and he knows

Hi, it's me again, the person who wrote that viral post about fanfiction plagiarism! Today I'm here to warn you about abuse perpetrated by bots who have stolen AO3 usernames.

There's currently an epidemic of bots going around leaving (apparently random) horrible, hateful comments on people's fics. This isn't the first time bots have invaded AO3, but the big problem with this wave is that they're using real AO3 usernames to do it.

I learned about this when another writer contacted me after receiving the following comment on their story:

Now, while that is my username, I DEFINITELY did not leave this comment (and anyone who would leave something like that on a fic should be slapped! What an awful thing to post). This fic is in a completely unrelated fandom that I have never participated in, nor has that author participated in any of my fandoms, so the probability of it being some intentional fandom drama thing to make me look bad is also low.

The writer whose fic the comment was left on enlisted the aid of some friends and tracked down other guest comments with unrelated usernames attached, which is pretty strong evidence that they are being left by bots at random.

The TL;DR: If you receive a cruel comment from a (Guest) with an actual AO3 username attached, it's most likely from a bot. Please do not lash out at or dogpile the AO3 user who owns that name, and who in all likelihood has no idea that their name has been hijacked for evil.

If finding this kind of comment on a fic, even left by a bot, is likely to upset you, I would recommend changing your comment settings so that only users who are logged in can leave comments. To do this, edit your story settings, and under "Privacy," select the radio button that says "Only registered users can comment," as shown below.

Calling all Lokius artists

We’re looking for you to sign up to the Lokius Reverse Bang, an artist-led event to celebrate 1 year since the Loki S2 finale aired.

Artists will create 1 or more pieces of art for the event. Writers will claim art and collaborate with the artist to write a fic based on the art.

Sign up form.

Please tag your artists to let them know of this event.

Artist requirements

You must complete at least 1 piece of finished art for the Reverse Lokius Bang. You can submit up to 2 submissions to be claimed. Each submission can contain 1 or multiple art pieces. Your art must be able to be shared digitally and must be created specifically for the event.

Types of art allowed:

digital art

trad art

comics

gif sets

vids/edits.

Other artforms not listed above may be suitable for the event. Please contact mods to discuss.

No AI art is allowed in this event.

Dates

16 June—artist sign ups close

30 June–7 July—art submissions

20–21 July—claims period

28 July—teams confirmed

25 August—check in

22 September—check in

20 October—check in

9–20 November—posting period.

Art must be either a rough sketch or a storyboard by submission.

If you want to collaborate with another artist as part of the reverse bang, please contact mods to discuss.

— but I guess I was never much of a writer ( j.p. )

woke up to this and OH GOSH LOOK AT HIS HAIR 🥰 How is it getting fluffier every time we se him??