#Counterpoint Research

[dr-iphone]

2025 Q1 智慧手機排行榜出爐！iPhone 16 拿下全球銷售冠軍

根據市調機構 Counterpoint Research 最新資料，2025 年第一季全球賣最好的手機是 iPhone 16，緊接著是 iPhone 16 Pro Max、iPhone 16 Pro 與 iPhone 15，也就是說，榜單前四全被蘋果包下。 相較 2024 年 Q1 是 iPhone 15 Pro Max 奪冠，這次標準版 iPhone 16 能擠下 Pro 系列奪冠，某種程度也顯示出「基本款越來越強」，跟 Pro 版本的差距在縮小。 Continue reading 2025 Q1 智慧手機排行榜出爐！iPhone 16 拿下全球銷售冠軍

[gizchinaes]

PC crecen un 6,7% a nivel global: Lenovo arrasa, Huawei aparece como 'otros'

Según el último informe de Counterpoint Research, una destacada firma de investigación de mercados, los envíos globales de PCs experimentaron un incremento interanual del 6,7% en el primer trimestre de 2025, alcanzando un total de 61,4 millones de unidades. Este crecimiento se atribuye a varios factores, como la aceleración de los envíos por parte de los fabricantes ante la inminente…

[diagnozabam]

Vânzările iPhone în scădere: provocări pentru Apple într-o piață globală în creștere

În ultimul trimestru din 2024, vânzările de iPhone au scăzut cu 4.1%, în timp ce piața globală de smartphone-uri a înregistrat o creștere de 6.4%, conform datelor Counterpoint Research. Această situație ridică semne de întrebare pentru Apple, care se confruntă cu o scădere a interesului consumatorilor pentru actuala gamă de produse. Contextul declinului După creșterile semnificative din perioada…

[inspire2rise]

eSIM/iSIM to Dominate 70% of Cellular Devices by 2030

Counterpoint’s latest “eSIM Device Market Outlook” report predicts that from 2024 to 2030, global shipments of xSIM-enabled devices will exceed 9 billion units, with a compound annual growth rate of 22%. This forecast includes all form factors such as hardware-based eSIM (eUICC), iSIM (iUICC), nuSIM, and soft SIM. The launch of eSIM-only iPhone models in the US in 2022 marked a turning point,…

[scribesynnox]

Mer Worldbuilding

Ooooohohohohohoho!!! Man oh man oh man oh MAN!!!!! I have!! SO!!! Many ideas on mer culture but no where to publish them UNTIL NOW!!! With @keferon's mer au!!!

I just have so many thoughts!!!!

Different kinds of culture in different regions! Merfolk who live in rivers and lakes and near the shores, vs those who live out in the open ocean near the surface vs those who live in the abyss zone vs those who live near the ice caps. Religions centered around moon and stars and the rise and fall of the ocean as she breathes.

So like, this is more of a worldbuilding post than apocalyptic ponyo post but whatever, we ball.

merfolk who live in colder waters like the deep sea or near ice caps have antifreeze proteins in their tissues so they don't freeze

hey, a tf thought here: Skyfire being a big giant marshmallow of a mer, chilling in the north and just minding his own business, doing some research on the magnetic fields in the poles, but gets bothered by this tiny screaming little creature. He's pretty sure that's a human, but he's also pretty sure that humans aren't supposed to be this far north. Maybe it's lost? Poor thing. Meanwhile, researcher Starscream is screaming at whatever giant stupid fish keeps fucking up his readings and it's cold as SHIT out here and god DAMN it, he just needs ONE GOOD READING before he can go back, BUT THE STUPID- oh fuck that's a giant human-fish-mer thing actually. Oh shit.

counterpoint: skinny ass mer starscream doing research in the north who befriends the weird human that also lives here (though he didn't befriend Skyfire initially cuz the whole POINT of moving out here is so that he didn't HAVE to deal with the weird nosy uncanny things that have two weird arm things instead of a tail. But Skyfire wore him down and now they're buddies :) Skyfire is all bundled up in his arctic gear and Starscream is just out here like the temperatures here aren't cold enough to kill a man.)

Also, this means that Starscream has to worry SO much about Skyfire freezing to death, oops :)

and they were BOTH researchers! :D

merfolk who live near the hydrothermal vents being more poison resistant cuz of all the toxic metals there.

Much like how humans fucked around and found out with fire and electricity, merfolk fucked around with currents, thermal energy, stupid amounts of pressure, and magnetic fields. Those are their main power sources, depending on the area, like how humans primarily use electricity.

Hey hey hey, who wants to talk about eels for this tf mer au? Because i wanna talk about the idea of electricity being a relatively new power source for merfolk, that used to be a less common thing. Like, it was definitely used before for a LONG time, but it used to just not be feasible to have on a wide scale, and limited to just areas that have eels. And with transformers in the mix, combining mechs and eels and electricity, i don’t know what to do with it man, but the potential for something fun is there.

Ooooooo, prosthetics and cyborgs and mechanical enhancements maybe? I don’t know, I’ll have to get back to this later.

FUCK MAN, THINK ABOUT THE WHALE FALLS. Some regions who see it as a gift from above, other seeing it as just another part of the cycle of life, part of the ebb and flow of the ocean, life dying and feeding many others, and other regions just seeing it as a tragedy, a great majestic creature dying and lost to the deep abyss below.

I spend a lot of time on how people will have different philosophies based on the world around them and the ocean is a very different world indeed.

Speaking of religion, what about Drift? What would his religion be if he was a merman? I don't know enough about Drift to say what sort of philosophies and ideals he would have as a mer, but it would be so fun to think about.

Red is one of the first colors to go the deeper you get into the ocean. Many fish that deep down there flat out can't see the color red cuz they never had to. Ergo, red reading as caution or danger or scared or sneaky, etc, to any merfolk that come from the deep, because red is used as camouflage at those levels.

BIOLUMINESCENCE. Oh my FUCK can we talk about bioluminescence? Because ooooooo pretty shiny lights that flash and flicker go brrrrrrrrrr.

You know that moment in ponyo where they communicated via flashing lights? That morse code bit? Yeah, that but for merfolk. Flashing lights at each other so they don't have to whistle so loud, or in closer conversations, biolights just being used as a mood indicator, like posture and body language.

Also! Speaking of all those different mer cultures in different regions and zones, the TRADE!! The travel and trade between these regions and zones! Deep sea folk swimming upwards and having to squint from the bright lights, needing sunglasses. Surface layer merfolk swimming downwards and having to use specialized sonars or red light flashlights, like glowing red rocks or torches or something, in order to being to see their surroundings.

I have! More to say! But I am eepy and if I don't post this bit now, I never will, so out this goes, hit post.

[hollowistheworld]

A lot has been said about Leebeebee's existence, much negative, but personally I think she's a great addition. Not only because I like when characters being handsy/flirty/objectifing are portrayed as being weird and creepy as fuck so everyone can feel how I (an ace) feel 94% of the time, but because I think she's there, in large part, to be a counterpoint to Murderbot itself.

LBB is weird. She has no filter, no apparent social skills, and she is soooooo suspicious. Like, it is really obvious she's up to something by the time she finally pulls that gun out. But no one, with the possible exception of Gurathin (I can't quite tell if he's suspicious or just like this with anyone he doesn't know well) really bats an eye at her. They think she's a bit odd, but they wave it off as cultural differences or shock or whatever. She gets the benefit of the doubt.

Unlike Murderbot. Who is questioned and side-eyed for almost everything it says. It's on the verge of a nervous breakdown for the first four episodes because they're paying attention to it and they are thisclose to guessing something is up. If even one other person was as wary as Gurathin, Murderbot would have been toast (going by Ratthi's 'you don't trust anyone' comment I'm guessing Gurathin tends toward the paranoid, especially with company people/equipment).

Because LBB is human. And Murderbot is not. And it's not that the PresAux bunch are lying when they say they believe Murderbot is a person, they do - theoretically. On paper. But that doesn't stop them from having preconceived biases. It doesn't stop them from consuming the same media as everyone else, where SecUnits are always going on murder sprees. So their guard is up around MB even when it hasn't really done anything (see: their suspicion that it's been hiding the faulty maps from them) and it is not up around LBB, even when she's asking for specifics about their research and asking where monster attacks happened.

And I think that's very deliberate. The PresAux people are good people, but good intentions don't automatically give you the tools to be a good person in every circumstance. They believe Murderbot is a person on an intellectual level, but they're having trouble getting that belief to an emotional, instinctual level. Mensah is the closest, after getting to see it watching its show and singing its theme song. But it's a viewpoint that's going to take work, and I think the difference in how they treat LBB and how they treat MB really helps show that, and I think that's doing a lot of good build-up for how season 1 is (likely) going to end

[qqueenofhades]

So I keep seeing people play the "Harris is a Cop, so I'm not voting for her because ACAB" card, and not even pointing out that she was a DA/Prosecutor rather than an actual cop seems to change their minds - as far as they're concerned, working with cops in any capacity makes you a cop. Do you happen to have anything that'd make for a good counterpoint to this argument (or, at the very least, something to make those of us who still plan on voting for her despite our dim views on Law Enforcement not feel so bad about it)?

