@falldownwithwinter / falldownwithwinter.tumblr.com
If you send me an ask containing links to Good Omens fan fiction you think I should read, I'll delete it. Do it again and I'll (regretfully) block you. This is a general blanket sort of thing -- I don't want to read it, legally I can't read it, no I won't make it into the next series, and, no matter how pure your motives, it's crossing a line.
I’m reading a lot of baffled responses to this. People, I’m showrunning and co-writing the Good Omens TV series. I can’t legally read unsolicited plot ideas. Think of Netflix. Their terms of service include
8.2. Unsolicited Materials. Netflix does not accept unsolicited materials or ideas for Netflix content and is not responsible for the similarity of any of its content or programming in any media to materials or ideas transmitted to Netflix.
…and you’ll find similar clauses out there for other production entities. They are trying to safeguard themselves. There are people out there who are certain that a hit film or TV series is based on their stolen idea. The easiest way to avoid that is to make sure that their ideas can’t get to you.
It’s nothing to do with not approving of what you do. It’s about not putting me, the producers, the BBC or Prime Video at risk — or about having to throw away plans for the future because someone did that in fanfiction first. I can’t legally read unsolicited scripts or story proposals or manuscripts and sending me a link to your or someone else’s Good Omens fiction counts as those things. If I read your story and then did something close to it you could sue. So I’m not going to read it. There’s no emotional baggage in this. I’m definitely not telling you that what you are doing isn’t valid. (And If I wasn’t showrunning I wouldn’t be so Please Don’t and I Will Delete about it. But I am. So don’t. Thank you!)
Reminder that "By Any Means Necessary," one of the best episodes of Babylon 5, nearly didn't get made because some fan suggested a similar idea (a workers' strike on the space station, dealing with workers' safety and labor issues at a time when Star Trek: TNG was still on the air).
I can't remember how far along the episode was in production — I think a rough draft of the script had been written —but showrunner J. Michael Straczynski had to pull the plug on the episode until they finally tracked down the fan who'd suggested a "workers' strike" story on Usenet and get legal documents signed that the fan wouldn't sue or ask for a cut of the proceeds. AND the documents had to be watertight enough that Warner Bros' legal dept was satisfied all financial/legal risk had been eliminated. In other words, it wasn't up to JMS to make the call.
Sadly, after that, he could no longer participate in the old Babylon 5 Usenet discussion list, where he used to interact directly with fans, answering questions. It was just safer if he stayed away, because that way nobody could accuse him of lifting ideas for the show. We don't want Neil to have to pull back for the same reason.
A lot of creators avoid social media for the same reason. Those that are here @neil-gaiman , @dduane , have a hard and fast rule not to look at unasked solicitations.
And now that Babylon 5 might get a reboot, JMS has issued a similar request:
Reblogging for people who think I'm overreacting or whatever.
in light of the news that Life360, the "family tracking" app that lets you monitor your children at all times, has been selling its users' data, including that of children, for years without notifying anyone, this is your daily reminder that all of these apps facilitate abuse. all of them.
I'm not even talking about child abuse, though of course that's the most obvious application and probably the most common, especially in conservative and authoritarian households. I'm talking about adults abusing other adults.
if you are capable of reading your child's texts or tracking their location via their phone or knowing if they're driving outside of a certain designated area or time, an abuser can use that to prevent a victim from leaving them. you cannot have one without the other. they can even be justified the same way: "oh, baby, I'd worry about you if your car broke down or you got lost and I didn't know where you are. I worry about your safety. that's why I want to be able to know exactly where you are at all times and if you're even remotely outside of the parameters that I set."
they are tools of abuse. full stop. that they also sell their user's data is frankly not surprising.
A lot of people in the US are super worried about the Supreme Court axing Roe v. Wade, but what they might not know is that some states have laws in place that will protect the right to reproductive choice and abortion if that happens. One of these states is the state of Illinois. In 2019, a law was passed that protects abortion rights within the state even if the federal right to an abortion falls. This means that if Roe v. Wade is overturned, abortion will still be a protected right in Illinois. Even before Roe, Chicago was a haven for safe abortions- you just called and asked for Jane.
