#and they will be posted with just a shocking amount of hashtags. they are going to everyone’s fyp

[professional-court-jester]

i haven’t seen anyone talking about this but in the book of bill, bill left an 8-track of eurythmics’ sweet dreams along with that vhs of him going on a crazy night spree in ford’s body, but that song came out in may 1983 and the absolute latest possible date that ford could’ve gone into the portal seems to be mostly agreed by the fandom to be january 1983

this leaves us no other option as theorists but to conclude that bill cipher got a preview track sent to him specifically by the hit band eurythmics months before its public release

also it’s really funny to consider that he was tormenting ford with a brand new top 40s hit. it’s like if these events took place 40 years later and he used a sabrina carpenter song as the soundtrack of his evil

2024 au ford opens his tiktok drafts to see what bill did in his body and the sound bill chose for the horrific montage is von dutch by charli xcx

[soullessjack]

so before I conk out for the night I wanna try and explain all the more complicated stuff with baby!jack and like, how exactly it is more complicated, because not only do I think my own temper tends to make me address it very accusingly and in bad-faith, but also it’s just important to know in the long run. I really hope this is actually worth it because I am sadly very used to wasting my words on people who do not want to listen and also because I’m sleepy and delaying it to make this.

•••

first and foremost, jack being autistic was not something anybody in the show was planning or intending for his character. it wasn’t something alcal had in his head to portray jack and it wasn’t something he was directed to portray. jack is very much a case of what I call accidental autism, or having autism coding; all of the traits that were meant to indicate that he’s a supernatural being wound up aligning very well with autistic traits (as is the case with many nonhuman characters like robots or aliens). then, autistic people in the fandom pointed it out and made it a popular headcanon, which was then brought up to alcal at a convention and basically confirmed/canonized from there.

i wasn’t on tumblr in 2017 (unless you count opening link tabs from other websites) so I wasn’t “there” for babyjack, but you don’t really have to be there to get it. guy is chronologically three years old but an adult in every other way because supernatural creature logic, people wonder “hey what if he was his actual age.” and it’s cute for a little bit, it’s a chance for the poor heavily traumatized guy to catch a break. you see the appeal of that sort of content. nobody’s doing it with bad intentions or even the remotest idea of jack being autistic.

but even though I wasn’t on tumblr for jacks appearance on the show, again I did have minor access to tumblr posts via Pinterest and links, so I could see the “discussions” and whatever. and let me tell you. I was thirteen years old. in eighth grade. when he showed up. and even then I noticed this .. pattern? in the fanart and the talk and all and I remember specifically thinking “yeah I get it he’s baby, but can we actually talk about him” because literally nobody as far as I could see was doing it.

that was six-almost-seven years ago. I am now 19 years old, almost two years graduated from high school, and save for a few blogs (bless u for your work folks), there is still a shocking amount of ppl who just Do Not think about jack with any sort of nuance or complexity. who don’t even engage w his character unless he’s a babyI also didn’t keep up with babyjack cuz it never appealed to me in the first place, But as i got more engrossed in the fandom i saw that it pretty much became the only content being made for jacks character. no in depth discussion or actual canon fanart or anything like that for jack unless u go to a very tiny cobwebby corner of the fandom basically.

•••

if you’re wondering how this comes back to jack being autistic, don’t worry. this is the introduction to that topic. so reiterating the first two things:

in 2017 jack is immediately clocked as precious baby smol bean must protecc material and his whole age situation + all the trauma he basically speedruns leads to au’s where he matches his chronological age. poor boy never stood a chance at being examined critically as a complex person.

(also this is not a time-lined post but it’s very important to add 2017 to gauge the span of this content and also the internet fandom culture of that era).

somewhere down the line autistic fans pick up on Jack’s traits and connect it to our own traits. hashtag autistic jack kline is real and eventually it reaches the silly actor man alcal and the long short of his answer is “representation and having that kind of connection is important so if you think he’s autistic then he’s autistic.” canon by destiel rules basically

However, the entire time that jack is being recognized as autistic and praised/appreciated as representation, people are still going strong with baby!jack content, so strong in fact that it’s insisted as actual canon by some. and I kind of get it. they’re two lil headcanon niches and aren’t gonna cross paths a whole lot. but they still do because it’s the same character and people are sort of starting to connect the dots that Hey This Is Kind Of Weird. autism gang notices that baby gang’s reasoning for Jack being a baby (besides the age) is just his autistic traits. not great! not fun! people start making tiny criticisms of it here and there.

and of course there’s people in the fandom who want to Fuck The Guy and that totally does not pour gasoline on the fire when the discourse is about whether or not the Guy In Question is a mentally stunted large child or just a really autistic teenager.

.

I can’t finish this post I’m sorry I am Not going to bed at 3am again. TLDR every criticism is ignored and the babyjack people keep doing their thang and the really really annoying ones insist it’s canon and call u a pedophile if u want to fuck the guy and just refuse to really acknowledge that they are being ableist at the point in time after he is established to be autistic and also there’s multiple points in the show that literally make it so obvious he’s an adult but no. Ignore whatever u want to pretend he’s a baby.

TLDR again accidentally autistic character creates accidental ableism that people keep double downing on and NOW the general problem is that they are doubling down.

lastly. a LOT of you really and truly need to reconsider why the only way you are willing or able to engage with an autistic teenager character is if they are an infant with absolutely no semblance of personality or development from the actual show AND being specifically depicted this way in order to create the idea of your ship or found family being domestic AND you continuously ignore criticisms of it by autistic people who are telling you it is harmful and rooted in some bad shit. you really really truly genuinely no exaggeration really need to do some thinking about why the fuck you’re doing all that. Goodnight everybody

[polyamzeal]

I'm sorry you have to deal with all that shit. You deserve to be able to celebrate yourself without getting sliced up by internet randos. And yeah, poly belongs in pride month, it's something worth celebrating and taking pride in.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate your kind words.

I want to take this ask/post as a moment to update on my emotional outburst the other night (found HERE and some follow-up if you missed it). Mostly that I have been blown away by the amount of positivity people responded with! I have grown so used to people wanting to fiercely argue with me and accuse me of shit that I was feeling isolated and like nobody was on my side. I was shocked to be reminded of how many other people have went through the same. Lots of people also said that telling people they were gay/bi or trans was easy but it is hard to tell people that they are non-monogamous and not get hated for it. Again, not everybody's experience but certainly true for more than even I realized. It was so validating.

There was 1 hashtag on one of the reblogs that really stood out to me, "#polyphobia". I talk to death about homophobia and transphobia, even biphobia. But I have never really uttered that word. And it was so refreshing to just label it that. Polyamory still gets so erased that even the word for hating it felt victim to erasure. As if, "How could polyphobia exist when polyamory isn't a real or serious thing that deserves to be protected." I was reminded of all the other phobias that Pride has delt with. The biggest is of course Transphobia. Gays and lesbians were great but transpeople were wrong, despite being so important to the history of pride. Let's not forget how often gay and straight people have come together for biphobia to hate the greedy people that just can't pick a side. But I think the one that resonates most for me is questioning whether or not asexuality belongs at Pride. I am far from asexual myself but I have a lot of friends that are and hearing their accounts of being mistreated by people all over the spectrum really just struck a chord in my heart. All of these cases of people who were not welcomed at Pride at one point but now are mostly welcomed. And now the newest enemy to isolate and say they don't belong at pride is polyamorous people. They aren't queer enough. It might let in cis-het people which would be so awful~. I can only hope in time we look back at this and won't be able to remember a time when polyamorous people were pushed out of Pride just as we are already forgetting that bi, trans, and ace people were too.

I have also come to the conclusion that some Polyamory Facebook groups are just filled with outright mean people. Toneless online conversation with some level of anonymity will always lead to people being less compassionate and empathetic. Other night I joined a local "Polyamory Discussion" Zoom meetup and it was just so nice to see the faces of polyamorous strangers and hear a bit about what was going on with them. They felt so much more like 'real people' than the angry people online that won't listen to you as they rant at you on auto-pilot. Seeing Tumblr being a much more supportive community has also really helped to reconnect my tethers to this community that I love so much. Thank you.

[writeyourstorywithink]

"Can't even see that from space..."

Pretty hard to describe how all of this is going for me so far... On one hand I am loving the hobby of collecting baseball cards, ripping packs like its my job (damn I wish it was) and on the other, the social media and vlogging aspect is so so. The thrill of making the videos, adding music or effects, applying fun text and researching the best hashtags to make it visible to the most amount of people is awesome! However, all of it truly takes time and thoughtfulness to make sure you are putting out quality content that people can enjoy, which is where I am falling a bit short. The excitement of the posting and tracking viewers/analytics has gotten the best of me and I deviate from my strategy causing some weaker content, missed hashtags or links to the proper video. SLOPPY! This is quite new to me though as you all know so I'm working hard to keep learning as I bang on this keyboard boring you with my growing pains. Seriously though what is going on with this THREADS thing...?

I thought that making the videos, being on camera and trying to talk about a subject that in the grand scheme of things I still know very little about would be terrifying and I would never be able to fill the time. On my YouTube and TikTok I have two ten minute videos and one five minute video, all three I barely finished what I was saying or doing in time and I was shocked! Based on my lengthy blog posts I'm sure you're not surprised but I sure was. Due to some internal issues, I have for the most part lived in solitude for the last two years so for me, all this putting myself out there and talking about this to you would have been impossible a few months ago. When you get to the point of drinking as much as I did, everything in your life starts to fade away. You slowly stop answering phone calls, make excuses not to go to weddings or events with friends, you become distant with your family, and all because of that perfect little shiver followed by the goosebumps you get after that first drink touches the back of your throat. That moment where nothing else around you matters, that moment you looked forward to since the moment you got up in the morning. When you're at the point that you can't totally function, converse with friends or feel good without alcohol, you completely abandon your life outside of work and home (you only work to get more booze so you stop feeling sick).

I spent a good part of the last decade perched on a barstool trying to relive an impossible past acting like somehow I'd find it at the bottom of any one of those glasses. I drank when I was happy, I drank when I was sad, I cheers'd birthdays of people I didn't even know, I drank... I had a promising career in the automotive industry, built some great relationships in the big city, yet none of that was enough to get the life I wanted back. I always thought that I needed more, I had to make more money, drive a better car otherwise she/anyone else would never love me (that was all in my head by the way). This feeling drove me crazy to the point of restless nights where my mind would never shut down which means...Night cap(s)! When you get to that point your only hobbies are planning out your day so you can strategically drink enough to keep from getting sick to your stomach or shaking so bad you can't hold a cup of water without spilling. If you think that doesn't seem like much to look forward to well...its not, but when you're in it that deep, knowing there is a bottle waiting for you at home is like knowing you get to go to Vegas after work...STOKED!

Enough about the drinking though for now, I just wanted to give you a little back story to build on what I talked about in my last post. Get out of your comfort zone and just do it! Sign up for that class, make conversation with that person you find attractive on the street, buy that pack of baseball cards and don't get wrapped up with living in the past. Do something today that will lead to even better things for you tomorrow. Whatever it is that gets you excited just do it and don't worry what people will say or think because your passion is the only ice breaker you'll need! The videos I talked about earlier and all of my card content are on instagram @vonarx_ink and TiKTok @vonarxink I hope this gets even just one person a little pumped to try something they've always wanted to try this weekend.

[joannechocolat]

On media storms, and transphobes, and free speech, and the establishment.

(Dated 22nd August, 2022.)

