? For that matter, why was that the case for Winnie the Pooh and his own ill-conceived yet financially successful outing? Is that really all that we, as a society, nay, as people, can accomplish creatively with one of the most historically significant and influential icons in pop culture? Is there a reason for any of this, besides the obvious one? Well, I may be able to offer a reasonable explanation and it's not necessarily as simple as it might seem: this is about trademark issues. Specifically, how to deal with a notoriously litigious mega-company and the perception of its brand. Yes, this will be an essay.

Now, I must preface that I am neither a lawyer nor an expert in trademark laws. This is mere speculation based on what I know and understand about Disney, its modus operandi, the key difference between the ownership of a work of fiction and a commercial entity.

As we all know, the whole public domain business applies specifically to the 1928 shorts (Plane Crazy, The Gallopin' Gaucho and, naturally, Steamboat Willy) but if you're going to use that version of Mickey Mouse for profit, you must be sure that it won't remind the audience, in any way, shape of form, of Disney's family friendly brand. The character's design and the project in which it is used must not look "similar" to Disney's trademarked content or you might incur the ire of its army of lawyers, getting Cease and Desist-ed into oblivion, and so on. As established, Disney is notoriously litigious. This is the corporation that picked a fight with daycare hospitals for having its characters painted on their walls. This is the company that sent a "copyright strike" to a grieving father for the "crime" of adorning his deceased child's grave with a Spider-Man picture.

Its stranglehold on its "precious playthings", regardless of what enters public domain or not, is as tight as Death's grip on our collective testicles. Mickey Mouse is a brand, first and foremost, which means it's a registered trademark, which means that it will be owned by this company for as long as it will be in active commercial use. Now, you've got Steamboat Willie in the public domain. You can use that for profit but you cannot market it to audiences as "Disney's Willie", so to speak. What do you do? The answer is, you put out in the world something that's the diametric opposite to the public perception of the child-friendly Mouse, something the corporation will have no interest in pursuing legally for fear of association: a horror film/game.

Disney hates to put its name on non-family friendly "spooky" materials starring its beloved legacy characters, as evidenced by the disdain for unique Mickey Mouse outings such as The Mad Doctor (1933) and the brilliant Runaway Brain (1995), the former entering public domain long before Steamboat Willie and the latter being generally buried. They "damage" the brand, you see... Unlike blocking a parent from mourning his deceased son, apparently. Clearly, they have their priorities figured out!

As such, a horror film using familiar iconographies placed in an unfamiliar scenario would be the easy way to go about it, theoretically. It will most likely get away with any potential legal trouble. Furthermore, it is a point of fact that audiences do have a morbid fascination for dark interpretations of childhood favourites which all but guarantees a good financial return. Now, that is not to say that wretched Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey was suddenly a valid artistic achievement in retrospect and it certainly does not mean the many, upcoming Mickey-related "big time commercial projects" are anything but lazy, cheap, cash-grabs - because they are. However, I do believe there is more to the story.

At the end of the day, these projects aren't simply a way for some people to make easy money off of a well-known property, they are the SAFEST way for people to make money off of a well-known property. Oh how sweet is that low-hanging fruit.

---

A/N:

If you are curious about about Disney and the history of American copyright laws then I recommend this article: https://www.wionews.com/opinions-blogs/how-disney-routinely-exerted-influence-on-the-us-copyright-law-to-keep-its-greatest-asset-mickey-mouse-549141

Also, consider following me on YouTube and Twitter. I recently put out a podcast that covers the subject of Mickey and public domain.

This article was inspired by this post: https://www.tumblr.com/askmovieslate/739857268511768576/why-i-mean-seriously-if-you-have-access-to-such?source=share

[theinconvenientlifestyle]

“You voted for all these things, and it is now this government – this people's government – it is now our solemn duty to deliver on each and every one of those commitments.”

Those were the words of Boris Johnson the morning after the Conservative Party’s landslide election win in December 2019. Standing at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in central London, Johnson promised a range of policies on everything from schools to net zero, and vowed to “rise to the challenge and to the level of expectations”.

Johnson’s biggest election pledge was to leave the EU. But alongside ‘Get Brexit Done’, he also promised to Get 40 New Hospitals Done, and made a host of other commitments to improve healthcare, reduce inequality and improve the UK’s infrastructure.

As we approach a 2024 general election in the UK, it is Rishi Sunak, not Boris Johnson, who will be held accountable for any broken promises.

Will the Tories have lived up to their manifesto commitments? We look at some key promises that remain unfulfilled.

Build and fund 40 new hospitals over the next 10 years

The government is likely to fail on this manifesto pledge – even after cutting back its target from 40 to 32 hospitals. A report from the Public Accounts Committee in November found “extreme concerns” over the “lack of progress” and said it was “highly likely” that the pledge won’t be met.

A report from the National Audit Office (NAO) also found that project delays and an aim to complete hospitals at the lowest possible cost were hindering the process. The NAO found that, of the 32 projects announced in 2020, only 11 qualified as “whole new hospitals”. Other definitions of “new hospital” used by the Department for Health and Social Care included “major new buildings at existing sites” and “major refurbishments of existing buildings”.