Now, safe abortion access is the law of the land in IL, and there are several groups who can help you. This post is long, but I think it’s worthwhile. Even if you don’t read all the way through it, maybe save it for later. You or someone you know might need it. If you want to stop now, the TL;DR is this:
I’d like to start by saying that the closer to home you get your abortion, should you need one, the easier it will be for you… probably. It depends on your individual situation AND your safety. If I still lived in Indiana and I needed an abortion, I’d probably leave to get it done, even though there are abortion providers in Indiana, because Indiana is super hostile and there’s lots of clinic protestors- for example, when I was taking my GRE my senior year at Notre Dame, the testing center was in this little strip mall in Mishawaka next to Planned Parenthood. Despite the fact that the PP in Mishawaka does not provide abortions, there were protestors who yelled at me for going in there. I wasn’t even going to PP. I’d like to say that I said something devastatingly cool but I just ran in flustered. Point being: It really, really would have sucked if I was there for healthcare instead of a standardized test for graduate school. And that’s a very tame, mild situation! Real abortion clinic protests are often much more devastating!
ANYWAYS. The less you have to travel, the easier things tend to be, if it’s safe to get an abortion where you are and if your state will have protected abortions if Roe is overturned. If you’re not sure what might happen in your state in that case, this map has a clear, succinct overview of the legal status of abortion in each state and all US territories. You will want to click through to that link, because this image isn’t interactive.
[ID: a map of the US with states and territories sorted by their legal protections for abortion into four categories: expanded access in the case of Roe v. Wade being overturned, protected, not protected, and hostile. IL is highlighted.]
So let’s say you live in any of those red states. (Yellow and blue are safe- abortion access is protected there.) Let’s say, worst case scenario, Roe gets overturned and you get pregnant and you want to terminate. You will be able to do that in IL, and it’s relatively easy to do that in Chicago for a relatively low cost and with the benefit of a robust support network of people who want to reaffirm your reproductive choices.
First, if you’re a minor and you don’t want to tell your parents because it’s not safe for you to do so, get a judicial waiver of parental notification. The IL ACLU has a judicial bypass hotline. This will come at no cost to you. Do this ASAP, because it takes time to get it set up! You can do this by calling the hotline at 877-442-9727, texting 312-560-6607, or emailing judicialbypass@aclu-il.org.
Next, you need to get an appointment set up. You could get a referral from someone local to you, but this can be tricky- 87% of counties in the US don’t have an abortion provider, and google can lead you to a crisis pregnancy center. They will not help you. If you have a local Planned Parenthood, call them. Even if they don’t provide abortions, they can refer you to someone who can. If you’re coming to Chicago, which this post… kind of assumes you are… you can call any of these groups to talk about your options and what clinics can help you. I recommend starting with FPA or PP; those are two actual clinics. MAC and CAF are funds- they can direct you but they can’t schedule an appointment for you.
Family Planning Associates (FPA): 312-707-8988 or use their online schedule tool, found here: https://www.fpachicago.com/schedule-now/ Chicago Abortion Fund (CAF): Phone: 312-663-0338 (note: the helpline is only staffed MWF from 3:30-6:30 PM CST, or email helpline@chicagoabortionfund.org Midwest Access Coalition (MAC): 847-750-6224 or email support@midwestaccesscoalition.org Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PP): 1-800-230-7526
You might want to shop around and see which clinic costs the least, and is the most practical for you to get to. FPA has a lot of patient resources, as does PP. Don’t be afraid to ask for financial assistance. The people staffing those organizations have extensive networks and deep compassion for their patients- if the clinic can’t help, they might know who can.
Once you’ve made an appointment, now’s the time to start gathering financial aid. Some insurance, including IL Medicaid, covers it. If yours does not, or if the copay is still too much, this is where abortion funds come into play. Many states have their own abortion funds for state residents, so you might have to look around to see who can help you. I’d start with the National Network of Abortion Funds.
