PAYPAL + VENMO

Look.

I have made you a chart. A very simple chart.

People say "You have to draw the line somewhere, and Biden has crossed it-" and my response is "Trump has crossed way more lines than Biden".

These categories are based off of actual policy enacted by both of these men while they were in office.

If the ONLY LINE YOU CARE ABOUT is line 12, you have an incredible amount of privilege, AND YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT PALESTINIANS. You obviously have nothing to fear from a Trump presidency, and you do not give a fuck if a ceasefire actually occurs. You are obviously fine if your queer, disabled, and marginalized loved ones are hurt. You clearly don't care about the status of American democracy, which Trump has openly stated he plans to destroy on day 1 he is in office.

Help Mahasen, a Digital Artist from Gaza and Her Family!

Hello, I am Mahasen,a Digital Artist from North Gaza, where creativity thrives despite challenges. Verified by @90-ghost here

PLEASE DONATE HERE

In this tough situation, I am a digital artist finding solace and resilience through my art .. pixels and colors.

For over a decade, I've navigated the freelance world, weaving intricate digital tapestries that reflect the beauty and strength of my surroundings.

My father died, and I am the main provider for my family.

Before the war, I worked with international companies in motion graphics,

specializing in character design and storyboarding.

The conflict forced us into repeated evacuations, and our home suffered damage, including the theft and destruction of my essential art equipment and tablet. Each stolen piece held not just monetary value but years of dedication and creativity and hard work. We are left HOMELESS, UNSAFE, SICK with VERY LITTLE FINANCIAL SECURITY!

Our family consists of:

• My mother, 62 years old.

• My sister Mai, 35 years old, who is also visually impaired.

• Myself,Mahasen, 31 years old.

• My brother Mohammed, 28 years old, who is visually impaired.

• My brother's wife Iman, 28 years old.

• My youngest brother Amin, 21 years old.

Your support is crucial as I rebuild what was lost. Your contribution will help replace my tools and restore hope and creativity. And mainly for my family's safety, ability to survive the current situation and community.

Together, we can affirm that art is more than expression,

it is a lifeline that connects us and enlighten even the darkest moments.

Expenses Needed:

• Travel arrangements to Egypt ( $5000 per person ) for 6 family members.

• Living expenses to survive the current situation in Gaza.

• Buying art equipment and tablet to recover what I've lost and be able to work again.

• Living and transportation expenses during the initial period of travel.

• Food and medical expenses.

Every donation counts! Your support makes a real difference for my family and me.

Please consider contributing and sharing to help us.

Please Help Share AND Donate

gofundme.com

Donate to Help Mahasen, a Digital Artist from Gaza and Her Family!, organized by Mahasen ElKhatib

Hello, I am Mahasen, a Digital Artist from North Gaza, wh… Mahasen ElKhatib needs your support for Help Mahasen, a Digital Artist from G

My Socials: @MahasenAlkhatib Instagram here X here Facebook here

Fantasy Is A Metaphor For The Human Condition, a comic about magic, and art, and speculative fiction, and being sick, and how they all intersect. Originally laid out/pencilled November-December 2017, when I was in a very difficult place emotionally as I was relearning how to draw post-brain injury.

See more of my Brain Injury Comix at this link & in Dirty Diamonds #9: Being

Crazy how, time and time again, fundraising posts get the least amount of notes. A random errant thought I had during the day will, on average, accumulate more notes than a fundraiser that I actually push for engagement. Why is that? Are other human lives not worth a millisecond of your effort? Are they not even worth your spare change? What makes my humanity (or yours) more compelling than theirs?

🏴‍☠️ stop paying for shit

some sources and resources as of april 2024

tv/cinema (streaming)

fmoviesz dot to

soap2dayx dot to

anix dot to (for anime)

flixtor dot to

hdtoday dot to

myflixerz dot to

swatchseries dot is

if one of the sites i already use doesn't have what i'm looking for, i use duckduckgo to search for alternatives (as opposed to google which always gives me way more bullshit results)

skip paywalls

12ft dot io (doesn't always work)

books and academic articles

libgen dot is

sci-hub dot se

audiobookbay dot is

annas-archive dot org

forum dot mobilism dot org (also hosts mobile apps)

video games

myabandonware dot com (not technically piracy!)

torrent source

1337x dot to (pretty much the only source i use nowadays)

piracy guides

my (very quick) torrenting guide

easyussr.neocities.org/torrenting

edit: apparently necessary disclaimer that everyone and their mother knows about these websites, they can be found through any major search engine, and not talking about them on tumblr dot com won't keep them "secret" because the feds are already more than aware of them.

Fans and Creators of Webtoons!

I want to talk about Line Webtoon’s new “Super Like” program and why it sucks for literally everyone.

What is a “Super Like?”

According to their website, super likes are a new way for webtoon creators to monetize their work. Readers can pay real money to buy a super like for their favorite webtoon, and the creator gets a fraction of that money.

