Quietly losing my mind over the fact that Elon Musk has straight up orchestrated a coup of our executive branch and like....I don't even know what, if any, system we have in place to fix this. Like... He's just taken control of the money and locked out the actual appointed officials. What the fuck.
Nazis are taking over my government, and like, not even just the Nazis we fucking elected! And I'm...making hamburgers? Because somebody has to make dinner? I just feel completely unhinged.
If you're wondering, there is plenty to be done about it, and plenty being done about it already, even if it's not happening instantly in a way you can perceive.
Reblogging because this is an excellent article that both tells you about some of what's being done and breaks it down in a way that will help you understand and think about future action. Please read!
tldr; not only is "Terrorism" a harder charge to "prove" in NY compared to "murder", this charge would make it easier to present the elements that made Luigi a folk hero to the jury.
Actually no. I'm gonna complain about a few of these.
Gun wall: gross yes. Interesting as an attraction? No. However, it is buried in the midst of Pike Place. And pike place is delightful. The gum wall is approximately 30 feet from one of the best smelling tiny tea shops I've ever been in. Also you can watch grown men throw dead fish at each other at pike place. Fun times. Nice cheese shop over there too.
Voodoo doughnuts: overrated, sure. But yummy all the same.
Route 66: look. If you've got time, and you don't mind the possibility of being stranded, yeah actually route 66 could be pretty fun. It's like one giant ghost town attraction. And the scenery is beautiful (not in your typical meaning of beautiful, but beautiful all the same). I have loved almost all of every time I've driven through Nevada. The real tourist trap in Nevada is Las Vegas. Don't go to Las Vegas, not only is it a horrible attraction, it is literally funded and run by organized crime and designed to take advantage of addicts. Spending any money there supports these.
Grand canyon is gorgeous. It's bigger than you think and the whole national park area is stunning to drive through. If the government ever lets anyone drill for oil or frack there, I will be buying a gun. And you know what isn't great in AZ? The billion gentrified suburban areas with their massive parking lot shopping centers that generate tons of tourist money and consume a billion gallons of water annually. If you're in AZ, go to the Grand canyon. If you're in southern AZ, go gem hunting with someone that knows the area.
Mormon Temple: Look. I'm. It commenting on the religious atmosphere of UT. They have some of the highest rates of body dysmorphia, suicide, homicide, depression, etc. in the country. Bug they did build a pretty cool castle. Gothic architecture. Chefs kiss. But you know what sucks? Pretty much everything in the two square blocks around that castle, it's just a big shopping and tourist trap. But the real hellhole attraction of UT is the salt lake. On its own, the lake is really cool, a fascinating ecosystem. Bug the residents of UT have practically destroyed it (along with pretty much every other single interesting natural attraction in the entire state). UT residents have, perhaps, the single worst track record of caring for their environment of any state in the country.
Texas: as a rule of thumb, there is nothing worth doing in Texas. There is no point to go there. Maybe you should visit the cards against humanity property, possibly the only interesting place there. Even still, it's private land. Just like 90% of the rest of the state. I'll be honest, I've driven from west to east across Texas and everything looked awful. At least the Alamo probably has a museum with a crazy old person giving tours.
Bourbon Street: okay. Look. The architecture is gorgeous. The food in the area is sublime. Is it overcrowded most of the time? Yes. Is there not much else to do? Yes. But the entire rest of the state outside of New Orleans sucks, let them have their one street with nice architecture and cool history.
The Bean: yeah, cloud gateway or whatever the things actual name is is weird. Yes the artist that made it is one of the crankier artists around. But it's actually pretty cool I've you're just visiting. And it's in Chicago, which is a cool city to visit. Walk around some, there's like twenty restaurants right across the street from the bean. Eat some pizza, maybe. I'll be honest, I don't know much about Illinois overall, but I'd say we as a country are sleeping on this state. There's actually a ton of recreation and historical spots, so maybe the bean is the worst but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's just low tier among the rear. (Addendum: I remembered that Great Wolf Lodge is in Illinois, and that wins. The bean is better than great wolf.)