Unless you were asleep last week, you’ll have noticed I made the news. I made the news a lot. The Daily Mail (twice); the Times (twice); the Telegraph; the Observer, plus radio and any number of online and international outlets, including UnHerd, where stories go to die.

The story has taken many forms. That J.K. Rowling feels “betrayed” by my “lack of support” for her: that my views on trans rights makes me ineligible for any public role; that people are calling for my removal from the Board of the SOA; that I’m a monster because I replied to a post from a satirical Twitter account with - shock, horror - a smiley.

I haven’t talked to anyone in the Press, in spite of many journalists asking, so this “story���, was taken from Twitter, where stories evolve at such a rapid rate that by the time they make the broadsheets, no-one really knows what shape the story started out at all.

But this is what it has become. I’ve been repeatedly (and wrongly) accused of a number of things, which when you unpick them, boil down to one thing. That as Chair of the Society of Authors (the authors’ trade union), I’ve abused my position to discriminate against people who don’t agree with my support of the trans community.

Full disclosure: this isn’t new. Ever since I was elected Chair in 2019, I’ve been getting increasing amounts of abuse, pressure and demands for “debate” from people with gender-critical views. Some of them are colleagues; some women I once considered friends. Some of these women now have become single-agenda tweeters, railing night and day online about what defines a woman, and spreading misinformation and fear about the trans community. Many of these women claim to be afraid, and to have suffered cancellation for their views. Some of them feel that as Chair of the SOA, I should have taken their side in Twitter debates, signed petitions, joined hashtags to validate their beliefs.

But here’s the thing. The SOA represents everyone. It has over 12,000 members. It needs to stay neutral to represent all its members equally. And it has a strict policy of non-intervention in Twitter debates between members, even when they get nasty, because Twitter can be a nasty place, and the SOA can’t be everywhere. That’s why I tweet in my personal capacity unless I specify otherwise. 

The gender critical lobby has had real difficulty understanding this. Over the past two years, I’ve been under increasing pressure to “speak out” about individual cases (I can’t); ally myself with transphobes (I won’t) and “denounce” death threats to J.K. Rowling (which I do, but apparently not often enough.) Over the past two years I’ve received countless abusive tweets, urging me to kill myself, or resign from the SOA, or hoping that I would die of cancer, all from the gender-critical lobby.

The latest eruption began last week, with the stabbing of Salman Rushdie, a man whose life has been under threat since most of us can remember. Last Friday, an Islamist fanatic managed to get close enough to stab him, leaving him with terrible injuries. The literary world was shaken. Friends of Rushdie’s spoke out in horror. But those of us who only knew him for his books were also deeply shaken and upset. Because this wasn’t just a violent attack on an author, horrific though that may be. It was an attack on free speech, a principle all creators hold dear.

Free speech is a term that has been misused a lot recently, especially by people wanting their say, but denying it to others. In fact, free speech is like oxygen: you can’t remove it from someone else without also losing it yourself, which means that, if you believe in free speech, you can’t then go around deciding who deserves it and who doesn’t. Rushdie is a great writer. But even if the victim of the stabbing had been a minor writer, a bad writer, or a writer with problematic opinions, the same attack on free speech would have happened, threatening writers everywhere. The principle of free speech matters. And it matters to all of us.

I wrote about this a bit on Twitter, where many authors were still upset, struggling how best to respond to the horrific attack. Twitter being Twitter, there were also a number of angry Islamist accounts, crowing about the Rushdie attack and targeting anyone who expressed sympathy. Some were abusive, some even threatening. Several people I follow were sent messages on the lines of: Shut up or we’ll come for you next. I got one myself. So did J.K. Rowling. But on Twitter, size matters. What J.K. Rowling, with her 14 million followers, says is instant news. So when J.K. Rowling announced that she’d had a death threat from an Islamist account saying: You’re next, her name trended for two days, and Rushdie’s all-too-real attack was overshadowed by a Twitter threat.

Now, it isn’t up to me to decide whether the death threat was credible, or whether J.K. Rowling should be afraid. I don’t know how many threats she’s received, or how many she thinks are credible. Having had them myself, I know they can be upsetting and frightening. But a threat on Twitter is not the same as being stabbed in the eye, and I didn’t see the need to comment.

 Instead I put up a poll, asking fellow-authors if they’d ever received a death threat. I wanted to use it as a way of talking about author safety. As it happened, Chuck Wendig had been posting about his latest death threat the day before Salman Rushdie was stabbed (a weirdly specific death threat, in which his correspondent expressed the hope that Chuck would be, er - raped to death by a dolphin), and the tone of my first poll reflected the jokey nature of our interchange. In the light of the Rushdie stabbing, though, I realized that wasn’t appropriate. I deleted the poll almost at once and started again with a more neutral wording, but the folk on Twitter who watch me for any ammunition they can use had already screencapped it and passed it around. It made the papers, variously as: Harris  Mocks Rushdie or Harris Mocks Rowling, but I was doing neither.  Death threats – to anyone, including J.K. Rowling – are absolutely wrong. They’re also a crime. Crimes are for the police to sort out. Free speech, however, is a legitimate principle for a union to uphold.

But free speech isn’t always the speech that you agree with. Free speech can be confrontational. It can be unfair. It can even be upsetting. I’ve upset a lot of gender-critical people with my own use of free speech; my refusal to join their hashtags, sign their petitions, enter their debates. That doesn’t mean to say I don’t believe in theirs, or that I wouldn’t fight for their rights as fiercely as for anyone else. But that has never been enough for the people who want me gone.  

Since last week, the wave of people demanding my resignation – or just my removal – from the SOA has grown. Many of those who have joined the “debate” are not members. Many are not even authors. Nearly all are transphobes, though. Because that’s what all this is about. Not all gender critical people may be transphobes, but all transphobes are gender critical. Graham Linehan has been posting about me since 2020, calling for me to be dismissed. He doesn’t know what the SOA does. He doesn’t care. He’s just one of many prominent transphobes who believe that someone who believes in the rights of trans folk doesn’t deserve a voice of their own.

I have a trans son. He came out very recently, and I haven’t discussed it online. Last week, I discovered that some of my principal detractors had found out about this. After talking to my son, and with his permission, I went public. I love my son more than words can say, and I didn’t want anyone to think that I was ashamed of him. Kathleen Stock, among others, gloated that this was proof of my bias. She (rather chillingly) denounced me for having “undeclared trans-identified offspring,” and claimed that this was the “real” reason for my support of trans folk. Kathleen Stock finds it hard to believe that someone might uphold a principle without having a personal interest. Actually, I’ve been a supporter of trans rights for much longer than this. Like I said, I believe in supporting the rights of all marginalized groups.

So, just what are they saying now? That I’m jealous of JKR? I’m not. I love my life, and I love my son, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. That because of my pro-trans beliefs, I should be cancelled or lose my job? That would be ironic, wouldn’t it, coming from people who are claiming to have been cancelled for their gender-critical beliefs. And full disclosure; it isn’t a job. It’s an elected position, as part of a Board of twelve people. It’s voluntary, time-consuming, often thankless, and unpaid, and I do it because I care about authors’ rights. All authors’ rights; whether they’re famous of not; whether I agree with their politics or not.

But this assault isn’t going to stop. Given how many people pretend to be “fearful of speaking out”, they’re certainly doing a hell of a lot of it. I’ve had open attacks this week from a certain sector of the author community – all London-based, all cis, all white, all influential people (many of them men) with lots of friends in the right-wing media – saying that they are coming for me. One person compared it to the March of the Ents, going after Saruman. The literary establishment, is seems is desperately afraid of progress.

Here’s the thing, though. I’m stubborn. I’ve never fitted into the London literary scene, so the fact that it now feels the need to mobilize against me means very little to me. This week, I’ve had death threats, attacks in the media, and countless abusive messages. I don’t care. I’m not afraid. I was elected to this role to help protect authors’ rights. That means yours, whoever you are, and those of all other authors. If you’re a member of the SOA, then we have elections yearly. You too can stand for the Board, and be elected, and add your views to the diversity of views already expressed there. Till then, I’ll do what I’ve always done. Raise awareness of authors’ rights. 

They grow us tough in Yorkshire.

[arcane-gold]

hi!! sorry if there's info on this somewhere and i just didn't see it, but is the y2fey campaign a podcast or anything? i am already overly invested in all of the characters asldkfj so i was curious if there's a way to keep up w the campaign happenins (besides following the artists ofc, but it's easy to miss things that way sometimes). thank u and hope u have a great day, loveee ur art!! :)

oh we’ve been getting this question a lot!! i’m really grateful that people are invested in our characters!! however we are just playing for fun, so the y2fey campaign is just going to be a home game for us. we are all artists (and also fiends) so we are producing a SHOCKING amount of art, so that’s honestly the best way to keep up with our shenanigans haha

we post everything with the #y2fey hashtag (especially on twitter) so that’s the best place to look for info on our scrunklies!!

[stayarmytinyzenmoa-l]

Without a Trace [Ch. 8]

Vigilantes AU TW: Language, Graphic Depictions of Violence, Descriptions of Blood, Minor Character Death, Gun Use, Knife Use, Electrocution Genre: Drama, Angst, Light Comedy Pairing: ATEEZ x Reader Y/N Pronouns: Not Specified Word Count: 5.4K Summary: Vigilante work has been outlawed, thus sending nine prominent vigilantes either into retirement or into lower ground and, while some abide by the law, a few continue on. Then, one day, a greater threat forces these vigilantes to come together once again, regardless of the law.

(8/11) [First] | [Previous] | [Next] [Main Masterlist] | [Without a Trace Masterlist]

Notes: IT'S BACCKKKKKK I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG JSDFHKDJFH school's been a bitch and I may or may not have taken more series than I can handle so I'm gonna try to zero in on some and crank them out ahaha Disclaimer: Please remember that this is an AU and a work of fiction, obviously the idols mentioned/written about in this story would never partake in these actions. The idols mentioned in this work are meant to be seen more as face claims rather than the actual idols themselves.

“This is insane, this is absolutely fucking insane,” you paced the Warehouse, phone in your hand, and opened to Twitter. It’s been a few days since the event, and Hongjoong had told the group to lay low while the Internet went into full uproar due to the events at the Grand Central Bank. Unfortunately for the group, Bambi and his entourage escaped, but fortunately for them, there were reduced casualties and the Bank didn’t lose anything, courtesy of a certain Park Seonghwa standing on a rooftop.

Posts of low-quality photos and videos circulated on every social media you could think of. Twitter, Weibo, Tumblr, Reddit, everything above and between, the grouping of vigilantes was known throughout the world. Words of encouragement, shock, and worry were paired with these posts. There was a large number of people praising and a fair amount denouncing your actions, but that was to be expected. More people were surprised by the members more so than the action, and you didn’t blame them. When was the last time you and Wooyoung worked together? The last time Yunho donned a mask and uniform? You were sure that Jongho had been inactive since before the ban too. A team of nine, everyone wondered what you were all capable of.

At this moment, the room was populated by eight members of this hastily put-together group. Everyone was present save for Hongjoong, who was busy in some other room, slamming the door behind him and thus telling everyone to leave him alone for the time being. Meanwhile, as they awaited their next move, everyone had been running through the media with a fine-tooth comb, trying to deduce what the general public thought about them and how they’d dodge the authorities if necessary. But right now, as you scrolled through Twitter, the hashtags and the tweets are all in rampant support of this group? It was insane 

“They love us…” you shook your head with some disbelief, but your wide eyes that seemed to shine with excitement betrayed you. It felt like the first time the Aces started. It was almost too good to be true. After being so vehemently denounced, here you were, being lauded again as if you’d never done anything wrong. It was all a bit hypocritical, actually, seeing all of the responses. Just yesterday you saw a tweet calling you a bitch for beating up a sex offender, but who were you to comment on someone who was terminally online?