You also need to figure out transportation and housing while you’re in the city to get your abortion. This isn’t super necessary if you’re just coming for the pill abortion, but if you’re coming for a d and c or other surgical procedure, you will be staying for a couple of days. THIS is why I’m writing this up, because abortion funds typically only are able to help cover the financial cost of the procedure. It’s expensive to stay somewhere and it can be absolutely terrifying if you’re on your own! Navigating while you’re in pain from the procedure can be an absolute devil of a time, too! However, Chicago has MAC (contact info above), which is a practical access fund, which means that they help pay for transportation to the city (bus tickets and train tickets) and around the city (volunteer drivers or volunteers who take rideshares with clients), food, aftercare medicine (painkillers, etc.), and housing, and there’s also free access to emotional support staff throughout your stay. This is not just open to IL residents; it’s open to anyone coming to the city for an abortion. ALSO if you go through FPA, they have a partnership with the Hampton Inn a block away from their location where their patients get a discount. If you go that route, just talk to FPA about housing and they’ll hook you up. This can be super helpful if you need some evidence that you’re on a “business trip” or something like that- if you are in a position where you need an excuse for your safety, that might work well.
Hopefully you won’t need this post- but if you do, I hope it helps. Feel free to share it around. If you have anti-choice opinions and you feel the need to share, don’t. This isn’t the space for it; you will be blocked and your comments removed. And then remember that criminalizing abortion won’t stop abortion. It’ll just stop safe abortions. Also, increased access to abortion, funnily enough, tends to be the thing that lowers abortion rates, because increased access to abortion comes part and parcel with increased access to birth control and general health and sex education.
Reblogging this because it’s always relevant… and because an administrative decision by MAC’s incredible leadership means they don’t just do bus and train tickets anymore. They will also help pay for airline tickets if you need to fly. If you are in the US and need to come to Chicago for an abortion, MAC’s got your back.
Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t travel, and you catch it early, you can do a medication abortion at home. This can either be clinician supported through telehealth or it can be a self-managed abortion (SMA). Either way, you can do this entirely online without ever having to go into a doctor’s office or clinic.
Now, this only works early in a pregnancy (up to 11-12 weeks), so if you’re in a situation where you suspect you may become pregnant and you don’t want to be, test early and often if you can. The various help lines can also help you figure out how far along you are.
More resources: https://www.reprolegalhelpline.org/- this link is a good resource for talking about your legal options. If you’re a pregnant person of color, immigrant, or low-income (and using Medicaid) in an abortion-hostile state, I HIGHLY recommend talking through your legal options because you are absolutely targeted by politicians and the US legal system.
Also, if you would like to do something IRL to help, why not print out some stickers? These have a QR code that leads to Plan C’s website.
You can print these on sticker paper at home if you have it. It’s a good way to get the word out.
the “holding out as married” rule is so fucked up
like… not only can I not marry the love of my life without losing my health insurance and the $800 or so a month I’m forced to survive on
but I can’t even CALL her “my wife” casually
like literally the US gov’t has people whose job it is to go and interview the family, friends, & neighbors of disabled people to just make sure that they never refer to anyone in their life as “my wife” or “my husband” etc
and if you DO, then SNAP! You’re defrauding the US gov’t of the pittance you can barely survive on and you are no longer entitled to your disability benefits
(some kinds of benefits might remain in diminished form but if you were disabled before age 22 you are fucked COMPLETELY and can’t get them back even if you divorce… the only loophole is if the other person was ALSO deemed disabled before 22, because that fucking makes sense)
and this is just… legal and no one but disabled activists ever talks about this shit
so yeah I’d love some of that gay marriage shit but I will never be able to get married, and to add insult to injury, I can’t even casually refer to my partner as “my wife” without risking the health insurance and income I need to survive as a disabled lesbian
this is what we mean when we say the USA does NOT have marriage equality yet
public should absolutely be free
I hate the trope of "I refuse to hit women!! [Gets decked]" cause it's boring but I do like the trope of someone in an RPG going "hey I don't wanna hit a kid that's kinda fucked up" and the kid just obliterates them
"i refuse to hit a woman!" = Sexist, overdone, does nothing to actually empower the woman or make the guy seem nice
"I refuse to hit a kid" = valid, even funnier when the kid whips absolutely ass in one go
Avatar: doing it right yet again
Heads up Hellenic friends but Galina Krasskova has a novena to Apollo that just came out called Of Bow, Lyre, and Prophetic Fire. Please don't support her she's gone full alt-right fash trash.