Graceland: I wanna say there are worse places, but that just sounds like the rest of Tennessee. Dollywood, maybe. Don't go to Dollywood. It's not bad, per se, but it is absolutely in the middle of nowhere.
Myrtle Beach: look. Look. Are there beautiful beaches there? Yes. The SC coast has some actual beautiful beaches. Gorgeous and secluded with plenty of actually unhampered tall grass and such. But most of Myrtle is privately owned, the rest is being used for the lamest parties imaginable. That being said, there are significantly worse tourist destinations. Any of the plantation museums, for instance. The Bubba Gump shrimp in Charleston, which should not be as much of a tourist destination as it is. The riverbanks zoo, which isn't bad so much as it is too small to be a real tourist destination. If you're in SC (why tho?) maybe go camping in the Congaree National Park, is beautiful and there's a nice boardwalk trail--it feels like a scaled down redwood forest with all the old growth cypress and ancient pine.
Charlotte Speedway: this is another one of those weird ones. There's interesting history for NASCAR, because it's one of those things people consider way more conservative than it's roots are. As far as the speedway museum itself (maybe I'm confusing this with the hall of fame)? Eh. But it's also in a decent area to walk around and Charlotte as a city is pretty nice aesthetically. You know what sucks in NC, though? Literally every single beach. They aren't cared for, they get hit with hurricane winds constantly, and it's all privately owned. Not to mention they're losing feet of coastline almost every year. You know what else sucks? Carowinds. Very mid tier amusement park with inflated prices and rides they rename every few years so people forget there have been deaths and serious injuries associated with them.
Yes it’s very important for solidarity with workers but, and maybe this is an unpopular opinion, workers should have solidarity with poor customers. Like ignore shoplifting, be sensitive when ppl are using EBT cards, that kinda thing.
and also no matter what your boss says to you, someone shoplifting will not cause your wages to be docked. if it DOES, then you can get in contact with a labor attourney, who will proceed to light up like a kid at christmas because they (and you) are about to get a big fat payday. that shit is ridiculously illegal.
Here’s a list of 20 signs of anger that writers can use to show, rather than tell, a character’s emotions through physical, verbal, and internal reactions:
1. Facial Expressions
Clenched jaw or grinding teeth
Narrowed or glaring eyes
Lips pressed into a thin line or curled into a sneer
2. Body Language
Fists clenched tightly at their sides
Tense shoulders that rise or square up
Puffing out the chest or stepping closer to confront
3. Speech Patterns
Voice lowered to a dangerous, icy tone
Shouting or raising their voice suddenly
Speaking in short, clipped sentences
4. Breathing Changes
Heavy, rapid breathing (nostrils flaring)
Sharp inhales and audible exhales
Holding their breath as if trying to stay in control
5. Sudden Physical Movements
Slamming fists onto tables or walls
Pacing back and forth restlessly
Pointing a finger or jabbing the air during speech
6. Uncontrolled Gestures
Shoving objects off a desk or knocking over a glass
Finger tapping or knuckle cracking
Wrapping arms tightly around themselves
7. Temperature and Flushes
Red face, neck, or ears
Visible veins on the neck or forehead
Breaking into a sweat despite the situation
8. Eye Movements
Eyes darting or rolling sharply
Avoiding direct eye contact out of fury
Staring someone down with unblinking intensity
9. Words and Tone
Cursing, insults, or verbal jabs
Sarcasm sharpened to hurt others
Accusations thrown in frustration
10. Breaking Personal Space
Leaning in closer, looming over someone
Pointed steps toward another person to intimidate
Physically turning away to dismiss or avoid conflict
11. Physical Reactions
Throwing objects or breaking things in rage
Punching walls, doors, or inanimate objects
Shaking hands or trembling with pent-up anger
12. Posture Shifts
Back stiffening and chin lifting defiantly
Shoulders jerking or twitching
Rigid stance as though ready for confrontation
13. Inner Thoughts (for internal POV)
“I could feel the blood boiling in my veins.”
“The room seemed to close in on me.”
“My pulse thundered in my ears.”