“We’re back! Are we back? I’d say we’re back!” Wooyoung cut into your thoughts and it was clear that he could barely sit still going through Twitter himself. “This is insane! I thought we’d be out of the game forever but look, everyone’s excited! Holy… wow, this is crazy, I can’t believe they actually missed us. I was sure that everyone would riot when they saw us show up.” Wooyoung continues to scroll through the tags with a huge smile on his face. He pauses on a video that caught you and him together. “Eh, I guess my form’s a little off, but no one noticed so I guess it’s fine,” he adds with a breathy chuckle.

“I’m surprised everyone’s so excited,” Mingi looks over Wooyoung’s shoulder to see his phone. “Maybe it has something to do with the Charlatan.”

“Maybe,” Yunho shrugs. “The police have done jack shit toward catching him, and now a group of vigilantes came back to figure out who this person is, of course, some people would be jumping for joy.”

“Yunho’s got a point, unfortunately,” San walks into the Warehouse, cleaning off his gun with a cloth before holstering it back. “And, even worse, our declaration of war has been solidified,” he says.

“Yup,” Yeosang shakes his head.

“No, I mean our declaration of war has been solidified,” San repeats. “There’s no way they’re letting us off the hook now. (Y/N) and Jisung just beat the shit out of some of their men. We’re in public action now, we’re done for if we screw this up.”

“Oh shit,” Mingi digs his hands in his hair. “We are so screwed now,” he takes deep breaths. “Look, I have people I care about outside of this whole vigilante thing, do you think he knows? Does he know who we are?” Mingi starts to hyperventilate.

“Alright, let’s all calm down,” Jongho speaks up. “Deep breaths, we’re careful. Too careful, sometimes. Did any of us keep things in this warehouse? Or did any of us upload any information on Hope’s servers? I know I didn’t, I wasn’t active enough to need one, at least.” The room falls silent. This was the original hub of all vigilante activities, it was only natural that it would have too much information, but when it came to the group standing in it right now?

“No, I didn’t like the idea of uploading anything on this server,” Mingi answers.

“I didn’t even know there was a server,” San shrugs.

“I’d only track my weapons, nothing else,” Wooyoung adds.

“I had my own system,” Yeosang shrugs.

“I didn’t, I’m not technically a vigilante,” Seonghwa turns his phone face-down on the table.

“I’ve always been a private person,” Yunho shrugs. “I keep people on a need-to-know basis,  and those three, Outro, didn’t need to know.”

“I know Hongjoong had always been private about his things too,” Seonghwa mutters.

You, meanwhile, stayed silent in this whole exchange, listening to everyone and putting everything into account. You, personally, never uploaded anything to Hope’s server, something the genius had put together as a sort of Vigilante Watch program, every single one was connected throughout the city and, should anyone turn on each other, they’d had proper countermeasures. The server had always been secure, Yeosang had even mentioned if there was one hacker who was greater than him, it was Hope. Part of the legendary vigilante group Outro, they pioneered vigilante work and perfected it. Hope’s server was proof of this, maintaining data on every vigilante and providing support, but it was always a two-edged sword. Along with keeping general updates of names, affiliations, and utilities, it kept track of personal data alongside it, including family names, actual names, marital status, everything. The intention was that if any vigilante suddenly went missing, one of the members of Outro would break the news. Personal data was only ever visible to those three, and it stayed like that for a long time. Then, the vigilante ban came into full effect, and Hope shut down the server, closing it and deleting all the information stored in it for good. It was as if every single document or file relating to vigilante work simply never existed. You never uploaded anything on it.

But Giselle did.

“There’s data on the Aces there, all four of us,” you finally said. Again, the group fell quiet. Giselle was always the makeshift leader of the group, she made the decisions, she made the calls, and she kept the Ace’s profiles updated. At the time, you realize, it was a good idea. You all had things to lose, some more than most, so it only made sense that you’d partake in the Vigilante Watch program. You didn’t think it’d come back to bite you. You finally looked up, crossing your arms in the process. You couldn’t read any of their expressions, except for Yeosang’s, who was terrified.

“That’s why you and Jisung made it on his list…” He says.

“Once he got me, he probably would’ve headed for Giselle…” you shook your head. “I think Jisung’s on his way over to her right now,” you added. He said he wanted to go far, and that was far. “You have to understand, we had things to lose. A lot. We needed to be part of this watch,” you defended. No one could argue. “I don’t think she put any other data on there, aside from the fact that we worked with Aegis a lot.”

“Yeosang, do you think you can access Hope’s server? There has to be some remnant of it if the Charlatan got to it, right?” Yunho asks. Yeosang turns his laptop around.

“It’s what I’ve been trying to do for a couple of days now, but Hope’s code blockers are strong,” he says. “Not to mention there’s a lot.” He grumbles. “I think it’d be faster to just ask him, but since Mono kicked the bucket, he and Agust went into hiding. If it’s this hard to crack his code, I can only imagine how hard it would be to find him,” he crosses his arms. He flips his laptop back around. “But I should be able to get into it… I think. (Y/N), do you have any idea what Giselle put in it?”

“Basic things, our names, family members, specialties, weapons, our addresses too… I think after the incident Jisung put in where Giselle’s care center was, mostly because Mono recommended it to us. But I can’t think of anything else,” you shook your head.

Yeosang listened carefully, scrolling through his laptop as you spoke, his eyes were focused and his thumb between his teeth. His eyes scanned left to right as you spoke.

“Everyone, listen up!” Hongjoong announced and Yeosang shut his laptop. The group stood around the table in the center and Hongjoong spreads out a number of files. You pick one of them up.

“Professor Jung?” You ask. The professor of Criminology school profile was in your hands. It had the list of classes he taught, his publishings, class averages, and anything you could think would be on a professor’s file. The file in Seonghwa’s hand next to you was his records with the police department, the cases in which he was asked to assist in specifically.

“At the end of the robbery, I was approached by the Professor, he asked a favor of us specifically,” Hongjoong explains. “He wants us to work in conjunction with the police force.” At that statement, whispers started to arise. 

“I’m in favor,” Mingi says.

“Me too,” Wooyoung nods.

“If we’re coming back, let’s do it the right way, no more skirting around the law, we both have common goals, right?” Mingi adds. “If we cooperate, we could amend the law and get back to what we do best.”

“Plus, I wouldn’t mind a paycheck,” Wooyoung huffs.

“I’m going to have to disagree with you both,” Yunho spoke up next to you. “I of all of you know how fine print contracts work, for all we know they could arrest us as soon as the Charlatan’s captured.”

“I hate to break it to you two, but some of us have lengthy records on us, not to mention warrants for arrest,” he glances over to you and you nodded.

“I don’t know, I think we should discuss it more before making a concrete decision,” you spoke up. San had a point, of the group you were sure it was the both of you with the most to lose from this deal if it went south. You weren’t too fond of having to go through legal procedures either, why wait when you could deal with a problem right then and there? But, then again, Mingi had a point. If you did everything right now you could all be in the good light of the authorities, something vigilantes had struggled with before. It would be a step in the right direction. You were nearly certain, though, that they wouldn’t just let you off with a slap on the wrist for your crimes. Hell, San and Seonghwa are basically murderers, there’s no way they’d just let them off the hook. Not to mention that Yunho could be convicted for treason if his clientele list was ever made public.

“Professor Jung assured me that our work would be kept under lock and key,” Hongjoong says.

“Bull shit,” you shook your head. “We’re already in the public eye, to suddenly go under wraps would make people suspicious.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Seonghwa sighs. “Although I understand where Wooyoung and Mingi are coming from,” Seonghwa taps his hand on the table. “Just being in this group, I can tell, will influence my current and future clientele,” he shakes his head.

“If I may,” Jongho, who’d been silent, speaks up now. Everyone’s attention diverts to him. “I think that the consequences of working without police protection would be greater than the restrictions we’d have if we agreed to cooperate,” he says. “Disregarding the murder charges on some of us, if a disaster were to occur indirectly because of us, it could be worse for us in the long run.”

“Everyone, if I could have your attention on the screen here,” Yeosang is next to speak. All throughout the screen were various articles. He taps on one of them.

‘Professor Jung Jaehyun speaks against the Vigilante Ban.’

Yeosang taps another one.

‘Professor Jung Jaehyun on the benefits of vigilante justice.’

Yeosang chooses another article, an excerpt this time.

‘Professor Jung comments that since the first appearance of vigilantes, crime rates have significantly decreased city-wide despite the rise in taxes. In his words: ‘What are taxes in the face of public safety?’’

“Whatever he’s planning, it seems to be with good intentions,” Hongjoong says. “He hasn’t shown any bad ones in the past, at least.”

“A professor who’s interested in vigilante work? Sounds to me like we’d be his guinea pigs if anything. We’re giving him an opportunity to observe our work first hand,” San comments. “This has to be some science experiment of his.”

“I doubt that, he’s very devoted to his work with the police force, he’s even been actively working on the Charlatan case,” Yeosang says. He taps another window and a video appears.

‘Dr. Jung Jaehyun on the Charlatan Case.’

“Play the video for us, Yeosang,” Seonghwa says.

“Yup,” Yeosang steps aside.

“Dr. Jung, I’m Kang Taehyun with Capitol Times, you’ve just told us that you’re working with Precinct 127 to catch the Charlatan, what is your stance on this issue, and do you have any plan at all?”

“Well, as I’ve said earlier, the Charlatan is considered to be Public Enemy #1 at this moment, a majority of the police force is being focused on this case. Obviously, I agree with this sentiment. The Charlatan has proved that they are behind the mass disappearances and serial killings around the world and due to a majority of the cases being focused here it is our police force who will take charge of dealing with them. I personally think they’re cowardly, hiding behind their mask and screen, and I will stop at nothing until they are behind bars. As for a plan, that is something the police force has specified to keep confidential for now, but please understand that we are working on this case.”

“Stop the video,” Hongjoong says. “Let’s do a vote already. The majority wins, no complaints. Who’s in favor of working with the professor and by extension the police department?” Hongjoong, Wooyoung, Mingi, Yeosang, and Jongho raise their hands. You hummed. Everything that you’d been presented so far and everything you understood pointed in the direction that the deal would only be beneficial. You rose your hand too and San scoffed.

“Oh, grow up, Choi,” you glared.

“Oh, well… What the fuck?” San rose his hand too. Seonghwa rose his hand with a shrug, following the majority. Yunho shook his head but eventually rolled his eyes.

“Hongjoong, call the professor. Tell him that we’ll only cooperate if we get to draft the contract ourselves, I’ll be in charge of that specifically,” Yunho says.

“I’ll schedule a meeting with the professor and give him the bare bones of our plan, I’ll only tell him what he needs to know,” Hongjoong nods. “Yunho, I expect that you’re coming with me?”

“Of course,” he smiles.

“Then, let’s go over it,” Hongjoong places a map on the table after pushing aside Jaehyun’s files.

~

“Phase One: Set up. (Y/N), I want you and San to play the waiting game. Sorry about this, but you’re going to have to play bait again, the Charlatan has to focus on you, you’ve escaped his grasp twice now. I’m having San go with you since it would look suspicious if you were found alone.”

“Think Mingi would be mad if we had some of these?” San hands you a cup of coffee.