Her husband, Sannion, is a Dionysian who has written a whole bunch of book in the past years. Don't buy his stuff either.
Also for the record: Children's Rights Advocacy is specifically why I do NOT think "just homeschool your kids" or "shut down public schools" is a reasonable solution to the issues with education.
Yeah, schools should not be punitive, they shouldn't be grade-based, they shouldn't be abusive. They shouldn't give homework and there should be a LOT of vetting of teachers and probably more adults per classroom than a single teacher (I think that this will minimize the potential for abuse).
But giving parents final say on what information their children should have access to and how they are educated is NOT A GOOD IDEA and is much more rife with possibilities for abuse.
Look, I *already* think that homeschooled students should have regular contact with multiple mandatory reporters. That's not because I want to indoctrinate kids, that's because I think that periodically a non-family adult should check and make sure that it doesn't look like children are *starving.*
I will admit that this is one of the places where I'm somewhat internally contradictory. Somebody - who is not you - needs to be looking out for your kids. "Ensuring that children get food/medicine/education/opportunities to escape abuse" is the single best justification I can think of for a state to exist. I don't think that states are the necessary approach to the problem, but when you say "close the baby jail and let the community educate children collectively" I have to ask: how abusive is that community? What happens to children who are autistic in that community? How tolerant of homosexuality is that community?
It would be nifty if people were all mutually responsible anarchists who had a big farm together and intuitively schooled children and produced free insulin at the local co-op, but if you look at the vast majority of people who have chosen to home school in the US it is people who have done so with the EXPLICIT purpose of preventing their children from learning about sexual health and science and the communities that have done so are disproportionately abusive to children in comparison to the general population.
So it's cool that you want to home school your kid with project-based learning, but somebody should make sure that they know how to read at some point, and also someone needs to be looking out for kids whose parents think that blood transfusions are sinful.
Absolutely agree. For those who want to learn more, check out the Coalition for Responsible Home Education.
If you've never heard of children's rights or don't know what children's rights advocacy is, I'd strongly recommend clicking through to that link and reading their homeschooled children's bill of rights.
You say "children's rights" and people go "WHAT SO YOU THINK SEVEN YEAR OLDS SHOULD BE DRIVING" and it's like, no i think that children shouldn't get hit and should be allowed to have privacy and autonomy and some choice in their lives and that children shouldn't suffer because of their parents' belief systems.
theres a hole in the wall in my brothers’ room because they were fighting (for fun not anger) in there once and one of them knocked the other into the wall so hard his head made that hole, so they put two small skeletons in there for decoration
they tapped up the “décor” sign up because according to them the skeleton is named décor and the one underneath him is his husband. also worth noting that they found 2 dollars in there the other day
FVGBH;SXDCFVGNJNFKLEOI45UT6Y
I just love it when Décor the Skeleton finds his way back onto my dash
Ageism in fandom spaces is definitely a thing, but let’s not go putting 100% of the blame on teenagers. A lot of the people acting like it’s disgusting for women over the age of 25 to participate in fandom are dudes in the 35+ age bracket themselves, and they have a pretty specific reason for wanting to cultivate that particular double standard.
so i decided to look more into Tumblr’s latest bad idea, the +Post subscription service, and I’d like to share with you my favorite bit of bad decision making:
absolutely incredible. we can steal the entire content of the post just by copy-pasting the post itself in a reblog. both original and stolen content in one entity. post-modernism. absurdist. ceci n'est pas une original content.
sorry theres not a single person on this website id pay to follow idc if we’ve been mutuals for six years, if you put up a paywall we’re done
{ID: an image of Bernie Sanders captioned with text saying "I am once again asking my mutuals to complete the Post+ survey to keep Tumblr free. Post+ is a terrible idea and WILL fuck over anyone who could possibly benefit from it"}
Wait there's a survey where is it?