....Not feel so bad about it?

First of all: these are laughably, incredibly unbelievably unserious people, and frankly, my first advice would be NOT to bother trying to engage with them at all, because there is nothing whatsoever they will ever accept in the way of logical proof to change their minds. First it was "you can't ask me to vote for Biden specifically because of [insert issue here.]" This changed a lot, from Roe getting overturned by the corrupt SCOTUS, to the train strike (hey anyone remember that?) to student loan forgiveness and then had settled firmly on Gaza. So now, lo and behold, they're given exactly what they asked for: a new younger candidate who is not Biden and explicitly more progressive on the Gaza issue (Harris was the first member of the administration to openly call for a ceasefire). So they turn their noses up, rush to their favorite 2020 disinformation founts that were first spouted when they were trying to sabotage her in favor of Bernie (who endorsed Biden pretty strongly before he dropped out), flirt with Jill "Actual Agent of Putin" Stein, and other equally expected and equally bullshit maneuvers. Lololololololol online leftists. Never change, or something.

That said: because their minds are so set that they will never vote for any Democrat ever, you can't really give them any logical information to separate them from this conclusion. I don't have the links on hand, but etc Google and Wikipedia are free: Harris's tenure as district attorney and California AG was progressive even by modern standards, and it was happening in the early 2000s: she refused to prosecute for low-level weed offenses, pushed for harder sentences for assault weapons, performed gay marriages LONG before it was legal even in San Freaking Francisco, refused to seek the death penalty, worked with restorative justice programs, etc. This was after she was a first-generation American child of brown immigrants who took advantage of equal-opportunity education programs to go to law school, and her parents were already high-achieving academics (one a cancer researcher from India and one an economics professor from Jamaica). Sure sure, she definitely seems exactly like Derek Chauvin to me. Critical thinking is great! #VoteJillStein! A literal puppet of Putin and unabashed Assad fangirl is definitely the pro-peace morally correct option here!*

In other words, the morons do not give a single shit about factual reflections of Kamala's record. They do not care about whether her time as a district attorney was progressive (it was) and whether she was actually a cop (she wasn't). They're so wedded at the hip to their braindead disinformation propaganda that now we're going to see the excuses change at lightspeed from why they can't vote for Biden specifically to why they can't vote for Harris specifically. None of it will be remotely tethered to reality and all of it will be in extreme and obvious bad faith. As I said, there are plenty of persuadable voters elsewhere who HAVE been energized by her elevation to candidacy. If you are indeed interested in winning voters to her side (as opposed to having to find reasons to justify yourself to the All Voting Is Evil crowd who will never listen to or believe you anyway), I suspect your time would be better spent elsewhere, and outside the echo-chamber leftist social media space in general.

Aside from that, I have gotten a few hand-wringy asks about Kamala and the election overall, and I gotta say, I am not going to waste my time and effort replying to them. We have about 100 days to win this election or become a fascist dictatorship. We are already in uncharted territory, but the replacement of Biden with Harris went UNIMAGINABLY smoothly, far, far more than anyone (including me) ever expected. It reminds me of the presto-chango that the French center, left, and center-left parties pulled off to replace candidates, IN FIVE DAYS, to better position themselves to defeat the fascists. Compared to that, three and a half months is a cakewalk, but we still absolutely do not, DO NOT, have time to sit around worrying and hand-wringing about this or that hypothetical Bad Thing. It deeply unsurprises me to hear that US Online Leftists are still throwing snits and pitching their toys out of the pram rather than getting on board, but the rest of us don't have any time to waste and need to apply our energy to where it will be best put to use. So yes.

*extreme, extreme sarcasm alert

[reveryfics]

Look At Me

Dr. Phosphorus x Male Reader

Summary: You knew Alex before his ultimate demise, choosing to move forward instead of dwell on what happened to him. Alex however, never forgot you.

A/N: Just finished watching Creature Commandos, and it revived my obsession with DC and Dr. Phosphorus (Thank you Alan Tudyk) If this ends up doing well, I'll probably start writing some DC fics and taking requests for 'em.

A sigh escaped your lips, a weary sound that echoed the exhaustion clinging to your bones. You rubbed at your temples, the persistent throbbing a dull counterpoint to the frantic beat of your heart. Squeezing your eyes shut, you tried to block out the world, the relentless images that flickered behind your eyelids. You slipped your glasses from your face, the cool metal a small comfort against your overheated skin, and leaned back against the worn leather of your office chair. The harsh glow of the television screen painted the workspace in a sterile light, the same news report looping endlessly, a broken record of Gotham’s latest tragedies. Three weeks. Three agonizing weeks of the same story, the same faces, the same gnawing fear. Gotham, when was it ever not in chaos? It felt like a city perpetually teetering on the edge of some cataclysmic event. And now, this. Dr. Alexander James Sartorius, vanished without a trace. And then, the brutal, senseless murder of a crime boss, his wife, his children… the news cycle churned with death and despair, a constant reminder of the fragility of life.

Each time you heard Alex’s name, a fresh wave of grief washed over you, followed by a crushing sense of guilt. You’d worked with him, believed in his research, clung to the hope that his experiment would actually work. But it was his reckless decision, his desperate acceptance of funding from a known criminal, that had sealed his fate, or so you’d convinced yourself. Even though a small, stubborn voice whispered that something wasn’t right, that the story they were telling was incomplete. A low groan rumbled in your chest. You pushed yourself up from the chair, your muscles stiff and protesting. Your coat hung on a nearby hook, a silent promise of escape. You flicked off the lights, plunging the room into darkness, and silenced the television’s incessant drone. The quiet was a welcome relief.

As you drove home, a strange, unsettling green glow emanated from your living room window, casting an eerie light onto the quiet street. A cold dread coiled in your stomach, a primal instinct screaming at you to turn the car around, to flee from whatever – or whoever – was waiting for you in the shadows. You knew, deep down, that this wasn't good. This wasn't right. But you couldn’t run. You had to know.

Parking the car, you took a shaky breath, the cool night air doing little to calm your racing pulse. Each step towards the front door felt like a monumental effort. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed by the first fat drops of rain, splattering against the pavement. Your mind raced, conjuring up a thousand terrifying scenarios. It’s just your imagination, you told yourself, a desperate attempt at self-preservation. You’re tired. That’s all.

“Frankie,” you called out, your voice trembling slightly as you stepped inside. “I’m home.” A low purr greeted you, a familiar comfort in the face of the unknown. The dim light revealed your cat, her plump figure a welcome sight as she rolled playfully on the floor. “Good girl,” you murmured, trying to ignore the nagging feeling of unease.

Moving through the house, you noticed an old photo frame lying face down on the floor. You didn’t remember knocking it over, but then again, your memory had been hazy lately, consumed by thoughts of Alex. You tried not to dwell on him, tried to convince yourself that he was nothing more than a colleague, a lab partner. But the lie felt hollow. You picked up the frame, your heart clenching at the sight of the picture. “Oh, Alex,” you whispered, your voice thick with emotion. “Why couldn’t you just listen?” You set the frame back down, a single tear tracing a path down your cheek. Turning towards your bedroom, you began to undress, the weight of the day pressing down on you.

Unbeknownst to you, you were being watched. The strange green glow you’d seen from the window was not a figment of your imagination. It was real, and it was moving, stalking you through the quiet house. Its eyes, or what was to be perceived as eyes, burned into your naked form as you stepped into the shower, seeking the warmth and comfort of the water.

The figure lingered in the doorway, the eerie green light casting long, distorted shadows across the bathroom. A low groan, a sound that seemed to emanate from the very depths of its being, filled the air. The heels of its shoes clicked against the tile floor, each step deliberate, until it stood just outside the shower curtain.

With a sudden, violent rip, the curtain was torn aside, a blast of icy air chilling your skin. A hand, hot and distorted, clamped over your mouth, and a searing heat enveloped your body as you were pulled back, pressed against an unfamiliar surface.

You were spun around, your eyes widening in terror as you stared at your reflection in the full-length mirror on the wall. The glow, the unsettling green light, emanated from the creature holding you captive. It was a skeletal figure, irradiated, its form both grotesque and strangely familiar. You struggled against its grip, your heart pounding in your chest, but your struggles ceased abruptly when it spoke your name.

Alex. That voice, raspy and distorted, but undeniably his, echoed in your mind. You must be dreaming, you thought frantically. This couldn’t be real. Alex was gone. He was missing, or dead. You had to accept that.