“I don’t think so,” you took it and sat on top of the desk. You were both stationed in Mingi’s office. Looks like the reporter had been hard at work from the article spread in front of you and the stack of files off to the side. Capitol Times was a location chosen from careful planning. You couldn’t wait in any of your homes, that’s something you didn’t want the cops to know about unless they had to. The patrol cars were stationed at inconspicuous places throughout the city, something that the professor had assured. After his discussion with Hongjoong and Yunho, he agreed to have the police stationed at areas of high activity for security purposes, they have been all instructed to follow the Mastermind’s orders. San leans next to you, one hand in his pocket while he blows on the styrofoam cup.

“So, what made you change your mind?” He asks, his shoulder brushing with yours each time he rose the cup to his lips.

“Tired of hiding in the shadows, I guess,” you shrugged. “Aren’t you? Maybe you could get back your lost trust in them, I don’t know.”

“They did love Aegis,” he says. “The perfect, law-abiding vigilante,” he sighs. He looks at his reflection in the mirror in front of him, a suit loosely hanging on it, ready for whenever Mingi had to attend a press conference. 

“Not used to it anymore?” You asked.

“Hmm?” He looks at you. You tapped the shield strapped to his back. “Oh, that thing? I’m surprised Yunho had it.” You leaned back, looking at its design. There was a clear welding mark from where it had originally snapped in half. You knocked on it.

“Yunho must have reinforced it with something.”

“He did, it’s heavier now,” he readjusts the straps across his chest holding it up. Your eyes drifted to the ‘A’ on his wrist cuff, then you looked at the one on your shoulder. You didn’t think you’d be working with a team again so soon.

You look out the window.

“Seonghwa, you’ll be our failsafe. Sure, there’ll be cops crawling everywhere, but I know I can rely on you if not them. There’ll be an apartment complex across the street from Capitol Times, station yourself up there and be ready to fire when necessary. Your target is anyone wearing the Charlatan mask, am I clear?”

“Crystal clear,” Seonghwa mutters, wiping the lens on his scope clean. He holds the rifle at eye level, looks through the scope, and shakes his head, adding on another lens. He clicks his tongue now and adds another lens. One more for good measure. “Crystal clear.” He repeats, he could see you and San clearly through the lenses now. He points the barrel downwards, looking at the foot traffic in front of the newspaper company. No one suspicious so far save for the undercover cops. They could be less inconspicuous, if Seonghwa didn’t memorize their faces before he’d have taken the shot already, could they be any more obvious? He shook his head and surveyed the area again. White suits, charlatan masks, and weapons were the three things he was on the lookout for.

“Unfortunately, the signal tracking Yeosang’s been working on isn’t going fast enough for the professor, so now the plan is for (Y/N) to get targeted and taken to the Charlatan’s headquarters. (Y/N) as soon as you get there, report back, we’ll track your watch until we lose signal, just in case. I’m sure you can handle yourself, plus, you’ll have San with you so I’m not too worried.”

“Looking forward to getting kidnapped?” San asks, trying to lighten the mood.

“Not much, I’m not fond of ropes,” you shake your head.

“Yeah, I remember you saying that,” San smirks into his cup and you nudge him harshly.

“Yeosang’s listening, don’t mention that,” you grimaced.

“Yeosang, do what you do best. You’re in charge of CCTV, the best access point’s in the police department, I’m sure you’ll be fine though. No one’s idiotic enough to arrest you while you’re working with them to catch the Charlatan.”

“Sorry, Hongjoong, but I can’t take any chances,” Yeosang sat in his flat surrounded by screens. He’s a hacker, it’s good for him to have at least some secrets. He looks at the screen with you and San specifically and leans back on his chair, sipping some of his juice box while he listens in on your conversation.

“Oh, I’m very aware of your past relationship,” Yeosang cuts in after pressing a button. “I have that information on all of you, so don’t feel too special,” he teases.

“Got anything on Hongjoong?” San asks jokingly.

“Guy’s been single his whole life.”

“Fucking loser,” you chuckled.

“Hey, now, Seonghwa’s been single his whole life too,” Yeosang laughs.

“Seonghwa? Seriously?” You looked surprised. “Geez, I don’t even know where to look, where’s the camera?”

“You’re not supposed to know where it is, Ace,” Yeosang replies.

“What’s so shocking about Seonghwa being single? He’s basically married to that rifle he carries around,” San laughs. Yeosang looks over to Seonghwa’s screen, watching him wipe down the rifle for what had to be the twentieth time.

“I can confirm that,” Yeosang replies.

“Still, though,” you responded. “Kind of strange for…”

“For what?” San asks, tilting his head. A devious thought crosses Yeosang’s mind and he pressed the button off to the side.

“What is it, Yeosang?” Seonghwa’s voice is clear.

“Shh, shh, just listen,” he connects the line to yours.

“Nothing, forget I said anything,” you waved your hand in front of San and the other continues to laugh.

“Say it! You have to now!” San eggs you on.

“Ugh, leave me alone, San! I’m just saying that in his line of work I’m surprised he’s never met anyone.”

“(Y/N) you can say Seonghwa’s attractive, you know,” Yeosang teases.

“It’s not that!”

“So he isn’t?”

“He is! It’s just—” You’re cut off by San gasping. “Oh, shut it! Are you saying he’s not attractive?!”

“Objectively, I guess he is.”

“You’re not wrong, (Y/N), you’re not wrong,” Yeosang shrugs.

“It’s weird talking about a co-worker like this, is all, plus, I kind of live with him right now since my apartment’s in shambles so it’s even weirder,” you grumbled. Seonghwa shook his head with a small smile. Yeosang connects his line to Seonghwa’s.

“You should say something.”

“What’s this? Playing matchmaker? You must be bored,” Seonghwa checks the clip on his rifle, making sure it’s full.

“When you’re sitting on your ass for almost eighteen hours a day, you tend to get bored,” Yeosang smiles, disconnecting yours and Seonghwa’s lines.

“Wooyoung and Yunho will be stationed a couple blocks down, as soon as you get Yeosang’s signal, follow whatever car they take, and if things get messy, you both step in and offer support. Your primary objective, alongside with Mingi and Jongho, is to ensure that there are no casualties.”

“Anything?” Wooyoung asks.

“Nothing yet,” Yunho stares at the screen on his lap.

“In that case, I’m taking a quick catnap, yeah? Wake me up when something happens,” he reclines his seat and closes his eyes. Yunho makes sure he’s really asleep before switching back to the contract. The professor was strangely accepting of their terms, anyone would be suspicious of it.

‘Condition 1: Our identities are kept secret.’

‘Condition 2: Until the Charlatan is captured, any warrants for arrest will be suspended.’

‘Condition 3: The police support the vigilantes, not the other way around.’

‘Condition 4: Once the Charlatan is captured, we go our separate ways.’

Four conditions of theirs in exchange for one from the professor. It was suspicious, to say the least, all the professor asked for was that none of the officers assigned to the case would be harmed. It feels more like a hindrance, actually, as if it were drawing away from the Charlatan. He could understand the sentiment, but at the same time, he was questioning the intent. Yunho adjusted the rearview mirror, spotting the patrol car stationed in the alley behind them and ready to move out on signal.

“What are you planning, professor?” He wonders aloud.

“Jongho, your positioning is important. I’m going to tell the professor that you’re stationed with Seonghwa, but I want you by the precinct. Take care not to be noticed. I don’t want to doubt our new ally, but you know how things like this go, right?”

Jongho did exactly that. Seated at the café across the way, he flipped through the notes on his iPad while keeping an eye on the precinct.

“Jongho, don’t respond, just listen. I’ll wire you into the CCTV for the precinct,” Yeosang explains. “I’ll be busy monitoring the others, so can I trust you on this? Tap the lid of your coffee twice for yes.” Jongho did as he was instructed before picking it up and drinking some of it. He adjusts his aviators and watches the CCTV feed on the tablet. Everyone was running around, operators constantly in contact with field officers, a couple people monitoring their own views of the scenes, and the professor, standing in front of the precinct’s own security cameras, monitoring the whole event. Jongho tugged at his collar, the uniform underneath it remaining hidden as he dims the brightness.

The professor, huh? Jongho focused on his screen the most. Although he was in favor of working with the police, he was still skeptical about the professor. His name rang a bell, but he couldn’t figure out why. Why did his name raise red flags in his head? Jongho opened his notes app, scrolling through the various files. If he was suspicious, the reason why would be in at least one of these, right?

“Mingi, that leaves you. I need you to be on standby with a car. Officers will be too cautious, I know you won’t. Park by the office and wait for further instruction.”

Mingi tapped the steering wheel anxiously. It was his idea to use the office, and for whatever reason, he was worried about the future of his employment there. He had told Ryujin at the front desk to let you and San in herself if he wasn’t in the office at the time, but once the Charlatan breaks into the office, anyone would be suspicious of him and of them. He should’ve thought this through more before setting you and San up, maybe it wasn’t too late? He’d get you both to wait down here instead.

But you needed to be in a closed area to avoid casualties, of course, just his luck. He looks up at where the office would be. Still no activity. He wondered if it was still too late to back out, it was too risky, he didn’t want to put you in a bad position, you’d already had enough trauma with playing bait. To be honest, he wanted to scold Hongjoong for even asking you to play bait again, he must have had a lot of nerve to say that. But, he was right, the Charlatan couldn’t pass off an opportunity to try to get you again. Still, he couldn’t shake off the guilt. The way you sighed when Hongjoong told you your role, the way you clenched your jaw when you nodded, anyone could tell that you didn’t want to do it. If only they could’ve waited a little longer for Yeosang to pinpoint the mask’s signal location, they could’ve avoided this. How much did they have to appease the police anyway? He understood the severity of the case, of course, but there was a fast way to do things and then there was a right way too. He’s yet to find out which this plan was. He pressed on the knob of his watch. His intuition hasn’t been wrong yet, he could tell, something bad is about to happen, and he had to tell Hongjoong now before it was too late.

Then he heard something click behind him.

“Stay vigilant and on your guard. There’s no telling when the Charlatan will strike. When they do, put up a fight, we can’t just let them take (Y/N) without a scratch.”

The sound of the window shattering had you and San on your feet in seconds. There was only one of them this time, thank god, but their build was huge, easily towering over you and San. In their hands was a pair of gauntlets. The lackey bumped their fists together, electricity beginning to flow between them.

“Oh shit, those were Elektrode’s!” You pulled out your knives. Elektrode was a villain back before the ban, he was finally apprehended by the members of Outro and his equipment was stored in the Warehouse for monitoring. You and the Aces had one run-in with him and you all got out with heavy injuries and a need to repair uniforms.

“From experience, those are not ones you want to get hit with,” San pulled the shield from his back.

“Yeah, no shit,” you shuddered at the memory of being caught between those gauntlets.

“‘Scuse me,” San rushes ahead of you, holding the shield up and blocking the first blow from the lackey with a loud clang. Electricity sparked around the shield and rebounded back to the intruder and the lights above you flickered until their fuses blew.

“I’ve got the back,” you jumped on the desk, aiming the knives for the lackey’s critical points. The lackey turned and caught two of the knives, immediately twisting and burying one into San’s thigh.

“Shit,” San grit his teeth when the lackey squeezed his fist, electricity coursing through the gauntlets, to the knife, and shocking San. He stumbles back, the nerves in his leg spasming and paralyzing until he falls. The lackey reaches for you, holding the gauntlets on either side of your head. You took a shaky breath, preparing yourself for the inevitable shock when a bullet pierces through the lackey’s head. Seonghwa wasn’t supposed to kill the Charlatan’s lackey, he was supposed to injure them, he wouldn’t slip up like that, Seonghwa doesn’t make careless decisions like that. You stumbled forward and leaned out of the window, spotting Seonghwa across the way, but he was more focused on something else. The only reason why Seonghwa would deliberately disobey orders was to get someone’s attention, after all. Then, the crackling sound in your earpiece confirmed your suspicions.