14. Displacement of Anger
Kicking objects on the ground (chairs, trash bins)
Storming off abruptly or slamming doors
Snapping at someone unrelated to the cause of anger
15. Temperature Descriptions (metaphors/sensations)
Heat rushing to their face or spreading through their chest
A cold sensation washing over them, signaling restrained anger
Feeling fire “lick” at their insides or their temper “ignite”
16. Instinctive Responses
A growl or grunt escaping their lips
Baring their teeth as if instinctively defensive
Ripping or tearing something in their grip
17. Silence as a Weapon
Pausing dramatically before responding
Refusing to speak or meet someone’s eyes
The ominous quiet just before they explode
18. Physical Sensations
Muscles twitching or vibrating under the skin
Heart pounding visibly at their throat or chest
A bitter taste in their mouth or nausea from anger
19. Reactive Behaviors
Interrupting others to correct or attack
Dismissing concerns with a quick wave of the hand
Throwing out ultimatums like “Don’t push me!”
20. Lingering Aftermath
Hands trembling after the initial outburst
A headache, buzzing ears, or lingering tension
Regret or shame slowly replacing the heat of the anger
These signs can be layered together to create realistic and powerful depictions of anger, whether it’s smoldering beneath the surface or erupting violently.
stop trying to make your draft perfect on the first try. your characters don’t care. your plot doesn’t care. even the imaginary readers in your head don’t care because they don’t exist yet. just write the terrible version. write the cringey dialogue and the scenes that go nowhere and the metaphors so bad they make you cringe into next week. because guess what? you can’t edit a blank page, but you can edit a hot mess. embrace it.
I am on my knees begging you to reblog this post and to stop reblogging the original ones I sent out yesterday. This is the complete account with all the most recent info; the other one is just sending people down senselessly panicked avenues that no longer lead anywhere.
IN SHORT
Cliff Weitzman, CEO of Speechify and (aspiring?) voice actor, used AI to scrape thousands of popular, finished works off AO3 to list them on his own for-profit website and in his attached app. He did this without getting any kind of permission from the authors of said work or informing AO3. Obviously.
When fandom at large was made aware of his theft and started pushing back, Weitzman issued a non-apology on the original social media posts—using
his dyslexia;
his intent to implement a tip-system for the plagiarized authors; and
a sudden willingness to take down the work of every author who saw my original social media posts and emailed him individually with a ‘valid’ claim,
as reasons we should allow him to continue monetizing fanwork for his own financial gain.
When we less-than-kindly refused, he took down his ‘apologies’ as well as his website (allegedly—it’s possible that our complaints to his web host, the deluge of emails he received or the unanticipated traffic brought it down, since there wasn’t any sort of official statement made about it), and when it came back up several hours later, all of the work formerly listed in the fan fiction category was no longer there.
THE TAKEAWAYS
1. Cliff Weitzman (aka Ofek Weitzman) is a scumbag with no qualms about taking fanwork without permission, feeding it to AI and monetizing it for his own financial gain;
2. Fandom can really get things done when it wants to, and
3. Our fanworks appear to be hidden, but they’re NOT DELETED from Weitzman’s servers, and independently published, original works are still listed without the authors' permission. We need to hold this man responsible for his theft, keep an eye on both his current and future endeavors, and take action immediately when he crosses the line again.
THE TIMELINE, THE DETAILS, THE SCREENSHOTS (behind the cut)
Sunday night, December 22nd 2024, I noticed an influx in visitors to my fic You & Me & Holiday Wine. When I searched the title online, hoping to find out where they came from, a new listing popped up (third one down, no less):
This listing is still up today, by the way, though now when you follow the link to word-stream, it just brings you to the main site. (Also, to be clear, this was not the cause for the influx of traffic to my fic; word-stream did not link back to the original work anywhere.)