“Look at me!” he growled, his voice laced with pain. He seemed almost desperate, clinging to you as if afraid you’d disappear. You had squeezed your eyes shut, trying to retreat into the safety of unconsciousness, but his words pierced through your fear. “Look. At. Me.” he commanded, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Your eyelids fluttered open, tears streaming down your face as you met your own terrified gaze in the mirror. Or was it your gaze? Behind you, reflected in the glass, was Alex. Or what was left of him.

“Alex?” you whispered, the sound muffled by the lingering pressure on your jaw.

He released his hold on your mouth, pushing you forward slightly so that you were inches from his…his new form. “In the flesh, baby,” he chuckled, but the sound was hollow, a distorted echo of the laughter you once knew.

You turned away, reaching for a towel, desperate to avoid his gaze. His hand shot out, his grip surprisingly strong, and forced your face back towards him. “Come on,” he rasped. “I ain't that hideous, am I?”

You shook your head, the burning sensation returning, spreading through your veins like wildfire. “You’re dead,” you whispered, the words barely audible. “You can’t be here.”

You sat on the sofa, Frankie curled in your lap, offering a small measure of comfort. You stared at Alex, at the…thing he had become. Everything he’d told you, the horrifying truth of what had happened, was almost too much to bear.

“You forgot me?” His voice cracked, a sound that seemed to grate against bone. He looked…hurt. But it was difficult to decipher emotions in that skeletal face.

“No, I…I tried to move on,” you admitted, the words heavy with guilt. “All I could do was think about you, about what happened…and eventually, I had to let go.” The words tasted like ash in your mouth. You hesitated, knowing that you hadn’t truly let go. There were reminders of Alex everywhere you looked, every corner of your life haunted by his memory.

“Then what is it?” he hissed, his voice laced with anger and something else…something that sounded like despair. “Why can’t you look at me?”

You finally lifted your gaze, tears streaming down your cheeks, your body shaking with sobs. “I loved you!” you cried, the raw emotion tearing through you. “I loved you, and now…now you’re a fucking walking irradiated skeleton who’s lost his fucking mind!” It was Alex, you knew it in your heart. But he was also…something else. Something changed, twisted by whatever had happened to him.

A puff of air escaped his mouth, a silent expression of pain. “You loved me?” he questioned, his hands clenching into fists at his sides.

You hiccuped, focusing on stroking Frankie’s fur, finding solace in the familiar touch. “Still do,” you murmured, the words barely a whisper.

Alex rose from his chair and knelt before you, his hand reaching out to cup your cheek. The burning sensation returned, but this time, you didn’t flinch. “I love you too,” he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. “But look at me. I’m a monster. There’s nothing to love.”

You sighed, ignoring the heat radiating from his touch. “Maybe,” you said softly, your voice thick with tears. “But even monsters deserve love.”

[megtrns]

thinking of the little moments between you and the bots experiencing intimacy together for the first time, how foreign yet exciting it must be to explore one another — the rush, the thrill, the quiet, almost hesitant interactions, where every touch and look feels electrifying. (sfw!) (slightly suggestive)

rodimus urgently running his servos down your body: metal fingers grabbing your thighs and squeezing your hips. too impatient to wait and too eager to slow down, he starts fumbling with the hem of your shirt. unsure of how to undress you, the captain glared at the material as if it had personally insulted him, almost tearing the cotton to shreds. and for a brief second, it was just the two of you standing under the half-light, laughing together as you teach him how to pull it over your neck. he tries to be careful, going as slow as he can even when his hands shake in anticipation — cooling fans growing louder with every inch of skin you reveal underneath.

minimus brushing your hair to the side to reveal your nape, the cold air of the room acting as a delicious counterpoint to the sudden press of his warm mouth against the back of your neck, causing you to shiver. the first kiss had been tentative, shy, and barely ghosting over your skin. you understand that the last thing your lover wants to do is to hurt you, but judging from the noises you're making : breathless and begging, minimus has nothing to worry about. and so the point-one-percenter carefully tilts you forward to continue a path down your bare spine, making you sing into the pillows.

skids staring at you from across the table, servos drumming against the chair. even when your eyes were cast down to read the papers in your hand, you could sense him watching—the gears in his processor turning. you knew it was because you had your glasses on, and for some reason, the mech had taken quite the fascination with them. with a call of your name, you looked up, fully expecting him to distract you with one of his usual hypotheticals. instead, he used a single servo to push your glasses up the bridge of your nose. tilting your face upwards, skids continued to shamelessly stare, flashing you a lopsided grin before swooping down to press his mouth against yours.

first aid trying his best to undo the buttons of your shirt, big, blocky servos struggling against the fabric. you didn’t want to intervene, urging him to continue and using this opportunity to steady your breathing. the medbay was void of any sound, save for the incessant whirring of the monitor systems and machinery faintly beeping in the background. once the last button came undone, it was as if every single noise suddenly ceased to exist. all you could focus on was the medic sinking to his knees, resting the side of his helm against your chest—audials trying to pick up the faint beating of your heart. he said this was for research, but even with his visor, you didn’t miss how his optics followed the flush blooming from your face down your neck.

[inthecontrary]

Not my place to continue that previous thread, but I don't like how I need to say this as a reminder:

If you are intersex-questioning, it does not give you the authority to wave off other intersex people who have done their research. You cannot go making such claims without having read a bit of theory and studies at a bare minimum. You cannot go making such claims while getting things about intersex variations wrong.

It's square one of intersex and trans theory to understand people belonging to these minorities can propagate ideas which are harmful to their own kind of people. It's possible to be intersex and intersexist at the same time.

I see it happening with some intersex people using DSD as a blanket term. I've seen some act neutral and shrug off IGM because they do not respect the bodily autonomy of a child, because the doctors must always be right.

It is not transphobic to point out that brain sex theory is intersexist because brain sex theory itself is bioessentialist and transphobic as well. It is a harmful trifecta that is used to reinforce both the gender and sex binaries. Brain sex theory is part of transmed/truscum theory since they all seek to reinforce binaries and bioessentialism.

Please don't go acting like an authority if you don't grasp the basic tenets of what you're talking about. It can end up spreading harmful misinfo. It is on you as a perisex or intersex-questioning person to understand that you might be wrong about some things, and you should not plug your ears.

Idk I'm just tired of people saying baseless stuff and doubling down when given a valid counterpoint. It ends up making other people's lives harder as a result. Many of the intersex people on here are also trans so calling them transphobic is a bit uh...

[darlingdaisyfarm]

Oh okay cool!! Would you be alright writing a blurb or just anything of Ford with a body conscious s/o? (If you’re comfortable with it) if you aren’t it’s okay!!

A BODY YOU COME HOME TO

ford pines x gn!reader, tags: suggestive, mentions of sex, insecurities, hurt/comfort, fluff

a/n: hi!! first of all, i’m so sorry this took me forever to write. i kept doubting myself, i think by “body conscious” you meant a reader who’s insecure about their body? i tried to google it but honestly the internet was zero help lol. either way, this one got personal for me too, since i relate to it a lot. i hope you'll feel better soon, remember you're loved and appreciated ♡

without a doubt, Ford got attached to you. so deeply attached that the first thing he did upon waking was reach for your hand in bed, searching with half-lidded eyes and sleep-stiff fingers until he felt your warmth. never, not even in the loneliest corners of dimension after dimension, had he imagined he’d one day wake with someone like you beside him. someone who made the phrase “TRUST NO ONE” seem laughably adolescent.

after the betrayal he had suffered, Ford never believed he could hold affection for anyone again, not like this. not with the same clarity and gravity he reserved for his most sacred theories. and yet, there you were, this miraculous anomaly he couldn’t catalogue or predict or quantify, no matter how many pages he filled with notes in the margins of his journals.

being his usual self, Stanford tried to rationalize it all at first. he told himself it was fascination, pure intellectual admiration. he told himself he simply found your presence stimulating, your mind brilliant, your voice a pleasant counterpoint to his own. but soon, even that mask fell.

he loved being near you.

Ford loved the way you argued a point. loved hearing your opinions, no matter how trivial. he found himself initiating more and more questions, soon enough not about science or theory, but about you, personal stuff. your childhood, fears, strange memories from school. your relationship with your body. your strange sleepiness. and while he would never call himself a good psychologist (emotions still made his hands tremble far more than interdimensional mechanics ever did), his questions turned careful, personal.

and you answered. you let him in.

it grew from there. midnight conversations over lukewarm tea, tipsy dialogues with your legs in his lap, and a thousand shared looks that said more than any words could. eventually, the two of you made it official. you could say with a proud, bashful smile, yes, this nerd is mine. and when you called him “sweetheart” or “baby“ in public, Ford blushed so deeply he forgot how to form coherent sentences for five entire minutes.

he admired you. that much was obvious. admired you as a man, as a scientist, as a researcher.

as a man, he touched your body reverently. gently and carefully, feeling as if he was holding interdimensional rift he couldn’t afford to damage back then.

as a scientist, he helped you investigate the ever-present fatigue that haunted you, he ran tests, found imbalances, offered solutions.

as a researcher, he was relentless in his efforts to make you feel better. in every possible sense.

and as a lover, he could never forgive himself if a moan from your lips came out as “Ford, that hurts” instead of “Ford, right there, it feels so good.”

he wasn’t oblivious. after months of intimacy, he began to notice some things in your behavior. how you turned down compliments, especially the ones aimed at your body. how you avoided mirrors. how you always insisted on dim lighting during sex.