“We have a problem! Oh my god, what the fuck, what the fuck, someone patch in!” Yeosang’s frantic voice was opened to all channels.

“Cypher? It’s Spades, we can hear you, what happened?” You pressed on the earpiece, tossing your first aid kit to San, who was still massaging his thigh.

“I knew this shit was rushed, fuck, why isn’t anyone going after them?!” Yeosang shouted in the earpiece as if no one could hear him. San pulled his out, holding it further from his ear.

“Cypher, we can hear you loud and clear!” San shouts back. 

“Mastermind! Mastermind?! What the… Hongjoong! Say the signal already, dammit! Hello? Why isn’t anyone listening? Can anyone hear me?”

“What’s going on with the channel?” You looked out, trying to spot the police station.

“Fuck, signal jammers… Radiohead, he’s got her. Fuck it, to whoever can hear me, head out now!” The hacker falls silent as if to wait for someone’s response. When no one responds, he only shouts in annoyance. “Someone head out now! They got Mingi!”

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[delicrieux]

☆ﾐ 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 “𝚘𝚑”

PART 10: BIG DICK IS BACK IN TOWN

y/n is back in brooklyn for the holidays. thinking that a stream will make her feel less homesick for cali, she starts working on her famously titled hentai.free.srv. what was supposed to be a relaxing stream turns into a special delivery about two hours in.

─── corpse husband x reader ─── soc. media + written fiction! ─── word count: 2.2k ─── ❥ req: Here's one... You know those apps for delivery like Domino's or whatnot... What if reader is streaming Among Us with Corpse, and reader mentions they're hungry and Corpse offers to order them food, and readers like no no it's fine... Then there's delivery at the door (Corpse ordered beforehand) 

author’s note: fucky format is also back in town baby!!! also if you find any mistakes - no u didnt <3 thank u everyone for enjoying this story sm i literally cant believe how feral yall going strawberry cow was a nuclear explosion im still recovering tbh. got an ask a while ago and decided to incorporate it into myso. happy holidays everyone! myso will continue on monday!

ultimate masterlist.  ҉  myso masterlist   ҉   previous.  ҉   next.

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Indeed, being soft on any social media platform was the biggest disgrace and needed to be eliminated post haste. Moreover, it was a slippery slope - once you start flooding your timeline with cute imagery and heart emojis, what will stop you from posting inspirational Facebook quotes? Disgusting. If Rae were here, she would chide you (not you thinking about her as if she’s dead or something). For once in your life, you feel like you deserve it. 

Alas, you hope this little chaos you’ve caused is enough to throw everyone off. The stans, especially. You know the hashtags, you’ve seen ARMY scourging for info online with the same fervor and ruthlessness 1 Direction fans hacked airport security cameras just to spy on the boys. If you had any dirty secrets online, they are out to the public now - thankfully, besides the Harry Styles stan account (with edits and all), you have nothing. Though, now that you think about it, exposed nudes would have been better than your Punk!Harry edit receiving almost a million views. God, your life’s a fucking mess.

Your fans aren’t the only ones out for info - you, too, are trying to decipher Rae’s message. Code: Barbecue Sauce. The two of you had come up with it roughly two years ago, around the same time when you promised that if you didn’t find significant others by the time you’re 40, you’ll just marry each other. It was one of the many rules found in your friendship codex. Barbecue Sauce signifies information - an exchange of information. And depending on how it ends or begins (”So I’m sitting there” alludes to Rae, “On my titties” alludes to you), secret data on that person is given away, usually free of charge. 

But why? And to whom did Rae give away what? You had pestered her mercilessly and even sent some voice messages where you were crying. You were only crying because of a video of a grandpa smiling you saw on TikTok, but you are a snake, and so you put those tears to good use. If streaming doesn’t work out, you’ll just become an actress. Hollywood would love you. Your PR firm sure as fuck wouldn’t, though.

Rae was having none of it. She said you’ll figure it out eventually. Told you to channel your superior puzzle skills. You were quick to remind her that you can barely count to ten without having an aneurysm. Oddly serious, she admitted that she worries for you sometimes. Why only sometimes?! you demanded. She merely sighed. uttering under her breath something that sounded closely to “Boke.”

You leave her for barely a week and she’s already neck deep in the gay volleyball anime, hoodie and cardboard cutout and everything. Your life is falling apart.

But Brooklyn is nice. It had snowed when you stepped off of the plane. Thousands of snowflakes sprinkling into your hair, dotting your cheeks and nose. You missed this sight back in Cali. You missed your parents, too. 

Home cooked meals, old sweaters, your old room and about 40GB worth of old high school pictures on your computer. You went through them all one night. Some were stomach churning, cringe inducing nightmares. You were especially fond of those. Texted some of your friends that were still in Brooklyn, met up, decided to bake. Bad idea, Rae was the resident chef back in Cali. Besides laughing till your stomach hurt, and almost burning down your kitchen, nothing all that significant happened. Somewhere down the line, at about 3 am, half-way through a cheesy rom-com you had the overwhelming urge to text Corpse.

That’s where the problems really started. God, you missed California, missed being in the same timezone with a guy you hadn’t even met yet, how embarrassing is that?! You missed skating around and taking pictures of the beach in the setting sun, sending it to him, silently wishing he was with you to admire the view. 

You really want to call him. And to hang out with him. But for some reason, the thought of that springs up immediate anxiety and you shy away from asking. Him sending you cute good morning texts doesn’t help, either. Maybe it’s better he doesn’t know that you’re a blushing, stuttering mess each time you read “baby”. 

Late evening. Your stream is already set up, people are slowly trickling in and you greet them with a grin and a soft “Hello! Hi hi!”. You did your best to make your room a perfectly chaotic backdrop - led lights, an embarrassing amount of anime merch and plushies. You always try to balance out your weeb side by dressing hot as fuck for your streams - today’s inspiration just so happens to be egirls. Mostly because you watched one too many egirl make-up tutorials on TikTok, and also because you’ve been listening to Corpse’s song all day.

Yeah, no, who are you kidding, you dressed up this way because you were hoping Corpse was watching your stream. You didn’t forget your cat headphones, either. You know he likes them. You want to make him suffer. Perhaps then, finally, he will ask you out, so you wouldn’t have to.

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“I feel like,” You start when you put away your phone, staring idly at the chat, “I feel like I need a new name for you guys. Calling you guys after two years of streaming is just... weird, no? I also don’t respect men so I don’t want to call you guys. Like, so many creator’s have, like, a name for their fans. Uhm, Cody Ko has the chodesters, Kurtis Conner has, uh, folks? Kurtis Town? Citizens! Markiplier has mommy issues--” You can’t help snorting, “So, I’ve been, like, thinking - I know, shocking! - so I was thinking I’m gonna name you cockroaches. Because you’re grimy little shits impossible to kill. And also then I can use the legendary Minaj meme ROACHES!”

Your stream enthusiastically echoes ROACHES, making the chat swim. Yes, if anyone would enjoy such a name, it would be your audience. You’re as equally proud as you are disturbed.

“Well, anyway.” Leaning back into your chair, you throw your arms out with a bright grin, “Big dick is back in town, baby! If you noticed the backdrops different, it’s cuz I’m in Brooklyn now. Don’t ask me when I will return to Always Sunny, I don’t plan that far ahead.”

While Minecraft boots up, you decide to answer a few questions.

r u dating sykkuno?

You want to smack your head into the keyboard, but as it is, you can’t exactly afford a new one, so you refrain, “No, Sykkuno and I are not dating, we are just good friends. Uhm, I’m not sure how much I’ll have to repeat this, but, we really aren’t, so if the roaches could chill - Oh my God, that sounds so stupid, I love it - uh, yeah, if the roaches could chill that’d be great.”

the roaches lmao sounds like we’re a sports team

“Oh shit, yeah it does, uh-- maybe I can make like, jerseys or something. That’d be cool, I think.”

how disappointed are your parents with the way your life turned out?

“My parents are actually not disappointed at all!” You say with a cute little smile, “Uhm, they’re both really proud, actually. They’re glad I found something I love doing and made a job outta it. Dad finds my Youtube videos endearing. Yes, they watch pretty much all of my videos, unless I explicitly tell them not to. And yeah, with all the fucks and thirsting for anime characters. Uhm, it was very embarrassing at first, but I mean, after a while, shame just...doesn’t exist anymore, I guess? Funny thing about my parents, actually, when they watch my videos-” You eye catches a comment, “Oh! No, they only watch my Youtube videos. They don’t know how to use Twitter, thank God. Uhm, anyway-- when they hear a name they don’t know, like, I dunno, Dabi, or something, they google--” You’re grinning by now, eyes crinkling, giggling softly, “--who that is, and buy me like, merch and stuff. It’s really cute. 

can i be adopted by ur parents plz

will you and corpse ever collab?!

You were about to answer, though the man of the hour himself decides to do it for you.

Corpse_Husband: yes.

Okay, not to say your heart skipped a beat, but it totally did. With a pleased smile, you nod, like one of those bobble head toys sold at the dollar store. The motion is oddly reminiscent of Sykkuno’s own nod. Perhaps you had picked it up from him. The chat seems to notice.

pack it up, sykkuno

More questions pile about this mysterious collab you and Corpse are planning. Yeah, you’d like to hear more about it, too, since he single highhandedly decided one was happening right now. Corpse remains silent. Fine, keep your secrets. 

“Okay, guys, oh, I mean, roaches, Oh my God--” You’re covering your mouth, giggling, “-calling all roaches, calling all roaches, calm down. Everyone grab a snack and a blanket I’m turning up the music volume so we can all chill. Entering chill zone. Entering chill zone. Roaches, prepare.”

we are prepared

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An hour or so passes and you grow hungry. It shows with the amount of cakes you had baked in your server. Currently, you find yourself throwing eggs at the wall of one of the renovated houses, your face scrunched in concentration and slight frustration. 24 of the 50 eggs have been wasted. “What’s a girl gotta do to get some chicks around here?” you had uttered under your breath, until, finally, a screech - the egg finally spawns a mob. Your mouth falls open, “Aww, look!” You approach it, so small, walking in zigzags beside you, “It’s a baby chicken! Die, bitch.” The baby chicken is no more as you swing your bedazzled (you have mods) diamond sword. You’re cackling by the time the dust settles.

y/n is a child murderer

“Roaches,” You address your fan-base, spurring another fit of laughter - you can’t get over the name, “I think I’m like, forgetting that eating in Minecraft won’t actually make less hungry in real life.”

take a break and go eat queen <3

“Fuck no, we starve and die like men. Now I actually really need another chicken.”

Another twenty minutes trickle by and you’re trying to lure back a panda from the jungle when there’s a knock on your bedroom’s door. Whipping your head to the side, you slide down your headphones. At the same time, your mom pokes her head through the ajar door, “MOM!” You scream, “Get OUT of my room I’m playing Minecraft!” But your yell has no actual bite to it, as you don’t manage to hide your smile. Your mom laughs, doing some sort of sign language and motioning for you to follow her with her head. That or it’s some sort of performative dance. 

“I’m live right now,” You tell her, pointing at your screen. She knows this already, though, “do you want to say hi?” 

The roaches spam the chat with friendly hellos. You mom, quite impatient now, waves you over. 

