🌈Mothippie🌕Working🌿

timebomb sticker!

Again, never will our intentions be to smear someone's name even if we dislike what they have done in other situations.

The rest of the document is accurate as far as we are currently aware, and hope to keep it that way. At some point, however, we feel our point has made itself clear.

I am unsure how I will approach this going forward aside from the update we have now that explains in detail what we know and how there is a chance that they are in fact just grifting off of a proshipper's name.

I'm kind of exhausted with dealing with this BUT I refuse to dip without being honest.

The document has been updated to remove and update that section to avoid spreading misinformation.

We are angry that our property was stolen by this user and our names were smeared as thieves, but that doesn't mean we want to make up shit on someone.

For transparency sake: I removed the callout here not because Softbarkz is innocent but because the post here included things in the body text that we now are learning more and more about.

Purposefully taking the name of a proshipper and rebranding EVERYTHING to it has consequences.

Yeah, a PSA will be made, both on artist beware (as an artistS beware, since they commission "so much") and on toyhouse forums since those are really the two best places to get information out.

Oh yeah def already committed a crime regardless.

I can't fight it bc I refuse to give someone like this my info, can't afford it, and I am about to have a major surgery in about 2 weeks that I need to be pretty much entirely relaxed for :'D

Over on twitter, we are actually like... micro-trending. Still, the DMCA is not removed, we just now also know they make content that is more likely than anything "crush fetish" videos involving insects.

Everyone's been so kind, and helping both of us feel so much more protected.

Death threats in 2026 is so corny

softbarkz / hellaheckingay / whatever this lowlife from ohio goes by is a zoosadist.
they film crush content of flies, who experience pain and suffering.

this was discovered thru softbarkz falsely DMCA'ing a disabled queer artist (who relies upon art to live) and their partner.

links n such below

An image of a hand (assumed softbarkz) holding what looks to be a crushed fly on their palm. Other images in the listing show frozen frames from what appear to be snippets of other crushing fetish videos.

Hey that's crazy, @softbarkz.bsky.social you wanna fraudulently copyright claim us, give us all your legal info, and then it turns out you crush small bugs for profit??? DUDE???

Genuine threat to society, all you had to do was reverse the claim and we would have stopped looking into you. Freak.

The upper left corner has a fursona named "Smooch". The character is a 2 foot tall demon "imp" character inspired off of the rubber hose style but with a twist of lovecore. They have a long cat-like tail, light pink markings that go up to their elbows and knees, as well as darker pink swirls on the knees and cheeks. They have a heart shaped marking on the face, and a pink bow collar colored the same as their pink markings, and a golden bell. The eyes are dark purple, as is the nose, with the classic rubber hose eye style. The upper right corner has a fursona named "Zero", which is a 3 foot tall red border collie with a white facial marking and stomach that stretches down to the inner thighs. The pawpads are pink with a light pattern. The head is a saturated red, as is the tail, but the body color of the design is a dulled red. There are a total of 7 hearts on the stomach of the design, and then continue onto the inner thighs. The design has a black nose. The eyes are a type of heterochromia, with the eyes on the left of the reference sheet displaying black with a pastel pink heart pupil. The right eye is pink, with a black heart pupil. They have a magenta colored collar with a star shaped name tag. Both characters have small wings. Both characters are different enough that the average person would not confuse them.

The image is a cropped screenshot of a DMCA claim that both OP (Moth hippie) and his partner (Tundra Sugar) received that falsely claims copyright to a design they did not create. In the description of the DMCA, it is quoted as "Original digital illustration of my fursona: a red lovecore border collie with darker red hair and eyebrows. It has a white, heart-shaped marking on the face, a body that is Indian red coloring with white down the belly drawn by me." This is false, as the image they claimed is not their character, and none of the claimed images were created by them. There are then links to 7 different links, 5 belonging to OP's partner, and 2 belonging to OP. The "links to original works" section is left blank. The description of infringement is quoted as "The users' profiles posts contains artwork that is a derivative of my fursona, including exact patterns, and distinguishing features. The user did not request permission. This use is unauthorized and infringing my copyright, which is pending registration." All is incorrect, as a pending registration of copyright does not go back and overwrite things created before that copyright. The average person will not confuse these two characters.

BEWARE OF A FALSE COPYRIGHT CLAIMER 🧵

Twitter user @/HellaHeckinGay (softbarkz here) falsely DMCA'd my partner's sona and claimed that it is a "rip off" of theirs.

Smooch, @tundrasugar.bsky.social's sona, has existed for some time now. Lovecore isn't just for you.

More info in alt texts!

#furry

Yeah, this is so crazy and I pray that the public pressure is enough to like. Show them that all they're doing is attacking artists online over delusions. Idk who told them this was a good idea but they didn't even show what we supposedly infringed on IN THE CLAIM.

A toyhouse bulletin was made, we aren't sure if we should make a full PSA in the forums. Some advice from other furries would be great :'D

toyhou.se/~bulletins/3...

I know it's late as fuck when posting this, but would really appreciate some help getting this out.

Softbarkz is a genuine danger to creatives online if they feel THIS justified to go after a complete stranger off delusion alone— let alone with legal threats.

#Furry #ArtistsBeware

Yeah, I opened the counter claim file and saw I HAD to give legal info, so I immediately closed it. Aint no way in hell am I giving someone this delulu my legal information— intentions to change my name or not. I have theirs, that's all that's happened.

That's what I'm saying 💗!!!

Urggg it's just so frustrating because the only way to fight back is to doxx ourself and we just can't take that risk. We have to hope it doesn't default in their favor.

THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!!!