“oh, i think it’s hotter this way, you know?” you'd say with a casual shrug, keeping your hoodie on, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

no, Ford didn’t know.

didn't know because he noticed how your hands would twitch nervously when he tried to slip off another layer. how you’d hide your stomach or chest. how you flinched, barely, when his fingertips ghosted near a part of you you didn’t like.

he never pushed, but his heart ached. how could you not understand? Ford didn’t need a perfect body. he needed you. in all your soft, human complexity.

and god, he wished you could see yourself the way he did.

it was very late at night, you had just stepped out of the shower, skin damp, scented faintly with your favorite shampoo, which Ford never failed to comment on, even if only in passing, as if he couldn't quite help himself.

Ford himself came in not long after. from the lab, his shoulders slouched with exhaustion, eyes rimmed with the soft fatigue that came from hours of research. but even when every bone in his body called out for sleep, he was never too tired to lay his six-fingered hands on you.

he saw his darling. you, walking across the room with wet hair clinging to your temples, skin flushed from the heat of the shower. and his breath hitched a little, like it always did. he knew, knew with grim certainty, that you'd kill him if you ever discovered how many sketches of you were hidden in his journal. anatomical studies, he'd say if pressed.

soon enough his arms were around you from behind. his hands cradled your waist so gently, “it’s so late,” he murmured into your neck. “i missed you today.”

his lips brushed against the damp skin just beneath your ear, and you felt his body behind yours, larger, heavier. Stanford kissed your neck unhurriedly, continuing praising you, “you smell incredible,” he breathed, nosing your hair with a dreamy soft sigh. “and your hair, soaked like that, darling, you look. . .”

but you said nothing. and Ford noticed. his brows furrowed just slightly, and though he didn’t stop, he noted to himself that your silence made him uneasy.

you ended up in bed, breathing soft, with him settled between your thighs, as it often happened at least three times a week. he’d managed to shrug off his coat and boots, at least, too distracted to undress fully, but even clothed, you could feel how hot his body was.

his mouth pressed kisses into your skin, moving lower, chasing the trail of goosebumps he left in his wake. but something in you wouldn’t yield, not fully. even when he kissed that sensitive spot on your neck that always made you whimper, you remained quiet.

while Ford wasn't looking, too busy with your neck, your face expressed an emotion of irritation. and not because you didn’t want him. god, you did. his voice, his body, his face, it all made your stomach twist and your hands ache to touch. but lately, the thoughts had gotten louder.

and today, they won.

you couldn’t relax and find the rhythm. every soft graze of his lips against your skin was a fight with yourself. you were being torn between want and shame. and your scientist felt it.

still between your thighs, trying to coax some pleasure from you, he whispered a phrase you've heard very often, “do you want my mouth first, sweetheart, or my fingers?”

he meant it sweet. but you flinched, just slightly, and turned your face away, no longer able to fight this condition.

“i don’t want this.”

Ford stilled completely, hearing the words that were his worst fear. his mind raced, instantly riddled with guilt, had he misread you? had he hurt you?

you turned further away, just couldn’t hold it in anymore. “it’s not you,” a whisper, “god, it’s never you. i want to. i want you so badly, Ford, it’s just—“ you stopped as your throat went dry.

“do you want to stop?”

you nodded, still unsure. not fully, but enough.

“darling?” he prompted, watching you gently.

you blinked at the ceiling, as if searching for the right sentence carved somewhere up there. “i just i don’t like how i look. i know it doesn’t always show, i know i act like i’m fine about it, but i’m not. not really.”

Ford didn’t interrupt so you continued.

“my stomach, my thighs, my hips, especially when i’m sitting. my arms. my face sometimes. even my damn chest. i think i’ve been pretending i don’t care about it for so long, i even started to believe it myself. but when it’s time for things like this— when we’re close or having sex, and your hands are on me or when you look at me when we do this, i just—i tense up. i can’t stop thinking about it. how you see me. how i look to you. i get in my head and then it’s like no one should be touching me at all. especially not you, someone so handsome as you.” your voice grew quieter the longer you spoke, until the last few words felt like they barely made it past your lips.

and then, nothing. you felt so embarrassed, ashamed even. turning your head away from him, biting the inside of your cheek hard enough to calm yourself. your hands moved instinctively, one covering your mouth, the other shielding your cheek. you didn’t want to be seen, not like this.

but Ford knew you and didn’t demand more explanations or reasons. only leaned forward and pressed the gentlest kiss to your temple.

“my beautiful one,” he murmured, then another kiss, closer to your brow. “my sweet love.”

then one at the corner of your eye, his palm sliding against the back of your head, holding you still. “look at you. . . so lovely even when you're sad.”

Stanford kissed your cheekbone. then your other. the bridge of your nose. the spot right above your lip. then took your hands, delicately pulling them away from your tear-stained face, and kissed your knuckles one after another.

“these hands, so steady. so clever. my little miracle.”

his lips pressed against your fingertips. “could trace star maps with these, couldn’t you, my love?” your wrist was next. “you always smell so good, sweetheart. even here. makes me dizzy.”

Ford was still fully dressed and so were you. but the softness in his mouth as it traced every inch of exposed skin, face, hands, neck, shoulders, was more intimate than any nakedness you could be. “you’re my favorite person in every universe,” he admitted, whispering into the curve of your neck. “and i’ve seen a hell of a lot of them.”

he didn’t speak again until he’d climbed up just enough to press his forehead to yours and lay his full weight over you, chest to chest, legs entangled, arms caging you gently.

how long have you been lying like this? five minutes ? ten ? that was until you groaned, voice hoarse from the remnants of tears. “Ford. you’re heavy, i’m getting sweaty.”

he laughed into your collarbone. “good, you need to sweat out some of those nasty thoughts. they’re giving you a fever.”

you let out a half-sob, half-laugh that caught even you by surprise, and Ford looked at you with that big smile you've always adored so much. “there it is,” he said, brushing a thumb over your damp cheek. “that gorgeous smile. didn’t realize how much i missed it until just now.”

you squinted at him. “you’re ridiculous.”

“thank you,” he replied with a mock bow of his head, still lying on you. “i’m gonna make you tea.”

“you’re on top of me, sweetheart.”

“ah. right. tragic.” but he never got off you, and tea was served after half an hour of lying like that together.

[ninibeingdelulu]

Date at the museum with him ft. satoru gojo, suguru geto, kento nanami, megumi fushiguro, toji fushiguro

{ Forcing them to go to the museum with you. }

SATORU GOJO

Probably agreed mostly because he found your enthusiasm endearing and adorable.

But winds up legitimately engaged, using his Six Eyes to analyze the exhibits critically.

Jokes that the artistic techniques are "pretty neat, but not as impressive as my domain expansion".

Purposefully riles you up by loudly criticizing the "uninspired" modern art installations.

Yet has flashes of unexpected insight, wowing you with deeper meanings you missed.

SUGURU GETO

Maintains his typical cool aloofness as you excitedly lead him through the galleries.

Not overtly interested, but humors you by listening to your impassioned explanations.

Every now and then, he'll murmur a poignant counterpoint from his philosophical views.

Almost seems to dissociate at times into his own contemplative musings.

Until you grab his hand, instantly recentering his intense focus solely on you.

KENTO NANAMI

An absolute delight - he researched and planned the whole museum trip meticulously.

Guides you through at an unhurried, meandering pace with encyclopedic knowledge.

Completely enamored watching your face light up, hanging on his every word in wonder.

Occasionally draws you close to murmur intriguing factoids just for your ears.

His childlike glee is so infectious, you could spend hours lost in his effusive tutelage.

MEGUMI FUSHIGURO

Initially seems more than a little apprehensive and out of his element.

But quickly soaks in the tranquil ambiance, finally able to relax his guard fully.

Studies each work in contemplative silence, absorbing their essence and nuances.

Surprisingly moves to your side, satisfied melding against your warmth without words.

It’s that a faint, contented smile you spy ghosting across those sharps features…?

TOJI FUSHIGURO

Just rolls his eyes and scoffs when you propose this big softie date idea.

But his gruff demeanor only lasts until you bat those big eyes and pout fetchingly.

Then the big lug turns to utter puddy, trailing adoringly after your every move.

