Originality and content statement

This statement explains where the stories and artwork on Flinchd come from and what we do to keep them original.

1. Every story is original

Every story published on Flinchd is an original work of fiction written specifically for Flinchd. No story is copied from, adapted from, based on, or intended to imitate any existing book, short story, film, television series, play, comic, game, song, or any other work by any other author or publisher.

Our stories do not use characters, settings, names, plots or distinctive phrases belonging to any other work. Where a story uses a familiar idea (a haunted house, a space station, a night market), it uses the idea in the way that ideas belong to everyone, and the story built on it is ours.

2. Fiction, not fact

All stories are works of fiction. Characters, businesses, products, places and events are invented. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, to real businesses, or to actual events is entirely coincidental and unintended. Nothing in any story is a statement of fact about any real person or organisation.

3. How the stories are made

The stories are created by Augeas Technologies's studio team using a mix of human writing and editing and AI-assisted writing tools. Every story is reviewed by a person before publication for quality, age-appropriateness and originality. Cover art and illustrations are likewise produced by our team using a mix of hand-built procedural artwork and AI-assisted image tools, and are reviewed before use.

We use AI tools as instruments, in the way a writer uses a word processor or a designer uses drawing software. We do not use them to reproduce anyone else's work, and we instruct them not to.

3a. Narrator voices

Audio versions of stories are read by synthetic voices licensed from our speech provider and given invented Flinchd names. No narrator is a clone, imitation or impersonation of any real person, performer or public figure, living or dead, and we will never offer one. If you believe a narrator resembles a specific real person, tell us and we will review it.

4. Originality checks

Before a story is published we check it for:

• resemblance to well-known existing works, characters and titles;
• use of real trade marks, brand names, song lyrics or quoted text;
• reference to real, identifiable private individuals;
• age-appropriateness against its stated rating.

If a story fails any check it is rewritten or withdrawn.

5. Ratings

Every story carries a rating: 13+ or 16+. Flinchd is written for readers aged 13 and over. Story pages also list notable content themes. Ratings are our good-faith assessment and are guidance for readers and parents, not a guarantee.

6. If you think something is wrong

If you believe a story on Flinchd resembles an existing work, uses material that belongs to you, or is mis-rated, please tell us. See the Takedown and Complaints page for how, or email info@augeastechnologies.com. We would rather hear about a problem and fix it than argue about it.

7. Our copyright

Because our stories are original, they are protected by copyright and belong to Augeas Technologies. Please read them, enjoy them and share links to them. Please do not copy, republish, adapt or use them to train machine-learning systems without our written permission. See the Terms of Use.