OH ME GOD TY
GUYS YOU CAN ANSWER MULTIPLE TIMES
What types of content would you expect from a paid subscription? "Direct conversation with a celebrity"
Leslie Feinberg
Transsisters: The Journal Of Transexual Feminism Volume 1, Issue 7. Spring 1995
[ID: A scanned page from a book.
It says, "The analysis that all women are allies and all men are enemies was in error. It puts Sojourner Truth and Margaret Thatcher on one side and John Brown and John Rockefeller on the other. It's not a sophisticated tool to analyze who our allies and our enemies are."
"I don't want to move upward mobily. I want to fight for the rights of all of us to be able to live and work in dignity and respect, to control our own bodies and to shape our own identities, to live lives that are the ones that we set out to live, you know, the kind of world where all the Billy Tiptons can play their sweetest music, and you can't build a world like that with a policy that says 'womyn-born-womyn' only."
Below that, there is an "about the author" section that says, "Leslie Feinberg is an activist and author of the novel Stone Butch Blues and the pamphlet Transgender Liberation: A Movement Whose Time Has Come. Her work has also appeared in numerous publications including TransSisters: the Journal of Transsexual Feminism and Transsexual News-Telegraph. She is currently working on writing a nonfiction book tentatively entitled Transgender: A History of Resistance."
End ID.]
Since Leslie mentioned him, I'd like to bring attention to Billy Tipton was a transgender man who died 1989, only 6 year prior to the writing above.
Tipton's assigned sex was only revealed after his death. In an attempt to keep Tipton's assigned sex a secret, Kitty - (on of his ex-wives who was ashamed of him), arranged for his body to be cremated; later, following financial offers from the media, Kitty and one of their sons went public with the story. The first newspaper article was published the day after Tipton's funeral and it was quickly picked up by wire services. Stories about Tipton appeared in a variety of papers including tabloids such as National Enquirer and Star as well as People, The New York Times and The Seattle Times. Tipton's family even made talk show appearances, making cash of his death.
Billy Tipton is a name a lot of people used to know, even before the "scandal" of his death. As the head of The Billy Tipton Trio and a solo Jazz artist and Piano player he was considered one of the greatest Jazz Musicians starting in the late 30s up until the 70s where he was forced to quit due to severe arthritis.
Tipton was never legally married, but there were five women who called themselves Mrs. Tipton at various points. In 1934, Tipton began living with a woman named Non Earl Harrell in a relationship that other musicians thought of as lesbian. The relationship ended in 1942. Tipton's assigned sex was reportedly concealed from the four women who would later call themselves "Mrs. Tipton". Billy kept the secret of his assigned sex characteristics from them by telling them he had been in a serious car accident that resulted in damaged genitals and broken ribs.
Tipton's next relationship, with a singer known only as "June", lasted for several years. For seven years, Tipton lived with Betty Cox. Cox remembered Tipton as "the most fantastic love of my life". In 1954, Tipton's relationship with Cox ended, and he then entered a relationship with a woman named Maryann. The pair moved to Spokane, Washington, in 1958. Maryann later stated that in 1960, she discovered that Tipton had become involved with nightclub dancer Kitty Kelly.
Tipton and Kelly settled down together in 1961. They adopted three sons, John, Scott, and William; the adoptions were illegal. After they separated around 1977, he resumed a relationship with Maryann. Maryann reportedly discovered Tipton's birth certificate and asked him about it once, but was given no reply other than a "terrible look".
There have been many books and movies that have misgendered Billy Tipton and played him off as "a woman who dressed as a man to have a successful music career" despite the fact that he lived as a man for over 50 years, including the decade between his retirement and his death, having relationships with several heterosexual women, and only being outed after his death.
Billy Tipton died of an ulster, too afraid to go to a hospital - a fear shared with many trans men today.
On July 16, 2021, the film "No Ordinary Man" will be the first film released about Billy Tipton that recognizes him as a transgender man.
This is a fun and creative method of fortunetelling. I used to do the fifth method a lot when I was a kid.
WHAT IS IT?
Phyllomancy is divination by leaves.