Acts all nonchalant examining the exhibits, even pipes up with random trivia knowledge.

But there's no hiding that unbearably smug grin when he thinks you're not looking.

[squidhominid]

The Wounds that Got Me Here: A story about my experience working for Lockstin

I have a story that I want to tell. A story I've told some people, in bits and pieces, but never really fully written out before. Given who the story involves, what their reputation is, I don't expect it to be fully believable. And because of that, I've spent years debating telling it. Afraid of being judged, of not being believed, of people thinking I'm just trying to tear someone down. I'm afraid people will think I'm overreacting, that what I experienced is 'just how the business works'. I'm afraid that they might be right.

But no matter what people think, it's the truth. I lived it. And I'm finally ready to share it, I think.

Not because I want to cancel anyone, this isn't a call-out post, but so I can share my story and heal.

CWs: discussion of underpaid creative work and inappropriate content involving minors

The story starts in late 2017, during Sac Gamers Expo. I had heard that Arlo had somehow gotten hold of copies of the Splatoon 2 Sound Selection vinyl, an extremely rare piece of Splatoon merchandise even now, originally only sent to members of the gaming press, and was giving them out. I was an avid collector of modern vinyl, as well as an avid Splatoon fan, and had been trying to track a copy down ever since it was known they existed. I begged my dad, desperately, to take me, even though it was a hell of a drive from San Diego to Sacramento, and, once I communicated to him just how rare this was and just how much I wanted it, he agreed.

While I was there, I had the chance to meet Lockstin, a YouTuber who I was a huge fan of at the time. Knowing he'd done a Splatoon video recently, and knowing his channel had gotten its initial start doing Game Theory counterpoint videos, I urged him to do a 'are Inklings actually made of ink' video, given this was a sticking point in the fandom, as well as due to personal frustration with MatPat for his 'are Inklings kids or squids' video. I saw value in trying to discuss the 'actual question', rather than the question MatPat had asked, in the process hopefully clarifying a widespread lore misconception, and I thought it was a topic his channel would do justice.

He said he'd think about it.

A month or two later I messaged him on Discord, asking if he had given it any more thought. He admitted that he didn't know anything about Splatoon, that his previous attempt to write on the games hadn't performed well, and that, and this isn't an exact quote, 'if I wanted to see it made, I'd have to write it myself', meaning I could write the script and sell it to him.

The Splatoon video they had done by that point, to be honest, was terrible. It was extremely poorly researched, and took what was in-universe meant to be propaganda, information from an unreliable narrator, at face value, building its thesis on the idea Grizzco presents to the player that Salmonids were just dumb animals. I knew that, if things were really this dire, I had to do this. I had to 'right the wrong' that was the quality of Lockstin's Splatoon content. So I took him up on his offer. We made a handshake deal, that I would write scripts for a cut of ad revenue. What 'a cut of ad revenue' meant, what percentage it would be, a payment schedule, none of it was ever specified. Just 'a cut of ad revenue'.

It took around a month of workshopping after that, but once I had a solid idea for a first video, I threw myself into the work. For two weeks, during my computer science lectures at community college, rather than paying attention to the lectures I'd be researching for the video I was writing. Two weeks of work.

I made $89. And in the meantime, I got some…pointed messages from friends.

See, for the thumbnail, he used key art from Octo Expansion. It had just been announced a couple months prior, so he probably thought it would grab attention, even though it wasn't really related to the topic of the video.

The problem was what art he used, and how he used it.

He had put, front and center, Agent 8, a canonically 16 year old character, in a piece of art showing her with splotches of ink on her. Except, he had photoshopped the ink splotches to be white. And then he added key art of Cap'n Cuttlefish from Octo Expansion, lurking in the background, positioned such to look like he was looking at Agent 8.

People who knew I had the gig, who I had excitedly told I was working for Lockstin, blamed me for the thumbnail. I told them I had nothing to do with it. I confronted Lockstin, since the original thumbnail he showed me before the video went up didn't have the 'white ink' edit. His response? To attribute the video's success partially to the thumbnail, and that he "could always swap it real quick if it [got] out of hand".

He never did. The white ink thumbnail is still up, to this day. And this wasn't an isolated incident; he has a pattern even now, years later, of using sexual clickbait in his thumbnails, because it's what 'works'. Even though the videos really don't need it. Even though, in my opinion, they're undermined by it.

In the time following that, I built a small team of Splatoon lore obsessive friends to work on the videos together. And Lockstin came to me with a question. He had a long-running series on his channel, 'Why do X have breasts', meant to analyze and apply actual scientific reasoning to humanity's propensity to put breasts on non-human and even non-mammalian characters, and he wanted to know if I could think of a way to make that work for Splatoon. I initially turned the idea down, saying I couldn't think of a way to make it work. Until someone on his Discord server came to me with the seed of an idea, and me and my team started mulling it over, and I realized that I had a way to turn the topic into something else.

Something that took the idea of 'Why do X have breasts', the sexualization, the clear fetishization by people who wanted to see that video made, and turn it on its head.

I came up with a theory merging female empowerment with body horror, something I thought would be unsettling to those who showed up for sexual gratification. The idea that the breasts were really musculature around the ink sac, enabling female Inklings and Octolings to be superior fighters in a society that, even in canon, seems to be dominated by strong women.

Of course, people didn't see it that way. I forgot, or perhaps was even baited into by the member on his Discord server, that people with buff-women fetishes would find that take on the idea more exciting than disconcerting. That's something I'm not proud of, even if I'm proud of, overall, snatching female empowerment from the jaws of misogyny.

The video made me $60. Even less, because I split the money between me and my collaborators. In the years since, this has become the best performing of all of the videos I wrote for the channel.

In the meantime, he came to me asking if I would be willing to work on non-Splatoon content, floated to me an idea he'd been workshopping about making a channel focused on western animation. He wanted to keep me on as a writer, even as it was clear Splatoon content wasn't as lucrative, for me or for him, as the other work his channel was doing. I told him I wasn't sure, but offered a Steven Universe theory that I had written the year prior, for a channel that never happened. His response was that he didn't want to involve himself in that fandom for drama reasons, which I agreed with, and we never spoke again about it.

Next, I was told that I had to write a video under a strict deadline; they had a sponsorship from Splatoon Amino, and the video had to be done by a certain date. Me and one of my collaborators, also credited on the end card alongside me, cranked out a video on why Inklings and Octolings die in water. It didn't perform amazingly, but I still made… $92. More than I expected, and I chalked this up to the sponsorship. Again, I split the money, because I felt that was the right thing to do.

Then came the video I'm the most proud of. I came across a theory on Reddit about Splatoon 3, based on evidence found in the at the time new Salmon Run stage, Ruins of Ark Polaris. I messaged the creator of the theory asking if I could use it as the basis for a YouTube video, and was told I could. I built on top of it a larger theory, that ended up getting quite a lot right about what Splatoon 3 would be, almost a full year before the New Years 2020 'Save Our Salmons' art where Nintendo made a direct point of Splatoon 3 involving Salmonids.

I made… $35. And for my trouble? Another sexualized thumbnail, with the focal point of the thumbnail being the Smash Ultimate render of the Splatoon Wii U default Inkling Girl, a 14 year old character, having eaten the Spicy Curry item, edited to make her blush more intense. The implications are plain to intuit.

And, this video had unseen effects. In all of my scripts, I would make meticulous notes, of sources, of evidence. In that video, I had cited a translation I came across on Tumblr, belonging to an at the time smaller creative voice, Rassicas. The translation was used in the video as I wrote it, but no citation was given. Rassicas, for their part, for years thought 'Lockstin stole their work'. They have cited not wanting that to happen to them ever again, to stand on their own merits rather than others benefit from their work, as one of the reasons they started their YouTube channel to begin with, with them now considered by the fandom to be the definitive, authoritative voice in the community on Splatoon lore, especially lore that is exclusive to the Japanese text.

For my part, years later when I found this out, I apologized. I even wrote a public apology, taking full accountability, because I had forgotten IF I had credited them or not. When I looked at the script, and found out that I in fact had, and that it was his choice to strip that out, I told them immediately. We were both livid at the revelation.

Then came my final video, and the one I'm the least proud of. One of my team shared a meme that had been blowing up on /r/Splatoon, comparing Inkling and Octoling ear shapes to the mantles of actual squid and octopuses, pointing out that the idols' ear shapes corresponded more to the mantle shape of cuttlefish. We realized it for what it was, a joke, but realized there was an opportunity for an actual video there. I mean, hell, we know cuttlefish Inklings exist thanks to Octo Expansion, so it wouldn't even be bending the canon all that badly. So we ran with it. Made a damn good video, I admit.

Too good. The fandom even now, five and a half years later, is convinced Callie and Marie are cuttlefish.