“Sorry, roaches, mom needs something. Be back in a bit!”

Stopping the stream, you rush out of your seat and pleased she slinks into the hallway. “What’s this about?”

“Your pizza came.”

“My what now?” You echo, confused.

“Domino’s. You ordered pizza?”

“What? No? I was busy with the stream, I never--”

Thankfully, you had managed to grab your phone from your room before you exited. You almost choke on spit once you read the messages.

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You decide that it’ll be impossible to stream after experiencing what you had just experienced. You tweet out a quick apology to the roaches (God, that fucking name) and say that you had a breakdown but you’re okay. That is as a close to the truth as you managed to muster. It’s a sad sight, chewing and crying; your mom winced when she saw your state - disheveled hair and rundown eyeliner and everything. “D’aww,” She had muttered, caressing the top of your head, “don’t cry my little raccoon.”

If anyone was ever to ask you where did your chaotic nature come from, you’d answer with my mom. To make yourself feel better, you took a selfie - duck face and peace sign and the horrible 2000′s angle. Sent it to Rae. 

looking hot, her message read. 

thanks, was all you replied with.

You couldn’t just leave things as they were. Once you calmed down, you wanted to text Corpse, but how would you follow up the ungodly caps lock and screeching? Impossible. An idea sprung to mind, one that was brave. Taking the first step.

Instead of sending a text, you sent a voice memo.

“Thank you for the pizza, it was delicious.”

You voice still sounded a bit raspy. His reply was instant. Your heart skipped a beat. He sent a voice memo back.

“Glad you liked it, baby.”

He was going to be the death of you.

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tags (in italics is those i couldn’t tag! make sure all’s ok w your settings!) : @littlebabysandboxburritos - @fairywriter-oracle - @tsukishimawh0re - @ofstarsanddreams - @bbecc-a - @annshit - @leahh19 - @letsloveimagines - @bellomi-clarke - @wineandionysus - @guiltydols - @onephootinfrontoftheother - @liamakorn - @thirstyfangirl - @lilysdaydreams - @pan-ini - @mxqicshxp - @tanchosanke - @yoshinorecommends - @flightsandfantasy - @liljennyx3 - @slashersdream - @unknown-and-invisible - @sinister-sleep - @fivedicksinatrenchcoat - @mercury–moon - @peterparkerspjsuit - @unstableye - @simonsbluee - @shinyshimaagain - @ppopty - @siriuslystupid - @crapimahuman - @ofthedewthesunlight - @mythicalamphitrite - @artsyally - @corpsesimpp - @corpsewhitetee - @corpse-husbandsimp - @hyp-oh-critical - @roses-and-grasses - @rhyrhy462 - @sparklylandflaplawyer - @charbkgo - @airwaveee - @creativedogs - @kaitlyn2907 - @loxbbg - @afuckingunicornn - @fleurmoon - @yeolliedokai - @truly-dionysus - @multi-fandom-central707

more tags are in the comments bcs tumblr only allows me to tag 50 people max 💙

[sassyfrassboss]

I don’t know what the RF is up to but with the amount of soft power they hold, they could easily shut Harry and Meghan down. I was shocked today to see tweets from SS of Meghan holding monthly meetings with young people from the Commonwealth. I mean, how is the palace just standing by in this day and age of SM manipulation?! Their motto of keeping their heads down & carrying on is archaic. It needs to change to a certain degree. They should even start suing for defamation. Why not? I know H&M employ a bot army on Twitter to run their PR. Yesterday when her episode launched she trended with about 6000 tweets at its peak & then the trend disappeared & was hijacked by the authentic liar & narcissistic ##. I hope the D&D new coms guy from NBC is paying attention to ALL these details & coming up with a master plan. Media is now all about who pays. It’s no longer what it used to be & it’s worse in the USA where liberal media journalists get smothered for speaking truth to black women like MM lest they get accused of racism. Thankfully, Twitter is not representative of real life but it is the weapon they’re using to attack & destroy & launch a movement of some type. The goal is clearly to undermine the monarchy & they’re persistent. In the podcast she urges her fans to use a hashtag to help spread her message on IG. Only 60 of those were posted to IG. She can’t easily manipulate IG as well as they do Twitter. Much as they pretend to have no SM, they’re both very much present on all SM platforms, incognito & helping to rally the “army.” Going by the recent social-political trends that I’ve brought great nations havoc, it all started in small corners of the web & then grew into a tsunami with SM. I am not one to laugh off M&H. Times change & it is very apparent they’re disrupters by choice & are trying to garner support, paid or not. They’re enough insanely wealthy people who hate the monarchy. When TQ dies, Charles will be on shaky ground. They will persist further. MM is not Fergie. She is another Trump in the making. If William wants to grow & strengthen the monarchy for George & his great grandchildren, he’s going to have to play very hard ball. Going by first name basis to look normal to the public will not cut it. Nobody wants a casual monarchy, no matter what the critics say. The pomp & circumstance matters a lot. The most progressive countries in the world are monarchies. Culture & tradition remain at the core of every society. Diluting it now will only erode it going forward.

@the-empress-7 has three plans for the BRF to shut her down. One is to take away his Councilor of State, I think the other is to take away their commonwealth ties.

Meghan has done her best to undermine the BRF at every turn. I 100% agree that she and her followers did their best to ruin the Caribbean Tour for the Cambs.

[perfectlypanda]

2021 was not a good year for me. Possibly one of my worst ever actually. But among the better memories is how much fun I had making and sharing Zutara and AtLA art. I was just making things I had always wanted someone to make (like a scene where Katara actually talks about the EIP noncon kiss or an ending shot with the whole gaang looking at the sunset together), but it was a pleasant surprise to see how many other people also wanted those same things and liked what I was sharing. I still have a long way to go before my skill level is where I’d like it to be, and looking back at things I’ve made this year I see a lot of flaws, but I also see a lot of things I’m pretty proud of. 

So thank you. ♥ If you’ve ever said anything kind about anything I’ve posted, please know how much it means to me. And yes I do save nice comments/ hashtags/ etc. for rainy days (except instead of taking a photo it’s taking a screenshot and instead of a notebook it’s just a Google Doc). Thank you as well to all the Zutara artists and writers that share their work! I read an absurd amount of Zutara fanfic in 2021 and can’t wait to read more this year. Here’s to 2022!  ♥

(under the read more is my tumblr 2021 year in review, because it made this post really long, and also because I think this may be a time when something is more interesting to the person involved (me) then to anyone else).

I posted 892 times in 2021

113 posts created (13%)

779 posts reblogged (87%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 6.9 posts.

I added 826 tags in 2021

#zutara - 320 posts

#look i made a thing - 89 posts

#atla - 74 posts

#katara - 72 posts

#zuko/ katara - 64 posts

#zuko - 56 posts

#image manip - 48 posts

#zutara edit - 41 posts

#avatar - 32 posts

#avatar the last airbender - 30 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#almost all media written for children and young adults is written by an adult so if there's romance in it... it's a ship an adult created

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I’m sure it’s been done before, but I mentioned to a friend the idea of combining the “wake up sleepyhead” meme with Zutara, and we both thought it would be hilarious - so thanks for the encouragement A!

I've seen a lot of takes on the “over protective big brother” Sokka when he finds out about Zuko and Katara being romantically involved, but personally I don’t think that would be his reaction. I think he’d be a little shocked, possibly confused, but also thrilled. After all, Zuko is a good friend of theirs who proved he was committed to Katara even before they were in a romantic relationship (hello lightning), and like... if you think your sister deserves the best, you can’t do much better than scoring the Fire Lord. (Or alternatively, I could see it going kind of like that scene from Friends...)

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!

1428 notes • Posted 2021-06-08 03:09:12 GMT

#4

1872 notes • Posted 2021-03-20 02:10:14 GMT

#3

Katara: I think our little princess might be a firebender.

Zuko: Oh, why?

Katara: She has your eyes.

Zuko: That doesn’t necessarily mean Kya’s a firebender-

Katara: And she sneezed sparks this afternoon and lit the drapes on fire.

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you!

2765 notes • Posted 2021-01-31 02:58:32 GMT

#2

AU where AtLA ended on a shot that captured the themes of friendship, found family, and the 4 nations coming together in peace... instead of a shoehorned kiss (and everyone wearing Earth Kingdom outfits..?).

I’ve been a diehard Zutara shipper since forever, but I maintain that the show should have ended without any canon ships except Sokka/ Suki. This “alternate ending” shot is one I’ve wanted to do basically since the finale first premiered, so I’m pleased to have finally drawn it (only 13 years late...).

♥ Please do not repost. If you like it and want to show people, share a link to this page instead. Thank you! | Background from AtLA, but otherwise it’s mine. That’s right folks we have progressed from manips to original art like a pokemon evolving.

5066 notes • Posted 2021-05-16 04:28:55 GMT

#1

7794 notes • Posted 2021-01-03 05:01:34 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[plethora-of-words]

Performative Activism

We’ve all experienced it before - we open up Instagram at the end of a long day, just wanting a quick update on the lives of our friends and some celebrities before going to sleep. Rather, what appears on our feeds is an influx of new infographics, graphic videos, and trending hashtags on the bottom of every post regarding a current horrifying situation taking place in the world. Suddenly, multitudes of people who have posted nothing besides regular life updates and selfies for months are constantly reposting, retweeting, and liking posts about said situation, under the claim of ‘activism.’ This sort of activism is generally referred to as performative activism. 

Performative activism is defined as activism done in order to increase one's social capital and power, rather than because of devotion to the cause at hand. It is not a practice, or a long-standing dedication to a social justice or world issue such as proper activism. It is short lived and based on external factors - such as which issues are trending- rather than a personal interest or passion. The driving force of this problem is undoubtedly social media. It leads to people getting stuck in the mindset of wanting to appear ‘woke’ or well informed on the most current or popular issues, in order to gain more followers and attention. Social media also indirectly puts pressure onto people to post about these topics in order to fit in with the rest, or to prove that they’re also a good person who cares about social issues. Some may be seeking praise while engaging in performative activism, while others may just be ensuring that nobody comes at them for their silence. Despite the individual reason behind it, it’s undeniable that social media plays the largest role in propelling this phenomenon across the globe. 

One example of this situation would be the BLM movement that began in June 2020, with ‘Blackout Tuesday’ being one of the most prominent aspects of it. On that day, masses of people posted a singular black square on their instagram accounts to show their support for the Black community. However, it proved to be rather counterproductive, with the millions of black squares flooding important information and useful hashtags. Further, many people who knew nearly nothing about BLM, or never engaged in anything productive, simply posted a black square like the rest and claimed that they were ‘invested.’ Similar issues arose more recently in regards to the Stop Asian Hate movement, and have been continuously occurring for years.

Evidently, performative activism is solely focused on the most trending or popular issues at the moment. Multitudes of people hop onto the bandwagon of them and follow suit. But this brings forth another important question - what is it that causes certain issues to gain a significantly larger amount of traction than others that are equally prevalent? What determines the extent to which the popularity of a topic spreads, and makes it trending? 

Youtuber Olisunvia explained the reason behind this with a term she coined herself -the “Social Justice Trend Cycle”. She explains that typically, the socio-political issues that get the most attention by the general public are the issues that are jarring, or have a significant amount of shock value. They may be more jarring than others for a number of reasons, such as the time they took place (such as a religious hate crime during a religious festival), or whether they have a graphic video/photo to accompany them (such as the George Floyd case). She continues to explain - “these videos provide disturbing visuals that, in a way, make these events feel real to us,” causing us to feel the pain of the catastrophe on a deeper level. Large media sources then realize that the public is posting more about the issue at hand, and therefore choose to cover it to receive clicks, which in turn enforces the story in the general publics’ mind to a greater extent than before. This creates a sort of loop between the media and general public, which keeps going on and on until a new shocking issue takes its place. 