Target of 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s

The Tories’ 2019 manifesto pledged that the party would “continue” its work towards building 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. In practice, this likely referred to England only, as housing is devolved in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

In the years 2021-22 and 2022-23, England gained just under 235,000 new homes a year. That figure (called “net additional dwellings”) includes actual new builds (the majority of the total), converting offices and other commercial buildings into homes, and splitting existing houses into multiple flats.

In May 2022, former housing minister Robert Jenrick said: “The government will miss [its] 300,000-homes-a-year manifesto pledge by a country mile.” And last year, the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities committee said it was “difficult” to see how the government would hit the target of 300,000 after scrapping mandatory housebuilding targets for local councils.

The original pledge was a curious one as the government itself is not primarily responsible for building: that duty largely falls to private developers, local authorities and housing associations. Instead, central government can incentivise new homes being built, and punish councils for failing to greenlight enough applications.

The Tory Party is fighting a war on two fronts when it comes to housebuilding that dates back at least as far as the early 1990s. The wealthier Tory constituencies that form the bedrock of the party’s electoral support are typically resistant to development and want neighbours and councils to have more power to say no to new homes, but the party has taken up to a fifth of its funding from property businesses who want regulation as lax as possible.

What’s more, the difference between homes that are designated for social rent (which directly help bring down housing wait lists) and those that are intended for private sale (which largely don’t) is enormous. Political parties of all colours usually steer clear of talking about social housebuilding, which allows them instead to trumpet the much larger figures of overall housing supply without addressing issues such as landlordism, empty homes, gentrification and homelessness.

In reality, just 9,561 additional social homes were built in England last year. In 2021/22, so many social homes were demolished or sold that England saw a net loss of 14,000 – despite waiting lists topping a million.

Reduce health inequality

Multiple reports have found health inequality is rising in the UK, in part due to the pandemic, and in part due to the chronic underfunding of the NHS.

A 2022 study by the Institute for Public Policy Research found people in the UK were getting “sicker and poorer” and that there was a huge and increasing regional divide in health and wealth.

And a 2020 review by the Institute of Health Equity found that ten years on from a landmark study in health in the UK, “health inequalities have widened overall, and the amount of time people spend in poor health has increased since 2010”. It also found that life expectancies were worse in deprived areas with mortality rates rising for men and women aged 45 to 49.

End rough sleeping

The Tories promised to end the “blight of rough sleeping” by the next election with Johnson claiming he would “work tirelessly” to do so.

They haven’t. Rough sleeping has been rising again since 2021 and is on track to reach 2017 levels. Many of the key policies hoping to tackle this type of homelessness are still in pilot stages.

Ban no-fault evictions

Although the Renters Reform Bill is currently going through Parliament, even if it did become legislation before the next general election, it is unclear when these ‘no-fault’ section 21 evictions will be banned. This is the most common form of eviction.

A report from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said the ban on section 21 evictions would not be introduced until reforms to the court system have taken place – which could take years.

Reach net zero by 2050

A 2023 progress report from the Climate Change Committee raised concerns about the target, saying there is a “hesitation to commit fully to the key pledges”.

Green Alliance analysis last year found that “the UK remains off track to meet its net zero climate commitment by 2050”.

Sunak has U-tuned on multiple green policies, such as the delay in banning petrol vehicles. He instead unveiled a ‘Plan for Drivers’, saying: “The clamp down on drivers is an attack on the day to day lives of most people across the UK who rely on cars to get to work or see their families.” The plan repeated a conspiracy theory about so-called 15-minute neighbourhoods that the government itself had previously debunked.

[starryjkoo]

I love your blog and I’m just using this as a space to sort my thoughts, sorry if that’s a bother at all!

I just want to get it off my chest that after Jk’s performance in Times Square last week it really hit me all the sudden how much the company wants him to be the big pop star. I had heard people talk before ab how Jk’s promotions for seven/3d/golden were loads different than the other members solo projects but it didn’t really hit me until I saw him start to sing in Times Square. I know hobi played lolla and New Year’s Eve and Yoongi literally had a world tour so I’m probably being irrational a little.

I think it was just a little shocking to see jk up there like that and I couldnt help but think about the other members and how much I miss them as 7. It was like I could suddenly see jk as this big pop star and it scared me a little? And I know that’s selfish of me, I feel so guilty to feel that way

I also saw that jk passed 40mil spotify listeners, more than bts has currently and more than any other kpop soloist has reached before. I don’t know I’m just worried about scooter and the company pushing jk, idk if this is selfish but I want them to remain as seven and everything just feels so uncertain right now, I don’t know. Not sure if I’m even making sense haha

Hey! Thank you! I was sort of worried I’ve been a bit ranty and negative here so I’m glad someone enjoys this space. And it’s not a bother at all! Please feel free to share your thoughts here whenever! I know all my asks tend to turn into weird random long rambles, so never feel bad about sharing thoughts. And your ask made complete sense.

I totally understand. JK’s performance in Times Square hit me hard too. It was the first time I think the whole pop star thing really clicked in place for me and I saw the whole vision of what he’s been doing with Golden. I was kind of star struck in that moment and it really left a big impression on me. So I get why that moment may have really impacted you too.