I followed the link to word-stream, where to my horror Y&M&HW was listed in its entirety—though, beyond the first half of the first chapter, behind a paywall—along with a link promising to take me—through an app downloadable on the Apple Store—to an AI-narrated audiobook version. When I searched word-stream itself for my ao3 handle I found both of my multi-chapter fics were listed this way:
Because the tags on my fics (which included genres* and characters, but never the original IPs**) weren’t working, I put ‘Kara Danvers’ into the search bar and discovered that many more supercorp fics (Supergirl TV fandom, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor pairing) were listed.
I went looking online for any mention of word-stream and AI plagiarism (the covers—as well as the ridiculously inflated number of reviews and ratings—made it immediately obvious that AI fuckery was involved), but found almost nothing: only one single Reddit post had been made, and it received (at that time) only a handful of upvotes and no advice.
I decided to make a tumblr post to bring the supercorp fandom up to speed about the theft. I draw as well as write for fandom and I’ve only ever had to deal with art theft—which has a clear set of steps to take depending on where said art was reposted—and I was at a loss regarding where to start in this situation.
After my post went up I remembered Project Copy Knight, which is worth commending for the work they’ve done to get fic stolen from AO3 taken down from monetized AI 'audiobook’ YouTube accounts. I reached out to @echoekhi, asking if they’d heard of this site and whether they could advise me on how to get our works taken down.
While waiting for a reply I looked into Copy Knight’s methods and decided to contact OTW’s legal department:
And then I went to bed.
By morning, tumblr friends @makicarn and @fazedlight as well as a very helpful tumblr anon had seen my post and done some very productive sleuthing:
@echoekhi had also gotten back to me, advising me, as expected, to contact the OTW. So I decided to sit tight until I got a response from them.
That response came only an hour or so later:
Which was 100% understandable, but still disappointing—I doubted a handful of individual takedown requests would accomplish much, and I wasn’t eager to share my given name and personal information with Cliff Weitzman himself, which is unavoidable if you want to file a DMCA.
I decided to take it to Reddit, hoping it would gain traction in the wider fanfic community, considering so many fandoms were affected. My Reddit posts (with the updates at the bottom as they were emerging) can be found here and here.
A helpful Reddit user posted a guide on how users could go about filing a DMCA against word-stream here (to wobbly-at-best results)
A different helpful Reddit user signed up to access insight into word-streams pricing. Comment is here.
Smells unbelievably scammy, right? In addition to those audacious prices—though in all fairness any amount of money would be audacious considering every work listed is accessible elsewhere for free—my dyscalculia is screaming silently at the sight of that completely unnecessary amount of intentionally obscured numbers.
Speaking of which! As soon as the post on r/AO3—and, as a result, my original tumblr post—began taking off properly, sometime around 1 pm, jumpscare! A notification that a tumblr account named @cliffweitzman had commented on my post, and I got a bit mad about the gist of his message :
Fortunately he caught plenty of flack in the comments from other users (truly you should check out the comment section, it is extremely gratifying and people are making tremendously good points), in response to which, of course, he first tried to both reiterate and renegotiate his point in a second, longer comment (which I didn’t screenshot in time so I’m sorry for the crappy notification email formatting):
which he then proceeded to also post to Reddit (this is another Reddit user’s screenshot, I didn’t see it at all, the notifications were moving too fast for me to follow by then)
... where he got a roughly equal amount of righteously furious replies. (Check downthread, they're still there, all the way at the bottom.)
After which Cliff went ahead & deleted his messages altogether.
It’s not entirely clear whether his account was suspended by Reddit soon after or whether he deleted it himself, but considering his tumblr account is still intact, I assume it’s the former. He made a handful of sock puppet accounts to play around with for a while, both on Reddit and Tumblr, only one of which I have a screenshot of, but since they all say roughly the same thing, you’re not missing much:
And then word-stream started throwing a DNS error.
That lasted for a good number of hours, which was unfortunately right around the time that a lot of authors first heard about the situation and started asking me individually how to find out whether their work was stolen too. I do not have that information and I am unclear on the perimeters Weitzman set for his AI scraper, so this is all conjecture: it LOOKS like the fics that were lifted had three things in common:
They were completed works;
They had over several thousand kudos on AO3; and
They were written by authors who had actively posted or updated work over the past year.