Even though performative activism is so common and nearly everyone with a social media account is guilty of it at some point or another, it does not diminish the serious consequences that it comes with. 

The main issue with performative activism is the way in which important social justice issues are generally reduced to being nothing but a trend. As we’ve seen, the issues that are most jarring typically gain the most popularity, and therefore, are trending for a certain period of time. But what happens after this period of time is over? What happens once the general public and media stop constantly posting about these topics because something new has come up? These issues are simply forgotten, even though they rage on long after they’re done being talked about. It creates the false notion that an issue is insignificant or even outdated as soon as its media coverage has decreased, stripping it of its complexities as a result. This also leads to certain issues that aren’t as jarring being brushed under the rug. As it’s all based on a trend cycle as well, people tend to develop very surface-level understandings of topics rather than researched ones, to be able to speak about it before it’s no longer ‘relevant.’ 

It gets even worse. Not only does performative activism accomplish nothing productive - it tends to demean those who are genuinely fighting for a cause silently, or behind the scenes, just because it’s not as loud. Journalist Yomi Adegoke calls it the ‘pics or it didn’t happen’ approach to grief. For instance, if somebody donates to an organization but doesn’t mention it or post about it, people feel as if it no longer counts just because they didn’t see the support firsthand. This is extremely problematic, because those who are doing authentic good never get the credit they deserve; rather, they’re invalidated. Further, companies and organizations who profit off of yearly events for minority groups - such as pride month - tend to get more recognition for their ‘support and activism’ when compared to people who are less socially active but much more invested and passionate about the same. It’s completely unfair and discourages anything useful being done. 

It’s not always easy to avoid getting caught up in performative activism, and to distinguish between what’s real and what’s not. We’re bound to slip up and make mistakes in the process, but it’s the little things that count. Listen to the problem at hand, do your due research, and take action once you’re educated and invested. What you’re doing doesn’t always have to go on social media; as long as it’s creating any amount of change, no matter how small or how big, it’s worth it.

[sir-twigo696]

Hey I know I don’t normally post stuff like this but I think it needs to be addressed

The amount of panphobia in the LGBTQIA+ community is shocking and it just gets overlooked

Like if you go on TikTok and go on the panphobia hashtag you will see videos that only talk about biphobia and just gloss over panphobia and in some they dont even mention it and the worst case I’ve seen someone put a tw for biphobia put not pan and it’s on the panphobia tag??

And panerasure in media there’s hardly any pansexual characters in media like I can only name a handful not even that of the top of my head

pansexuality is not biphobic or transphobic it’s a sexuality and is valid

Also stop with the frying pan jokes it was funny once but after a while they just get annoying

Mutual tagging

@sprinklzz @window-weather @demonprincezeldris @zorria

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: The Top Dan Memes of 2016

Date video was published: 01/14/2017 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 332

Dan’s first video of 2017 and the second of his “top memes” videos. It follows the same format as his first one from the year before. He asked for suggestions on Twitter and then promoed it on Instagram once it was posted too.

0:08 - yes, accurate description, yikes

0:36 - “2016 can fuck off” sounds about right

0:44 - wow the 2015 memes video really did get a lot of views

1:08 - he says “obtained” which makes me wonder if he didn’t pay for it but got sent it or something. I actually don’t hate it that much

1:21 - he did wear it in his first not-memes video of 2016...okay it does look a bit like a potato sack

1:44 - he did spend a ton of time traveling and filming for that. (I have never actually watched the full documentary.)

2:04 - poor Dan; he tried to tell them...and he was right

2:47 - okay these made me laugh 😂

3:07 - and there it is. honestly their joke craft videos are some of my favorite content

3:19 - part of these not dying is their own fault...still

3:25 - DNP also constantly use “protip” in videos after that

3:42 - that wasn’t exactly untrue that some other YouTube/internet people thought DNP’s fanbase was annoying...I think we’re better now

3:51 - just glossing over the whole TATINOF thing

4:08 - the ironic smile as he does another one, lol

4:30 - yeah I’m gonna go with disturbing

4:50 - I do feel this. I also have no idea how to pose in photos and I would hate to have to take that many all the time. He had posted some other peace-sign vs. sad outtakes on Instagram as well

5:32 - the picture he chose for “whitest” ...yep

5:41 - okay this is hilarious 😂 poor DNP

5:57 - of course they were too awkward to ask, haha

6:16 - “let’s just not talk about Phil” ...Dan looks so dead behind the eyes in this clip and Phil looks so proud of himself 😂

6:32 - the annotations here kill me...he’s right though those do not look like weed leaves at all

7:09 - there are a couple pictures of the bowl method in DAPGO. 

7:24 - this art is great actually

7:58 - this is hysterical...his dramatic reading and facial expressions are great. and here’s that Instagram selfie...where a ton of comments are just “disappointed, janice” ahahaha

8:32 - “well shit Janice, I have been told” is a line that runs through my head at random points

8:47 - getting hairspray in your eye accidentally is the worst

9:39 - clip from the TATINOF documentary...Phil is trying so hard

10:17 - “remixes...kind of” 😂

10:38 - this was at the DAPGOOSE thing in London that Dan had uploaded to his channel

11:10 - “sometimes I don’t upload videos for a few week” ...understatement of ever?

11:15 - ah, Dan’s diss track

11:32 - “way too real” yep, I have vague memories of the reaction to that video dropping and it was a lot

11:58 - ahahaha, wow. he had tweeted some about that when it happened too

12:18 - the amount of times he is saying “joke” and you can hear the quotes in his voice...and the clip from Louise’s video where she looks shocked and Phil is just nodding 👀

12:48 - how do you even get into those “various situations”...I feel like this one is on him

13:09 - this compilation is too much

13:23 - it’s so hard to tell with Dan sometimes but it would make sense for him to choose that to joke about if that’s true

13:30 - “exposing Phil” alrighty then

13:48 - he is so happy about this...and that photo set is absolutely fantastic

14:06 - aww the cute koala pictures again...and then not so cute, hahaha

14:39 - this was from ISG 8...he had to know what was going to happen; he can’t just throw a hashtag out there

15:06 - he talked about the horror of teen magazines in the last memes video too

15:18 - these are horrific 😨

15:35 - wtf

16:00 - I can’t deal with BONCAs talk

16:16 - I low-key love the sparkly suit jacket 🤐

16:40 - this is not quite as bad as the missing eyebrow one I don’t think. the memes for this one made me giggle

17:06 - I love that this is his favorite

17:30 - time for very dramatic Dan 

18:16 - this story is great

18:28 - that must have been such a surreal experience for Dan

18:43 - “me and Phil”

18:56 - that tweet especially with the icon he had at the time 😂

19:07 - that is so horrifyingly creative and really does sound like something Dan might tweet. I love Phil so much

19:31 - the dramatic conclusion

19:57 - that goes way to well with the previous tweet...definitely more disturbing

20:22 - ah, shittywatercolour!

20:57 - the starter pack ones are pretty good

21:14 - cannot deal with hello internet

22:09 - “you will never be able to escape your mistakes” too true

22:30 - he was excited about the new year, and then...

22:56 - Dan’s 2017 live shows are all still public on his side channel

The meme videos aren’t my top favorites, and I still think I like the 2015 one better, but this one is funny too! I think I care less about the meme bits and more about just hearing Dan talking about different moments from the year. Dan felt the need to clarify in the comments that he’s not actually upset in the comments because some people were worried about him, whoops.

[astrobstrd]

Fills me with all sorts of weird emotions to see G4TV die a second death as someone who spent absurd amounts of time watching it as a kid but had no desire for it to come back as an adult. Like it ultimately ended up becoming a way to get small(er) streamers some notoriety/eyes on their work in the long run, but the disconnect on what the network was, what it'd become, and what people actually wanted from it was insane

A network returning means some of the old has to come back, so you tepidly promise a lot of the show hosts returning, though only a few of them would, (because most of them have jobs with some degree of security and probably don't actually want to come back,) and rebuild some old names like AOTS and X-Play in a streaming format. Then it... doesn't get enough eyes on it to be sustainable. Likely because A) a corporate backed rebranding treated a streaming content house like a TV studio, and lost a ton of money on overhead B) people thought they were getting the exact same programming from 2004 again in 2022, which isn't feasible at all and 3) there are entirely too many options when it comes to getting games news, first looks, takes, etc.

I would routinely see people on Twitter who had no idea that G4 had returned, in replies to their more popular tweets, hashtags, and so on, and it was always wryly funny and sad to me. It was almost always the people who really wanted the old X-Play and AOTS back instead of the similar but different product they ended up making. The thing people don't realize is that a lot of that content is ass! It's not good at all! They don't really want it back! And I don't say that just because you'll occasionally hear a host or two drop the r slur or call something fruity, it was just genuinely poor quality, and at worst, decent ideas edited down to be palatable for what was largely a young male audience. I know this because I spent the better part of 2020 throwing on old episodes of X-Play and AOTS while I tried to distract from the pandemic. That being said, it was all that capital VG Video Gamers had to eat, and honestly? When it was good, it was pretty good! I don't wanna just straight up say all of what was produced at G4 in the 00s was bad, because it wasn't! There was soul, it was just suffocated by weird post 9/11 shock and awe comedy and, more importantly, horrible company mismanagement.

G4 succeeded in the early '00s because nothing was competing with it. It failed in the '20s because it was competing with everything and the people at the top had no fucking earthly idea what they were getting into. There is a sea's worth of gaming content being made every day. Dudes with 2 hours to kill after work and an Xbox with a $20 headset can upload a video of them playing a new game and reacting to it the day it comes out and they barely have to think about it.

That also isn't to discount the people who worked on the new G4 or the content's quality, by the by. They're all still people, people who were doing this shit as a means to supplement shitty 10 hour shifts at a retail job or going to school full time, or even just people who were stable but could get reliable paychecks instead of depending on subs and spotty YouTube revenue. They're now all people who have to find a new job immediately because they figured out through Twitter on a Sunday evening that they no longer have a job. It's fucking terrible. And people loved their content! Even if I personally didn't get it or vibe with it, there was still a decent community who showed up for these creators. I don't have to say the line about capitalism right? Everyone just kinda immediately thinks it about the gig economy and streaming and working to barely live now, right?

I had a whole thing here that paid lip service to Frosk and the fact that Gamergate drones are going to chant that Feminism Did G4 In like a company slogan but giving them any more lip service than I am currently is too much. Fuck 'em

Nostalgia is weird! G4 wasn't always as bad as people who post about them constantly re-running Cops and Ninja Warrior swear it was, but its content wasn't the Citizen Kane of games coverage. It was a weird, slapdash but ultimately Pretty Cool building block/lesson to be learned. Games journalism is an incredibly weird and ephemeral industry that's now also reckoning with a changing media landscape, and G4 is definitely a strange tangent/pockmark in its overall story

[fabioquartararhoe]

Hey 👋🏼 I’m sorry for the long text but I need to rant a bit. Am I the only one who’s kinda disappointed by the little amount of statements/actions from basically everyone (especially in sports)?