Lockstin did us another kindness, as well; at the end of the video he plugged a website that I had been putting together, now long-since defunct, for Splatoon lore investigations by my team that I didn't think could be made into videos, either due to the turnaround time required, the length, or the interest. Sending people off of his platform and onto ours. And, on top of the direct plug, the direct shout-out, this time the end card credited 'the team at Inktank.info'. It didn't credit us by name, like the prior videos. But in its place he actively was driving people to our platform instead of his. On the one hand, legitimizing our work as part of a team and a place. But at the same time, meaning our names weren't directly on the video this time. I have mixed feelings about this, but I'm willing to err on the side of leniency and say that wasn't his intention. He was trying to drive eyes to us and our efforts, uplift us as creators, like he had done for others by launching their careers.

And from the video we made $102. The most we made off of any video, even though it performed among the bottom two. I haven't mentioned it until now, but at some point it had been established that this was because Lockstin had been rolling forward ad revenue from past videos into payment for future videos. Unspoken was the fact that, if I wanted to keep making money on my old videos, I'd have to keep making new ones.

Again, I split the money. Even when I was making almost nothing, I wasn't going to let the people who helped me, the people who understood the things I didn't, go unpaid and uncredited. Multiple of the videos contained deep dives on topics like mollusk biology as part of their evidence, which were things I'd have no idea about on my own. Not paying them, not pushing Lockstin to credit them, would be laundering responsibility for the content I sold him, at best.

And, of course, another thumbnail scandal, again falling on me within my friend group. Lockstin had used a Garry's Mod fan render of Marie in the thumbnail, and people who knew I worked on it messaged me about him using stolen art. I ended up giving Lockstin the official render that he had meant to use, which was identically posed so he probably just mixed the two up… He never fixed it. Even now the thumbnail still uses stolen art.

It was at this point I decided to walk away. There was a sixth video that I had begun to research, that I had been planning since the beginning and was really excited to finally work on, but… I just, gradually and silently stopped talking to Lockstin, and I walked away.

I didn't immediately cut contact, though. I maintained messaging him until halfway into 2020. Because despite it all, I saw him as someone I had an amicable relationship with. Because it took time for me to fully accept what had happened to me. I even told him, in our last exchange, that I was still planning on making that sixth video. Because it took me some time to really sit with what happened.

And during that time, something happened. Around the end of 2019 there were serious concerns going around, of the FTC going after YouTube channels run by pop culture focused content creators, due to the updates to COPPA reclassifying them as 'children's content', regardless of what they actually contained. I messaged Lockstin in a panic, telling him if things got that bad, to delist my videos since I lived, and still live, with my dad, both of us disabled and on a fixed income. He assured me that anything that occurred would happen to the channel owner, and that I was safe, no matter what happened. And, "if it does wind up bad I'll be delisting all the videos. and also I'll take the hit for any fines."

Edit 3/12/25 (in bold): Regardless, having done some back-of-the-napkin math talking to Rassicas since making the original version of this post, it turns out I likely was only receiving a 10% share of ad revenue, assuming a standard-at-the-time $2 to $3 CPM for gaming content. Likely less, since I noticed a bump in income on the video that was directly sponsored despite it doing poorly, implying I may have received income from the other videos' sponsors as well. If I received any sponsor money though, knowing now how lucrative sponsorships are, I can't imagine I got a reasonable share of that either. And no matter how much napkin math I do, the fact of the matter is I'll never know exactly how much he made, and exactly how much of it I made. But it wasn't a fair amount.

And when you factor in lost residuals in the years since? The breasts video alone would have made $2,000 to $3,000 by now in just raw CPM, meaning I ultimately made about 2-3% of the ad revenue on that video.

Also, I want to be clear. It was my choice to bring in a team after the fact. He was never responsible for that, and it made a meager pay situation worse. I accept the responsibility for that.

Even now I struggle to square the circle of what this was. I don't know enough about his YouTube finances to know if I was paid fairly, if money really was that tight for him and his team. He had been known for uplifting creators he worked with. He helped launch Arlo's career. I can't imagine he would abuse his employees.

Not to mention, there were good times. This was a gig that I really, truly enjoyed, and put more effort into than he ever asked for. After my first video, at my own personal expense, I flew to Portland for a day to be a part of a fan meetup he did for the channel. He didn't ask me to do that. Hell, he told me not to, he told me I was crazy for doing it. But I did it because I was passionate about the work and about representing my work to his fans. Not only that, every time a video came out, I would spend one or two days, replying, personally, to as many comments as I could, answering questions, clarifying and elaborating on things, interacting with fans on a personal level. He never asked me to do any of that. I did that because I was passionate about the work I was doing. And I don't regret that.

But at the same time, this feels like abuse. Even as he was kind to me at points.

And that's the fear, right? He's 'one of the good ones', even with the sexual clickbait and everything else. My fear is that if I share this story, I'll be crucified for trying to tear down, trying to cancel, someone who overall has a positive reputation, who's much, MUCH bigger than I am. But that's not what this is about. This is just…me telling my story. Me telling people what happened to me.

So, I don't know what to call it, really. Other than a learning experience, as I start to lay the groundwork for my own channel, years later. Because I don't want to do this to other people. No matter what you call it.

And I want to be clear. There are other creators I've worked with. Other people I've made handshake deals with, but who treated me kindly, with integrity and respect, with definite terms set out in advance. And when I haven't gotten paid by those people, it wasn't because they exploited me, it was because the work fizzled out, and there was no profit, so there was no pay to be had. That's not exploitation. That's a reality of the industry. Sometimes things just don't pan out, and that's okay.

What's not okay is the ambiguity, the space in the margins that can be used to exploit others, whether that was one's intention or not. Because I don't think that was Lockstin's intention. I think he saw me as another Arlo, another person he was lifting up. But at the same time, this experience was a source of genuine trauma, and something that I'm only now starting to be comfortable with telling people outside of my friend group, five years after it ended.

Like I said. I'm not trying to tear anyone down. I'm not writing a hit piece. Because I doubt this was malicious. I really do. I know that, if I messaged him? If I told him what his actions were and did to me? We could hash it out, I could get closure privately. And, hell, I might do that if and when I feel ready to. Or, if he sees this and messages me? Hey, dude. I'm open to talk about this. I'm listening, if you want to say something. Because, that's the thing, right? I didn't confront this, publicly or privately, for five years, even after I walked away. I was afraid of talking to him, of what that could mean for me if he disagreed that what he did was harmful. I was afraid of a potential escalation, or losing work in an industry where I'm still only starting to find my voice.

But this isn't about that. It's about making the world a little safer for people like me, for other people who went through what I did and might not have the language or the tools to recognize what they're going through. And to make a public point, that I learned from the experience, that I plan to be better than what happened to me. Not so I can aggrandize myself, but so you, the people reading this, can hold me to it if I ever lose my direction. So I put what happened to me to a stone tablet, never allowed to forget it. Because I want to stop the cycle of abuse before it's allowed to start.

So, thank you. For taking the time to read this, and for taking my story for what it is. It means more than you could ever know, not just to me, but to everyone like me.

Edit 2, 3/12/25: Since making this post, I remembered and checked on something, and it's so much worse than I thought.

In January of 2022, Lockstin posted a series of 'Season Collection' videos, bundling his content year-by-year across seven videos. These videos made up a total almost 55 hours of content and 310 videos.

The first problem... He cut out all of the end cards. All of them. I know I wasn't the only writer he worked with. How many other people went uncredited in these compilations besides me?

The second problem... Going back to the point I made about residuals. How do you even calculate something like that? Compilation content is meant to ride the wave of super-longform content like Arlo's 'A Big Fat Review of Breath of the Wild' or Quinton Reviews' series on Dan Schneider. It's meant to play to YouTube Premium viewers, where creators get a payout based on watch time. A big one. A proportional share per-viewer of 55% of their subscription cost, based on how much of their watchtime went to which channels each month. Both LinusTechTips and Arlo have referenced longer-form content being some of their highest-earning content as a result of this.

So, at best? Maybe he figures out how much money he got from YouTube Premium and tries to split that up based on the retention charts. I can't imagine that'd be reasonable to expect someone to do for seven compilation videos on an ongoing basis. Maybe he just divides all the YouTube Premium money, and the $2 to $3 CPM, across all 310 videos equally. But that doesn't ensure people are paid for the specific viewtime for their specific videos, and on a 10 hour supercut of as many as 60 videos, the CPM split would be negligible.

The third problem... The Season 5 thumbnail has the Agent 8 'white ink' image again, one of a few videos the thumbnail references.

I know that this is a drastically different tone than the rest of this post. But this isn't just 'a good guy making mistakes' anymore. This is systemic abuse of everyone who ever worked with him. Not just writers, but editors, special thanks to people who contributed in other ways... What does he call it? "The vast majority of Lockstin's "Gnoggin" videos, with the sponsorships, needless outros, and end cards removed".