Claiming you have a copyright PENDING (not even approved) on a TRADITIONAL REFERENCE SHEET of a character does not give you legal protection to then claim ownership to art you have no part in creating.

Scaring innocent artists and affecting the income of poor creatives online YAY MY FAVORITE PASSTIME!!!!!!! All for a generic ass red husky-looking character with hearts.

I swear I created a design similar to that when I designed like 70 red husky characters for a story. Good luck copyrighting it??

Going after two creatives who barely have enough money to make it by each month, knowing they CAN NOT fight back, is cruel. We have all your legal identifying information, but have no way to fight back without giving you OURS. We aren't that stupid. We have to pray the platforms know this is bogus.

This is such a huge waste of everyone's time, and their dismissive "the platforms will decide" attitude while actively threatening our livelihoods is insane. You are insane, Softbarkz.

You can find more information from my partner's side, who was the one who had the most posts removed due to this fraudulent copyright claim.

Beware, artists and creatives, of this grifting bully who will go after you based off of personal opinion alone.

x.com/tundrasugar/...
More screenshots above

This is a clear cut example of bullying, while using big words and "legal speak" to make it sound like it's lawful. It isn't, and anyone in the fandom can tell you that Zero AND SMOOCH are not the first of their kind. You can easily find designs that look near identical to either of them.

It is absolutely fair to feel targeted because you DID reach out to other artists and have a conversation with them where you wrongly smeared Tundra's name and tried to scare innocent artists into taking down their art— But did not say a god damn word to Tundra or me. This was intentional.

I am a fulltime artist, a disabled trans man about to go into a major surgery that has already caused hiccups for my income. I rely on being able to post the art I create, ESPECIALLY for promotional content that I spent hours creating.

You threatened my account under the guise of "good faith."

I can testify: You were not present in any way online or in person during the creation of Smooch or any of the art created for them. I was there for every drawing Tundrasugar made of them however, and not once did your sona ever come up in conversation.

This is the first time I am seeing Zero.

A screenshot showing this was from HellaHeckinGay / Softbarkz. The text of the screenshot is in the next image.

The text is quoted as follows: "I've submitted reports through the appropriate platform processes in good faith, which is fully permitted under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. § 512). These reports relate only to my own original character design, which is protected under U.S. copyright law, and include works that are substantially similar or derivative of my copyrighted character. I am not seeking to claim ownership of a genre, aesthetic, or general style — only my original creation. The reports are based on unauthorized reproductions or closely similar depictions of my copyrighted work, which is legally protected even if unpublished, and filing such reports in good faith is lawful. I reached out privately to some of your friends to clarify the situation and avoid any unnecessary strikes or takedowns; I did not file reports against them. This communication was also legal and intended solely to prevent collateral impact on uninvolved parties. The platforms will review the reports and make their own determination. I will not be engaging further on this matter." Some slight errors may be present due to OP having to hand type the text while he read it.

This was their response to both my boyfriend privately, as well as publicly to my beware post on Twitter:

Here, they improperly use copyright law and claim to have a copyright in the works for their character.

One major issue: It is almost impossible to copyright a furry design. Sorry, it's true.

(Side note, if the alt text was not clear, I am in no way shape or form claiming that the previously mentioned 4 designs are copies. They are all really pretty takes on the lovecore / valentines day aesthetic!! Please show the Toyhouse profiles some love!)

These are just the immediate designs we could easily find to reference. Like the alt text on the images describe, all characters shown have 3 common factors: color scheme, heart motifs, and a heart face marking. None of these are unique to the sona "Zero" as softbarkz / HellaHeckinGay claims.

The image displays a lovecore canine, owned by Toyhouse user clwn_teeth, with pink and white markings. The character notably has a white heart shaped marking. The image is drawn by Toyhouse user DunkleJesse. The only purpose for bringing this character up is to show how the marking is not unique to the false DMCA claimer, and is not to make a commentary on these unique designs. They do not relate to the false copyright claim case in any way aside from being used as a quick example of designs with similar themes.

The character shown is a hot pink "rabbit snake" character with white and pink markings. The face has a notable white heart marking, as well as a white stomach and heart motifs on the tail and ears. The character is owned by Toyhouse user Kinga_. The art was drawn by Kinga_ as well. The only purpose for bringing this character up is to show how the marking is not unique to the false DMCA claimer, and is not to make a commentary on these unique designs. They do not relate to the false copyright claim case in any way aside from being used as a quick example of designs with similar themes.

The character shown is a white, red, and pink rabbit. There is yet again a white facial marking in the shape of a heart, and multiple heart motifs on the design. This is another example on how the color scheme and heart shaped face marking is not a unique design choice made by the DMCA claim. The design and art shown was created by Toyhouse user hazyhund. The only purpose for bringing this character up is to show how the marking is not unique to the false DMCA claimer, and is not to make a commentary on these unique designs. They do not relate to the false copyright claim case in any way aside from being used as a quick example of designs with similar themes.

Finally, the character shown is a red, white, and black design with a heart shaped facial marking and heart motifs throughout the design. She has pink eyes, and was created and drawn by Toyhouse user RAGUSAT. The only purpose for bringing this character up is to show how the marking is not unique to the false DMCA claimer, and is not to make a commentary on these unique designs. They do not relate to the false copyright claim case in any way aside from being used as a quick example of designs with similar themes.

Are you going to go after all of these designs to? Because they are lovecore with a white face? Or is it just the furry you haven't spoken to since October of 2024?
Credited in order of appearance
toyhou.se/35651702.ena...
toyhou.se/29827053.pos...
toyhou.se/35609085.09-...
toyhou.se/31543792.lov...