And I don’t think it’s selfish of you to feel that way. You sound very kind about it. I’ve seen a lot of ARMYs express similar thoughts and I’ve felt that way a few times myself. Sometimes you’re just really hit with that longing to see the seven of them messing around in interviews or playing in the background of bangtan bombs or the insane rush whenever they drop new music or perform some insane stage together. Some of the solo performances have been really good but have occasionally left me with a kind of longing? But you’re not alone. I think a lot of ARMYs are super eager to see them back as seven which is where some of those kind of tasteless “hurry up and enlist” jokes are coming up. It’s pretty different from the beginning of the year when ARMYs didn’t even want to mention the “e” word.

I don’t actually think SB is trying to snatch JK out of BTS. I think they’re just being loud about his achievements because they want to advertise and highlight their whole A&R thing and uplift HYBE US through him. I also think that JK is being given a bigger push because he’s the only member who has released a commercial album, so his promotions match up with that. FACE and Golden and Indigo are very different albums with different goals and different ambitions, even if there seems to be a disconnect between their own goals and what fans think their goals should be. I do think HYBE should have done more for the other releases, but I don’t think they were neglecting them because they only want JK to succeed. I just think they were being cheap honestly. It’s not like JK was given all this push without conditions.

I also think JK is helping BTS stay in the public eye while the group takes a break. They’re actually all reaching different audiences and growing their brand in different ways which is kind of cool. I think Jhope was trying to reach a new crowd in the hip-hop community for example and I’ve actually seen a few people pulled in from OTS because they were J. Cole fans and checked out the RL after. So I think JK is pulling people in too by keeping BTS in the minds of that particular crowd. Notice how he also always introduces himself as “Jungkook of BTS”. He’s not trying to dissociate himself from the group at all. None of them are.

Also Spotify MLs aren't really the best metric to gauge popularity. There’s just a lot of factors to it including playlisting, and JK currently has four songs on the biggest and most coveted playlist on the app. JK also has a lot of collabs with popular artists who are actively releasing and promoting new music rn too which helps his MLs. BTS haven’t released a proper album in like three years and their last group song was an unpromoted fan song from the summer. The fact that they have so many MLs and so many daily streams despite all that is absolutely insane, especially when you consider most ARMYs are focused on their solo music which is spread across seven different profiles. BTS just seriously have such a massive amount of casual listeners. JKs stats are extremely impressive but I do think a lot of people are really underestimating how insanely popular BTS is and are putting too much emphasis on certain things like MLs. But when he passes their peak I’m sure you’re going to hear a lot of people trying to claim he’s bigger than the group. Twitter rn is just a dumpster fire from all directions though so I wouldn't take much you read on there too seriously.

I just think a lot of people are underestimating how insanely huge BTS is, not even musically, but also just as a brand. It’s pretty rare for people to know who the members are individually honestly (at least in my country), but a lot of people I know have heard of BTS. There has literally never been a group like BTS before, there’s just really nothing to compare them to, which is what I think has a lot of people tripping up. It’s impossible to have a “Justin Timberlake” of the group for example when they’re all individually capable of selling out stadiums, something not even some of the most popular western artists can do.

Anyways, I totally empathize with how you're feeling lately, and no one can really say for sure what will happen in the future, but I’ve personally only grown more confident as CH2 has gone on that they’re going to return as a group and return strong. Group releases will probably be slower and they’ll probably all still have a focus on their solo careers, but they seem to really be looking forward to being a group again because they keep bringing it up. They’re all also so insanely ambitious, I’m sure they’re thinking about how to take some of their records back and how to break some new insane record no one even imagined possible. Also their solo careers are just getting started too. We might see Jimin doing that stage he told Hobi he’d do in Antarctica and Taehyung in Hollywood so I wouldn’t be worried about anyone falling behind either.

[rokunamizine]

RokuNami Zine Terms and Conditions Reminder

It has come to our team's attention that the emotes created for our project as well as others in the KH fandom have been distributed at ReConnect as stickers without permission from the artists, the mod teams, or the KH Guides staff who ran the event. We'd like to thank KH Guides for their assistance in helping us resolve this matter and would like to address what happened. All digital merchandise created for these projects (including but not limited to emotes, banners, icons, wallpapers, and coloring pages) is meant for personal use only. This means both public and private distribution of the zine's contents and merchandise is not allowed unless written consent by the artist(s) involved is explicitly given. Commercial use is likewise prohibited without written approval from the artist(s) and the understanding that you may be required to pay the artist(s) commercial rates for their work even if consent is given. These terms are expressly laid out in the emails we send to buyers as a way to protect the artists involved. Out of respect for the artists who join these projects, we ask that buyers do not redistribute the art and/or merchandise in the zine (whether it be physical or digital), or use it to make their own art and/or merchandise in any form in the future. The same goes for all other content in the zine such as stories, banners, thank you doodles, etc. If you suspect content from the zine has been stolen, please alert the mods and/or impacted contributors and we'll handle it from there.