My work. My credit for my work. Is "needless".

And among the videos that he removed, he references 'videos with very incorrect information (such as predictions)'. The Season 6 video removes my Splatoon 3 prediction video. The video that I think was my best work for him, that yes got some things wrong but got a shocking amount right, that has value not just to me but to him on that merit alone. Just proof he didn't understand the content.

I'm sorry. I'm just, angry. I know this is a change in tone but I'm angry.

[rei-ismyname]

I loved your Exodus Was Right essay and wanted your thoughts abt if/when Hope summers will be back. Exodus and Hope were my favorite duo during Krakoa and I really thought it was gonna be her in the last Krakoan egg

Hey there! 

Thanks! It's a piece I'm really proud of and had a great time researching and writing it. In case you missed it, here it is. Oh boy, do I have thoughts!

Hope and Exodus are faves of mine too. Hope was mostly a background character before Immortal X-Men while Exodus had a mini arc/great moments and generally being extra, he didn't receive a lot of depth. Fortunately, Kieron Gillen saw the opportunity for an odd couple made up of the mutant Messiah (who thinks it's bullshit/has already done the job) and the true believer whose remixed Catholicism has her superceding The Prophet Magneto and Jesus Christ The Nazarene Mutant in importance. 

Fuck, I love them so much and could talk about them forever but I should answer your question. TW a shit load of blasphemy below the cut.

I miss them so much.

My cynical answer is 'in about 3.5 years when they decide to stripmine Messiah Complex and/or Second Coming and redo it with a new coat of paint.' 

My slightly less cynical, more pragmatic answer is 'in some dogshit event/time travel one shot/mini that undoes the wonderful White Hot Room utopia like they did with Tempus in Timeslide.' I don't trust editorial to recognise the extradimensional Krakoa's importance as the one solid W the mutants got. Children and C listers left behind while the main characters fought for the future of everything, nobodies who learned from the mistakes the Quiet Council and others made. Just mutants who lived without the threat of genocide or capitalism and built a post-scarcity society then resurrected ALL the dead mutants and came back for everyone else. 

Just as R-LDS shits on the mutant miracle (and makes Hope/The Five look incompetent) I fear that Marvel has difficulty telling superhero soap opera with oppression analogy and endless misery apart. I wouldn't be surprised if they decided to drag it out the back and shoot it in the head. Err, maybe that one is even more cynical. 

The thing is that Hope was a really interesting character concept that had solid development and an interesting arc until about the second act of AvX. Generation Hope was especially great. After that, she spent a bit of time in X-Force but it didn't last very long and she didn't have a hook. In many ways, Messiah Complex to AvX was a complete arc for her as the Messiah who reversed M Day with Wanda, even though they didn't really stick the landing.

She languished for a few years and eventually showed up leading the MLF murking populists with Zombie Banshee. I thought her actions were in character and her disillusionment with life in general was a fantastic beat. She shot Cyclops in the eye and optic blasted Logan away - I love that for her. Unfortunately Rosenberg didn't do much with that and she was mostly just there for the rest of the run though interestingly Age of X-Man had her as a pseudo-religious figure and symbol. part of the creation myth.

HoxPoX was huge for her as a symbol and plot device that made her the most important person on the island, but she wasn't really explored as a character. The Five were in the background here and there, often in resurrection scenes. They got a closer look in X-Factor but weren't part of the cast. Hope was mad at young Cable for killing her dad, but it only came up once and she didn't spend much time on the moon. Gillen zoomed out and looked at her whole history, identifying that her story wasn't done yet. The Quiet Council wasn't a representative body, but Hope (nudged by Exodus) insisted that she be The Five's voice on the council. It was a genius idea, as she was a counterpoint to their feet of clay and it put her centre stage. I really need to write about Immortal X-Men more as it's fantastic and underrated, with Hope and Exodus' dynamic a highlight. After Judgement Day they really started to hit it off and Sins of Sinister drove a wedge between them, though it didn't last. Hope kicking the shit out of Exodus was excellent, but the peak was them as leaders in the White Hot Room (with Destiny as a almost a Greek chorus hating every second.) 

When X-Men Forever, RotPoX and Uncanny 700 was done and dusted, her arc really was complete and all her history welded together to make sense. An unbroken circle of fire with the Phoenix - birth and death - willingly sacrificing herself so everyone could live. That her presence is felt in the WHR closes the loop and writes a coda for her decades long Messiah arc, even the shit parts. 

Exodus begging to die in Hope's place

A big part of me really wants to let that be the end of her story, a comic book character who truly gets to end on a high note. It sucks that she died but at least she had agency and went out with a bang. Her story has been told and now she's a symbol, or at least she should be. If they bring her back I'd want that to be established first. 

How I'd do it is to have Exodus' religion actually take off. They're a great couple (not like that) and squeezing more juice out of that orange is definitely possible. Hope didn't really like the Acolyte thing and thought Exodus was crazy (he kinda is NGL,) though she eventually leant into a little bit. I wanna see how she'd react to a full fledged religion with her as the Messiah figure. She's been struggling with those expectations since Second Coming, hated by strangers, resented by unbelievers - heretics who thought she was the antichrist tried to kill her before she was even born. Consider what Scott Summers' attitude towards Hope was right from the start up to AvX - he believed without proof that Hope was destined to save the mutants. That's faith right there. He lost his faith when The Romans The Avengers meddled and created The Phoenix Five but Hope was the real deal. 

As I detailed in Exodus was right, Hope rebirthed the Phoenix and the Phoenix impregnated her mother. Immaculate conception shit. She saved the mutant race in AvX and all of existence through bringing the Phoenix back. Her presence in the White Hot Room can be felt in an unexplainable way - enabling resurrection of 16 million slain mutants, some of whom returned to Earth. That's beyond miraculous, it's divine - Hope is much better than Jesus, lol, and Exodus somehow called it. As much as he can be trusted as a reliable narrator, he had a vision of The Phoenix in the 12th century. He reconstructed his faith around it and faith is a powerful thing. Religions have been started from a lot less and all Hope's miracles have proof. 

Rasputin IV would join up in a heartbeat, maybe Cypher the golden idiot too. Not sure how Exodus would do as self-appointed Pope but he's grown a lot and there's a good chance he'd reconstruct his faith again without the Catholicism. Human nonsense. Jesus has been holding out on a second coming for 2000+ years, whereas Hope had access time travel and did it in a few years. Jesus resurrected a couple, that's a lazy afternoon for Hope. She shoots bad faith assholes like Selene in the head and Jesus would never. Jesus died for our sins, but Hope died for our lives. There were 250K Krakoans and 16 million mutants returned in the White Hot Room - that's a huge base of potential followers. I'm an atheist but if Hope resurrected me and I watched her die rebirthing the Phoenix I'd believe the hype. Maybe even subscribe to Exodus' newsletter. 

No boring holy wars or wackadoo fundamentalism. No exploding communion wafers written by someone who doesn't understand religion at all, let alone Catholicism. No inquisitions or crusades, except against Mister Sinister. Schisms, though? Hell yeah. I wanna see Exodus get excommunicated for declaring himself an anti-pope. I want arguments over the canonisation of Magneto, a reformation to include Louise Spalding as a prophet and objections to Apocalypse as Satan. Quibbling over Exodus' translation of scripture and the disaster of writing the new new testament. A rando former Zoroastrian getting all Manichean. Jean being like 'sure, I'm the Holy Spirit. Glad you're having fun.' White Hot Roomers and Krakoans with very different perspectives, maybe even an East-West Schism deal. Exodus trying to canonise his dead boyfriend. Everyone calling bullshit on his vow of celibacy (Krakoa is for lovers!)

I need it to break containment ('wow, that really is some Messiah shit') and then another schism over whether humans are allowed. Mutant supremacists becoming the minority. Reverent predictions of the Second Krakoan Age. Sure, we could take the obvious predictable route of having it be a violent disaster, but I want it to go really well. It's the mutant link to the numinous and metaphysical, not some dreary temporal modern nation state. It's Hope, faith, love, and saving the fucking world. Everyone is important. 

That should be democratic and complicated! Secularists with purely cultural involvement trying to decentralise the faith. Pagan offshoots that celebrate Krakoa the miracle genius loci but reject Hope's divinity. A strong movement from Buddhists arguing that they have a duty for a Bodhisattva Vow - to bring the Second Krakoan Age to the entire universe. 

Arguments - Is Cable, who raised the Messiah, a prophet? What about Cyclops, the prodigal Grandfather who's married to the Phoenix and hosted the Phoenix when the Messiah doubted herself? The rest of the Phoenix Five? What about Destiny? Sure, Hope is the Messiah, but is Phoenix the Holy Spirit? Is Mass/Scripture in English or Latin? Or Krakoan? There's plenty of other gods cruising around and wandering the earth - how do they feel about that? Someone would float the idea of a polytheistic pantheon. And on and on and on. 