Today I woke up and suddenly there’s war in Europe. Something that never ever crossed my mind as a possibility. I’m 24 so I grew up with peace around me. I grew up without any real borders . And I can proudly say that in my generation myself & people around me really feel equally “European” & German (if you know what I mean). Something people of my parents generation mostly can’t understand because they still grew up with the leftovers of WW II. They grew up with a divided Germany, with the wall, closed borders, the Cold War. In school I’ve learnt so much about the cruelty of war and suddenly it’s real again.

I’ve been watching the news nonstop today. I feel shocked, I feel helpless, I feel paralysed. And I so deeply feel for the people of Ukraine. Innocent people that now have to live with the consequences of the actions of an autocrat with a twisted mind. A man that everyone either underestimated or simply couldn’t stop. There are people dying, family’s losing a loved one, people losing theirs homes. People fearing for their life every minute of this day and the coming days.

And somehow I feel like most people & organisations go on with business as usual. Only 3000km away-in the same Europe- F1 drives their cars around the circuit like “oh look at my car go vroom! Nothing wrong here!”. F1 Right now doesn’t even cancel the fucking Russian GP. Europa League is playing their little football games. Basketball played their World Cup qualifiers - even the game Russia : Netherlands took place this afternoon. The skiing organisation doesn’t wanna back off from their races in Russia as well.

I know you can’t stop the whole world because of a crisis. And I am aware that there have been wars going on the whole time and we went on with business as usual. But if not even a war in Europe - that could quite possibly soon turn into a global war - can make Europe itself stop in its tracks for a moment what can?

To me everything just seems so irrelevant with all the suffering right in front of our eyes. How can you calmly collect data to make a car faster when there’s an invasion only a few km further? What can a GP in Bahrain really mean when there’s this huge danger and suffering “next door”.

And maybe I’m being stupid or oversensitive right now but I just wished more people would have shown/would show what really is important. You know? Putting some priorities straight. At least openly acknowledging that right now there’s more important things.

i’m not disappointed bcs i knew that people/organizations will be silent at first and then everyone will post bcs it will be a new trend with a hashtag 🤷🏻‍♀️

as an eastern european born in the late 90s it wasn’t always peace here and i don’t feel equally european. romania joined eu in 2007 but i never felt european and i’m sure most of the people from eastern europe agree with me. I expected something bad to happen in ukraine after the annexation of crimea in 2014 by russia, this stupid war isn’t something new…

i agree with you, but you can’t just stop. the world economy is already in trenches, we can’t afford a war and when i say we i’m referring to the people who live paycheck to paycheck, who don’t have the money to pay for gas/electricity.

the sports events in russia will probably be canceled in the incoming weeks, but that’s it. f1 won’t cancel bahrain bcs they will lose money, these organizations care more about money anyway

you aren’t stupid or oversensitive. more western countries should help ukraine, but they always do this. like how many refugees do you think romania, poland or slovakia can afford when we are also struggling. you can’t just take them in your country and leave them to starve or in the cold, you know and if putin attacks one of these countries ww3 will start bcs of the nato article 5…a lot of people don’t realize how serious this thing is unfortunately

[dearingbooks]

The Difference one Woman can make.

Late Friday night in June, we had stopped for a burger on the way to the cinema, we used to do family movie nights at the cinema when a new film came out that the majority of us wanted to watch, this time I was the one who was reluctant to go, sadly we do this significantly less now.  So, stubborn 2015 me, rolling her eyes and dragging her feet up the cinema steps to find our seats to watch the new Jurassic World movie. Pathetic! I thought, why pay money to watch a movie about a dinosaur theme park! My parents had completely lost it! Huffing and puffing I took my seat on the aisle and sipped my blue raspberry slushie and looked up at the big screen. Ugh! I wanted it to be over, quickly. I sat down and shut my mouth, despite not wanting to watch it, I wasn’t going to spoil it for the others; but I didn’t get why they would want to watch it, I watched the trailer before going, was not impressed, it looked dumb!

However, as much as my pre-Jurassic self would not like, I found who I was during that movie, I discovered a whole new admiration for actors and movies. I found that I related to the main female protagonist, Claire Dearing. She did not need a man, or children, she was so focused on her career and let no one boss her around. She was top dog, and I completely fell for this fictional character. I evolved through that movie with her character, I felt content with being a strong female who put career over family. I wanted to embody this fictional woman; I wanted to be her.

On the journey home I typed ‘Claire Dearing actress’ into google and saw this stunning redhead- Bryce Dallas Howard. I immediately recognised her from movies I had watched prior, and I was completely astounded at her range of characters she can portray and portray them well. After scrolling through her Wiki page and reading news articles about her, I learned that she is the daughter of Ron Howard, one of my parents’ favourite people in film.

“Dad, that woman in the movie is Ron Howard's daughter”, I needed to inform my family that my now favourite woman in film is the daughter of my parents’ favourite people in film. My parents were shocked that I enjoyed the movie despite my loud vocalisation of not wanting to watch it.

Googling ‘Bryce Dallas Howard’ became my new after school routine, learning that she applied to acting school as Bryce Dallas to avoid people knowing she is the daughter of an already famous actor and director, and she had met her true love at nineteen and is still happily married to him. Yet what most stuck out to the self-conscious, body hating 2015 me, was that Bryce wasn’t a skinny twig of a woman that you see in most movies, she had classy curves and promoted body positivity despite some backlash the media gave her. I made a connection with this woman I had never met because I too received negative comments about my figure, yet Bryce took that on the shoulder and learned to love herself. I wanted to feel that self-love about myself that she acquired.

After watching Jurassic World, I explored many more fandoms, and from there I became obsessed with movie franchises and TV shows, actors and directors. I could not give you a full list of all of the fandoms I am in, there are too many to count, and they have all played a role in helping me evolve to who I am today. All because I latched onto one character from one movie I did not even want to watch, one film got me hooked on this life: it’s like a drug. I cannot stop. I also went back and forth with my hairstyle due to this woman; in the movie Bryce has a stunning ginger graduated bob with a fringe, however I never had the guts to go ginger until now; shame the hairdressers are all shut.

Now, almost six years later Bryce Dallas Howard has had great success in directing two episodes of The Mandalorian. Over the Christmas break I watched the show with my dad, sat on the sofa, fire lit, the chocolate Labrador curled up between us, peach vodka and diet lemonade in my hand, hot cup of tea in my dad’s. We binge watched both seasons in a week (it’s amazing) and he was shocked to see ‘Directed by Bryce Dallas Howard’ at the end of one, let alone two episodes. “Shit, she’s come far in the past few years” he said putting another episode on.

Bryce allowed me to find my best friend, Iz, through Instagram; Bryce has brought so many people together it is so surreal. And when I found out that Iz was going to Southampton University in 2019, a 20-minute drive from my house, I was finally able to meet her, because of one woman we both adore. I was friends with Iz for three years before I was able to meet her, I asked my school friend to come along with me so she could film the moment Iz, and I met! We got pancakes and watched the second Maleficent movie at the cinema, it was one of the best days of my life. I was so thankful that I met a truly hilarious and loving girl through this one actress! Because of Bryce Dallas Howard, I have made so many other friends from all over the globe as they too idolise Bryce and together we have created the ‘BDH online family’. A small group of us do regular zoom calls to catch up and chat about the recent photos and updates that Bryce has posted on Instagram, talk about Covid-19 and the types of restrictions and lockdown rules each of our countries has. During one of our calls, we had the craziest idea- Invite Bryce to one of our zoom calls. Bryce said yes! And after a few months of organisation, we had the date. The date was-

My.

Birthday.

The day came around and I was so nervous, it was 11pm exactly. The Wi-Fi had cut out fifteen minutes before the call. I was in tears. Mascara down my face, puffy eyes, I joined the call with a few minutes to spare before Bryce joined it. My mum hung around off camera for the first 5 minutes to double check the Wi-Fi was stable, luckily it stabilised. The other girls had never been so glad to see me, everyone was panicked for me; I could not miss it for the world (despite telling my parents, in floods of tears, that I cannot join and that it’s the end of that).

“Kat! You’re here!” “Happy birthday!” “Are you okay? The Wi-Fi sorted?”

They all chimed, happy to see my little face in the bottom right corner of their computer screens. Luckily Iz was there, otherwise it would have been extremely awkward with only one of us since we are known as a duo in the online family, we have to do everything together, we come in a pair and there can’t just be one of us.

“Shit girls, that was stressful”

I hadn’t realised I was holding my breath until I exhaled the large breath when my    Wi-Fi settled, and I was on the call, I fixed my makeup and was ready to meet Bryce.

The few minutes we had before Bryce joined were intense, two of the girls left to get a drink and we weren’t sure if they would be back in time, luckily they did return.

“No way!” One of them, Anna who was hosting the call, gasped “Bryce is in the waiting room!”

We all freak for no more than 10 seconds, we compose ourselves then our faces are reshuffled, and we see this stunning glowing face that we all admire smiling at us. Omg, it's her.

“Hi girls!”

I have never smiled for so long in my entire life, my cheeks hurt afterwards. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all, it just hurt as I thought I would only be smiling for half an hour, since that is how long we were told Bryce had. However, we were speaking to Bryce for nearly an hour and a half, she just kept talking and asked us questions! She was so lovely to talk to, so relaxed; it was if I was talking to a friend that I had known for years!

“Before we go I want to all sing Kat a happy birthday!”

My idol wanted to sing me a happy birthday! The other girls were really ecstatic for me, I still can’t believe to this day that The Bryce Dallas Howard wanted to sing to me!

It was both the best and the worst happy birthday song that has be sung to me. It was the best because, well my idol was singing to me! And proposed the singing! It was the worst in terms of the actual song as they were all out of sync and lagging, it was bloody hilarious!

At 10:27pm the next evening, watching a rerun of Game of Thrones on Sky, I got a notification ‘Brycedhoward just posted’, I clicked the notification then see our smiling faces on her page, she posted a screenshot of our call on her social media! The call was supposed to be a secret so other fans weren’t upset. There’s a few snotty comments on the post, but they’re just jealous and to be frank, I don’t care! My smiley face is on her page forever! All ten of us have printed the screenshot of Bryce’s post off and put it in a frame, one day all ten of us hope to congregate somewhere, most likely in America, and sign the backs of all of our photos. I’m still in utter awe and shock-  How many celebrities have you seen that would do a free zoom call with some fans? Not a lot, and that amount is even slimmer when they talk for an extra hour than scheduled. Bryce truly is one of a kind and the best idol anyone could ever hope to have.

Compared to a zoom call with Bryce herself, the few times she has liked my comments on her posts feel like nothing in comparison! I remember being so excited, running downstairs to my parents.

“Mum! Dad! Bryce liked my comment! She knows I exist!”

“Was it actually her? Remember when you got a Facebook request from Robert Downey Jr and it turned out it was a fake account?”

I rolled my eyes at her, it was Bryce, it was her verified account. The comment was a book recommendation I had for her, she posted on her hashtag BDHbookshelf and I thought I’d take a chance and comment a book recommendation I had for her, and the chance paid off.

I cannot wait to see what the future holds with Bryce, she has been such an inspiration to me for the past few years, and she promotes such wonderful causes and body positivity! I hope to one day meet her and thank her in person for changing my life for the better, and I think I’ve come up with the perfect opportunity to meet her- Iz and I have decided to travel up to London for the Jurassic World Dominion premiere in 2022 (if Covid lets us!), we’d get a hotel and actually meet Bryce in person, as well as meeting other members of the online family!

Words cannot fully contain the admiration that I possess for Bryce, her soul is utterly and truly exquisite, she has been such a visionary while I’ve been transitioning from a girl who had no idea who she was with no dreams or aspirations, to a woman who has now found so many new friends and now knows who she wants to be.