It has been around since time immemorial, and involves observing leaves as they boil, burn, fall on the ground, or make a rustling sound.
Technically, it also included tasseography, or divination by tea leaves. But because that became a distinct method, the two are now considered separate.
HOW IS IT DONE?
The Greco-Romans, the Assyrians and the English all had different methods of doing it. Not only that, each diviner had their own personal way of performing it.
On a windy day, the diviner would sit under a tree and listen to the sound the leaves make as the wind brushes against them.
Some merely wait for general messages: Was the sound strong and violent? That augurs a natural disaster. Or was it serene? That predicts peaceful days ahead.
Others ask questions. For example, “Who will I marry?” The whistling of the wind against the leaves will make a name apparent. “Miguel… Arthur… Laurent…”
In autumn, the diviner would stand near a tree, and ask it a question. “Where will I find fortune?”
He will wait for the leaves to fall, and observe the picture they form.
Did they assemble into the map of France? Or do they mimic the shape of the house two blocks down? It could mean that marrying into that family will bring abundance.
Some diviners would even focus on a single leaf, and read its veins and blades for messages.
The diviner would ask a pile of leaves a question before setting fire to it.
“When will I die?”
If the flame reaches into the sky and burns for a while, the person will enjoy a long life.
But if it quickly turns into smoke, and that smoke is instantly sent away by the wind, then life will soon end.
Leaves, whether or not they have hypnotic properties, emit an odor when boiled.
The diviner asks a question before inhaling this and closing their eyes, waiting for the scent to transform into visions.
Did the smell trigger an image of the garden? That might be where the missing watch is waiting to be found.
Or did it make the diviner see her neighbor’s child? The boy could be in danger and in need of help.
Bay leaves and ivy leaves were the favorites. But anything else will do.
Just set any intention and trust in its declaration.
“I will launch a leaf into flight from my bedroom window. If it lands far away, I will live abroad someday. Otherwise, I have to grow where I am planted.”
“I will tuck a leaf in the pages of my journal and forget about it. When it suddenly falls off one day, it means my soulmate is just within earshot.”
“I will drag a leaf on the floor with my shoe. If its mark is unbroken, my life will be easy. But if the mark has breaks in it, things will not be so breezy.”
Whichever method you choose, make sure you invoke your deities or your higher self first. Otherwise… lesser spirits could tell you lies.
As you might have noticed, we’re beta-testing something new: Tumblr Post+. What’s Post+? A big deal, for starters. Post+ is our new subscription feature that allows you to use our existing multi-media post form to create unique paid feeds or support other blogs by subscribing to theirs. Fear not, Tumblr will always be free to use, this is just a way to continue to empower unique voices and throw a little coin to your favorite artists, fanfic writers, or maybe even that one mashup Supernatural/Studyblr blog you’ve been following since 2016.
(3 a.m. infomercial voice) But wait, there’s more. We want to know every possible way we can make Post+ the best experience for you and your community. To do that, we’d love to hear from you. Specifically, we want your thoughts on how you’d use a feature that provides a feed of exclusive posts on Tumblr. What would you like to see? Don’t be shy 👉👈. Get in touch. Do it often, if you like. We’re excited to hear your thoughts. And keep your eyes on this space (go ahead now, click follow ☝️). Teamwork makes the dream work, etc.
don't know why this post disappeared when I tried to reblog it the first time, but here, I did your survey :)
Adding onto this
In light of the recent PostPlus nonsense tumblr is trying to pull, here's a reminder that monetization of fanfiction can lead you to legal trouble. On Ao3 it's against the TOS to even mention any money-sending site at all because of the conditonal protection they offer.
Putting your entire fanfiction blog behind a paywall is like pointing a neon sign saying "please sue me". I bring this up specifically because tumblr mentioned fanfiction in the post that they made and that is going to leave a lot of people misinformed.
Remember: Do NOT paywall your fanworks.
And rest assured, my blog will never be pay-to-read, even if this weren't a fanfiction blog. I think the whole thing is ridiculous.
not something i usually reblog but please rest assured that i will never monetise my blog or my work. also fuck this entire thing