So yeah, I'd set that up, make it a wondrous thing that unifies a lost people. Then have Hope return for some kind of save everyone mission, and be like 'what the actual fuck dude? Stop kneeling and chanting please, I'm not the fucking Messiah. Get out of my way, I need it to do the thing to save all of existence ... ... ... FUCK! Goddamn it. What's that? Yeah, I did that. No I haven't been in Heaven, I've been in the White Hot ... God fucking damnit. How many of you motherfuckers are there? I can't deal with this.' Hope manifests some Phoenix flame in anger and believers start speaking in tongues and chanting 'Exodus was right' in Krakoan that's drifted 15-20 years from the Krakoan Hope knows. 

I want to really lean into the Messiah thing and explore the tension of a living Messiah. The awkwardness of being worshiped and the inevitable ecclesiastical drift. I want to see Exodus committed to building the mutant church and dealing with people actually listening to him for once. Continuing his growth as an altruist who cooperates with people - balanced against the fact that he is literally a prophet. This will never, ever happen, but I would love it so much. Would she reject it completely? Her messianic works and link to the divine are empirical, plus it seems to be a positive force in the world. How would believers react to the rejection, to her presence? Does it matter?

It'd be the equivalent of the Second Coming of Christ, except he's a gun girl that grew up drinking piss who DEFINITELY performs miracles on the reg (even by mutant standards.) Exodus would be delighted yet troubled. A symbol that's walking around swearing and picking their nose is more complicated than a perfect dead Messiah.

[papercranesong]

Confessions of a Fanfic Writer: How and why I use AI 

So more and more, I’m seeing posts about AI and the place it has in writing. While some posts express justified concerns, the general discourse seems to be degenerating into “don’t use AI” and “if you use AI you’re a horrible person”, which suppresses conversation and doesn’t really explore the nuances of how AI can be used as a tool for writers.

I’m a fanfic writer who uses AI to help me write, especially when I’m in the throes of exhaustion or depression. I don’t always use it, and when I do, I’m aware it can become a crutch. But mostly it’s transformed my writing life, because it means I can write nearly every day now, instead of waiting for those rare moments each month when the sun comes up and I’m in a good place mentally and I’m able to write. 

So I thought I’d get specific and share some ways I use it. A couple of practical points first - 

AI is a broad term, and so when I talk about AI with regard to writing, I’m referring to a subcategory of AI called LLMs - large language models like chatGPT.

I don’t allow chatGPT to train on my fics. (There’s an option to not let it train its models on any data inputted). 

Ways I use AI to help me write 

One - to help me articulate my ideas

You know when you’re so tired and unable to express yourself properly, and you end up spewing a word cloud and gesturing inarticulately in the vague hope that the other person will understand what you’re trying to say? 

So with chatGPT I type that wordcloud in along with my half-baked ideas and unfinished sentences, and then it will make sense of what I’m trying to say and reflect back to me fully-formed ideas, giving me different suggestions for what I might mean. It’s the “make it exist first, you can make it good later” adage - chatGPT helps me to make my ideas exist first. 

Two -  for constructive criticism 

I might feel like a scene is sagging or that something’s not working but I’m unable to put my finger on it. So I’ll ask - “what’s not working?” and I’ve found it to be remarkably perceptive and accurate in identifying what and why something feels off - maybe it’s the beats and pacing, list-like repetition or lack of a character’s internal reaction.

(Could I just ask a beta-reader to do this? I could, but honestly - I’m an introvert and British. It’s just too awkward for me).

Three - as a sounding board 

If I’m stuck on a scene, it offers a fresh perspective by helping me figure out the motivations of the characters or identifying the emotional counterpoint of the scene and suggesting ways to build on it.

I sometimes ask it to rewrite the scene from the perspective of a different character, or to write the scene from a sensory point of view, just to help me experience it through fresh eyes. Other writers use it to make RPGs of their fics, for similar reasons. There’s also an audio option where it narrates what you’ve written -  the voice isn’t great but just hearing the words spoken aloud allows me to listen and visualise it and gives me a fresh perspective. 

Four - as a research tool 

I like doing research and making my fics as accurate as possible, but sometimes there’s no information available for my scenarios, e.g a character bleeding out in zero-G. So I type in the scenario into ChatGPT and receive information specific to my scene - for example, if my character is bleeding out in zero-G, is that even possible? How would it appear to an onlooker? Would the bleeding happen quicker or slower than in normal gravity? Would it still feel the same? (There’s always potential for the LLM to hallucinate though, so I wouldn’t trust it as the sole authority).

Five - for proof-reading and html code 

I can spend hours checking for typos, grammar and formatting errors, and it’s a lot quicker to ask chatGPT to clean it up for me initially and then to check it myself afterwards (or the other way round). It also speeds things up with writing html code for specific formatting. 

Six - as a writing therapist 

I have pretty low self-esteem and imposter syndrome etc. In the past I would either stop writing for a while - or worse, just delete my stories. 

Now when I feel like that, I tell ChatGPT and  then it responds by having a conversation based on therapeutic techniques such as externalisation (separating harmful thoughts from your identity), reframing techniques based on CBT etc. to explore with me what I’m feeling and to help me think differently about it. 

(Could I not just turn to actual humans for this? Yes, and occasionally I do. But I don’t want to pester my online fanfic friends with my writerly angst multiple times a day. It’s not fair on them, and they’re not counsellors. But with chatGPT I can be as honest and neurotic as I like). 

Conclusion

I guess I wanted to write this little essay because: 

it felt disingenuous not to speak up about my own use of AI when people were posting about it on Tumblr and elsewhere.

to maybe challenge the assumption that the use of AI in writing is automatically deviant, shameful or wrong. 

to hopefully be an approachable  person to chat to about the use of AI in fanfic. I’d love to find a friendly space in which to talk about how to use AI well in creating fanworks, and to discuss the angst, pitfalls and ethics that come with it. (Edit: I made a Tumblr community called Writing-with-AI, let me know if you’d like the link).

Anyway, if you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading and for keeping an open mind. I’m always happy to chat more - feel free to DM or leave me an ask.

Finally, you might be wondering whether I used AI to write this. What do you think?

[nov4-rocket5]

Okay, so a lot of people are saying that Joon The King deadnames and deliberately used unflattering photos of Lily Orchard in his latest video.

The latter is pretty subjective, all the photos were of Lily post-coming out that she posted herself (and she really hasn’t changed much since posting them either); and the former claim is just… blatantly incorrect.

Joon clarifies Lily used to go by a different name once, and he says this because a lot of the archived footage and chats come from Lily pre-transition, and didn’t want the audience to get confused. He uses Lily's preferred name and pronouns the entire video, even when chats he's reading are of Lily's previous identity.

Keeping archival information unaltered is super important, both for the sake of Lily’s timeline, and the validity of Joon’s research. You start changing details out of a sense of 'respect' and you open up the question of what else you’re willing to change and censor. Maintaining the integrity and trust in your research is vital for communicating points. Especially when those points involve very heinous, very sensitive topics. If Joon had edited/censored the footage and chats, people would have searched for, found, and posted it anyway. It also would have probably led to Lily just claiming Joon falsified/doctored shots to make her look bad.

Joon isn't a DramaTuber, he's a documenter. And as a documenter, Joon presents information, in this case about Lily's online history and actions, and leaves it to the viewer to decide what to make of it. Joon doesn't moral police his audience, he set up that she is Lily and only chose to highlight her previous identity when it was relevant as a side fact (Joon doesn't even call her a cis male, just that she was still presenting that way), and trusted the audience he’s cultivated to not bully and harass people.

Current footage is used of Lily, current names and pronouns are used for Lily, and he makes it clear that Blake is a person who doesn't believe Lily's really trans but makes a brief counterpoint to Blake’s stance, and leaves it to the audience to make their own conclusions. Joon’s video is purely informational and intends to inform people about Lily and her long pattern of established behavior even before her current channel and Tumblr.

Joon encouraged discussion with Lily's current name and identity intelligently and gracefully. Knowing Lily’s deadname is just that - a name Lily was once known as, but she is Lily now. Since most people aren't rioting in the comments and keeping a level-head saying "she's Lily, these are her terrible crimes not just as a trans woman", Joon was successful. Only idiots and douchebags will directly harrass Lily with "hurr durr you will never be a yadda yadda". And Lily will no doubt just make those strawmen herself. Lily routinely thrives off chances to use her status as a trans woman “of color” to prove all her critics are just mean ol’ racist phobes.

And the simple truth of the matter is, Lily isn't some delicate ornament that will shatter to pieces at the slightest bit of transphobia; Lily is an easily-angered, pathological liar and manipulator who would hurt anyone in any way if she sincerely believed she could get away with it.