Wait, a fraction? Not all of it?

Yep! Webtoon skims quite a chunk off the top.

30% goes to Webtoon, and then another 30% of that amount goes to the payment processor.

So what do creators get? 49 cents for every dollar their fans try to give them. Literally half.

That’s pretty ludicrous, right?

Interestingly enough, they announced that they had a “tipping system” in the works in the same email they ended the CANVAS creator rewards program (and many comic creators livelihoods)

They said tipping system in their social media posts too

Obviously this tipping system is referring to super likes right? They say they’re going to do a tipping system, and then this rolls out.

But “tips” are not something that buisinesses can just take a cut of, at least not in the United States. According to the Department of Labor, it is illegal for any amount of tips from customers to go to an employer.

Webtoon is trying to walk back this language, of course. You won’t find the word “tip” anywhere on their website page explaining how it works. But those old social media posts are still up.

This is all pretty scummy

But wait, it gets worse!

They removed the Patreon button at the end of episodes and replaced it with this:

Yep! That’s right. Webtoon really said “what if we replace the tipping system that already existed with a shittier one where you only get half of it 🥺”

Unsurprisingly, they faced a ton of backlash.

Webtoon was quick to point out that the Patreon button was only removed from the end of episodes and there was still a button on the creator’s homepage. But of course, the end of episodes is where that button matters the most.

Creators know this. Webtoon knows this.

Eventually, after days of continued complaints from creators on social media, Webtoon went on damage control mode and announced that they would be putting the Patreon button back at the end of episodes—

As of right now (May 11th, 2024) the Patreon button is still not back.

***

So…Super likes are “super totally not a tip.”

But if they aren’t tips…what are they?

Well there’s a bit more to the story of what a super like actually is. After announceing the program, the app updated to reveal a new ranking category on the front page

When you click on this ranking tab, you can see that there is now both a daily and weekly ranking

If you’re a CANVAS creator, you know how difficult and seemingly random it can be to get your comic on the front page of the app—so my immediate worry was that comic creators were going to buy superlikes on their own series to get in this ranking and…

Yep, that’s already happening.

But why would webtoon even allow creators to buy superlikes for themselves? How does that make sense?

Surely goading desperate creators into buying superlikes can’t be that lucrative, can it?

No. I think there’s another, possibly even worse reason.

Fandom wars

If you’re into music, you probably are aware of how common it is for super fans to make concerted efforts to get their favorite musician to the top of the billboard charts. They coordinate over social media, stream music on loop as soon as an album drops to inflate the numbers, buy albums in bulk to increase sales, all so that they can say their fav is number one. It’s especially common among K-pop fans and swifties

This phenomena is well documented

Fans of Webtoons can be just as ravenous as K-pop, so I think Webtoon is trying to capitalize on this. They want to encourage fandom war and make money. That’s why they have this ranking. Not only can super fans brag about their favorite series topping the charts but they can wear their super like proudly on their reader profile that webtoon will be rolling out soon.

They’re just testing this super like stuff out on CANVAS right now, but once this starts up with originals? Oh. It will be a very profitable, very terrible mess.

(Oh and I mean profitable for webtoon, not creators, in case that wasn’t clear.)

***

Anyway, if you’re a creator, do yourself a favor and don’t enable super likes.

If you’re a fan of a webcomic, just donate to that creators patreon or Ko-Fi to show your support. Don’t give a red cent to webtoon because they did not do any of the work to make the series you love, alright?

Also check out my webtoon haha.

Very important announcement! My top surgery gofundme is live as of today! This is a culmination of my ongoing quest of three years to try to get this transition thing going, and I'm very excited to be finally taking concrete steps towards it. Because I'm not gonna lie, life sucks without it.

GOFUNDME LINK HERE

Please share this post around! If my art has ever made you smile or touched your heart in some way, please know that supporting this surgery goal is the best thing you could ever do for me in return. Thank you for reading, and have a good day.

Peace and love

I think it is incredible that President Biden is actually feeling the pressure from our protests. No, he hasn't done everything he needs to and he hasn't redeemed himself for his role in all this, but the fact that he was caught on a hot mic saying Netanyahu needs a "come to Jesus meeting" about how horribly he's treating Palestinians? That's incredible. All our protests and boycotts have not been in vain. If we weren't making trouble, these governments could keep pretending that they've done no wrong- but they can't escape the blame.

It's encouraging. When you feel like our protests are falling on deaf ears, remember that McDonalds started the year with a loss of over a million dollars, Starbucks fell below it's quarterly sales and is considering closing locations, and people are paying attention- they're changing their opinions. And while these numbers may not be groundbreaking, they are the signs of real effects. Real change.

Never Shut Up About Palestine. Never let them think we are silent and complicit. Let history remember that our governments did not stand for us in this moment, and we did everything we could to make them listen.