If anyone knows more about these perimeters or has info that counters my observation, please let me know!
I finally thought to check/alert evil Twitter during this time, and found out that the news was doing the rounds there already. I made a quick thread summarizing everything that had happened just in case. You can find it here.
I went to Bluesky too, where fandom was doing all the heavy lifting for me already, so I just reskeeted, as you do, and carried on.
Sometime in the very early evening, word-stream went back up—but the fan fiction category was nowhere to be seen. Tentative joy and celebration!***
That’s when several users—the ones who had signed up for accounts to gain intel and had accessed their own fics that way—reported that their work could still be accessed through their history. Relevant Reddit post here.
Sooo—
We’re obviously not done. The fanwork that was stolen by Weitzman may be inaccessible through his website right now, but they aren’t actually gone. And the fact that Weitzman wasn’t willing to get rid of them altogether means he still has plans for them.
This was my final edit on my Reddit post before turning off notifications, and it's pretty much where my head will be at for at least the foreseeable future:
Please feel free to add info in the comments, make your own posts, take whatever action you want to take to protect your work. I only beg you—seriously, I’m on my knees here—to not give up like I saw a handful of people express the urge to do. Keep sharing your creative work and remain vigilant and stay active to make sure we can continue to do so freely. Visit your favorite fics, and the ones you’ve kept in your ‘marked for later’ lists but never made time to read, and leave kudos, leave comments, support your fandom creatives, celebrate podficcers and support AO3. We created this place and it’s our responsibility to keep it alive and thriving for as long as we possibly can.
Also FUCK generative AI. It has NO place in fandom spaces.
THE 'SMALL' PRINT (some of it in all caps):
*Weitzman knew what he was doing and can NOT claim ignorance. One, it’s pretty basic kindergarten stuff that you don’t steal some other kid’s art project and present it as your own only to act surprised when they protest and then tell the victim that they should have told you sooner that they didn’t want their project stolen. And two, he was very careful never to list the IPs these fanworks were based on, so it’s clear he was at least familiar enough with the legalities to not get himself in hot water with corporate lawyers. Fucking over fans, though, he figured he could get away with that.
**A note about the AI that Weitzman used to steal our work: it’s even greasier than it looks at first glance. It’s not just the method he used to lift works off AO3 and then regurgitate onto his own website and app. Looking beyond the untold horrors of his AI-generated cover ‘art’, in many cases these covers attempt to depict something from the fics in question that can’t be gleaned from their summaries alone. In addition, my fics (and I assume the others, as well) were listed with generated genres; tags that did not appear anywhere in or on my fic on AO3 and were sometimes scarily accurate and sometimes way off the mark. I remember You & Me & Holiday Wine had ‘found family’ (100% correct, but not tagged by me as such) and I believe The Shape of Soup was listed as, among others, ‘enemies to friends to lovers’ and ‘love triangle’ (both wildly inaccurate). Even worse, not all the fic listed (as authors on Reddit pointed out) came with their original summaries at all. Often the entire summary was AI-generated. All of these things make it very clear that it was an all-encompassing scrape—not only were our fics stolen, they were also fed word-for-word into the AI Weitzman used and then analyzed to suit Weitzman’s needs. This means our work was literally fed to this AI to basically do with whatever its other users want, including (one assumes) text generation.
***Fan fiction appears to have been made (largely) inaccessible on word-stream at this time, but I’m hearing from several authors that their original, independently published work, which is listed at places like Kindle Unlimited, DOES still appear in word-stream’s search engine. This obviously hurts writers, especially independent ones, who depend on these works for income and, as a rule, don’t have a huge budget or a legal team with oceans of time to fight these battles for them. If you consider yourself an author in the broader sense, beyond merely existing online as a fandom author, beyond concerns that your own work is immediately at risk, DO NOT STOP MAKING NOISE ABOUT THIS.
Again, please, please PLEASE reblog this post instead of the one I sent originally. All the information is here, and it's driving me nuts to see the old ones are still passed around, sending people on wild goose chases.
Thank you all so much.
“ you are free. ” @lycanbucky - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
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