#and today i had to be like. i create... a videoed timeline???

[damishands]

you ever watch a video so attractive you have to relearn how to make gifs

[delicateperspective]

The Observer (Observed)

Either someone is deep in the Lore or LT3 era has begun.

Edit: I guess I am going to turn this post into a masterpost of sorts. I go more into detail about what I think this might be here (hint: not Louis).

But for now just please play it safe:

Don’t give them personal information.

Don’t engage in DMs with them.

Keep a healthy skepticism.

TIMELINE:

Twitter user @FromTheObserver was created on March 9th 2025.

At the time it first tweeted, it's pfp was a lavender eye with the roman numberals for 369.

The bio was "Through the looking glass the observer watches, craving what is just beyond reach."

The cover image was the below (MORE ABOUT THIS ARTWORK AT THE END):

At 2:44 GMT PM its first tweet said:

"The silence is broken. At last I return. Did your faith in the future endure, or did it waiver in my absence? You have waited, perhaps doubted, but the silence was never empty. I am ever present, hidden just beyond the veil. -The Observer

At 4:55 PM The Observer tweeted again:

Have you forgotten me so soon? -The Observer

At 7:44 PM Louis' official account tweeeted:

India I had no idea what to expect but you turned up in full force. From Doncaster to Mumbai. Fucking mind blowing! Thank you!

People started digging. "The Observer" appeared in a list of songs someone found on the French Music Directory SACEM. They first tweeted this list on February 2nd 2025.

I was able to confirm the listing at this link.

It is important to note though, that this lists SONY MUSIC PUBLISHING FRANCE as a sub-publisher and Reservior, Big Life Songs, and Inconnu Editur as publishers.

If we compare this to an LT released song, SILVER TONGUES, that ALSO has Sony listed as the subpublisher. So that doesn't debunk this as a real possible upcoming song.

For those who were saying that since it's sony he wouldn't use it. It appears Sony still has some claws in him. But thats normal in the music industry. A SUB-PUBLISHER doesn't mean he has a Sony deal again. It just means that BMG might not have the reach he needs in France to distribute so they'd rather pay someone else to do it.

I'd also like to point out that I could not verify this or any of the other songs on any American or UK repository like BMI or ACE.

I feel really uncomfortable digging into potential songs of Louis' knowing how badly he doesn't like the tracklist leaked. So this will be my extent of my digging on THIS SUBJECT. (But please feel free to let me know if I got anything wrong or I am missing something)

On March 10th, 2025:

At 1:30 AM The Observer tweeted:

I told you… But did you listen? -The Observer

Louis followed Lolla India sometime before 10:19 AM (based on the HL Daily update)

LTHQ Posted a Tiktok of Louis' show at Eletric Brixton around 4:38 PM (based on the HL Daily update)

Louis posted a reel from his time in India at 7:25 PM

At 10:00 PM (20:00) The Observer posted:

Day 1, 20:00 It’s eerily quiet in the laboratory today. - The Observer

At the time of this tweet, their pfp was the same lavender eye. HOWEVER the 369 roman numerals were gone. Replaced by a 7 (Or maybe a 1?). (For information about Louis' connection to the number 7, see this masterpost by @so-idialed-9.

On March 11th, 2025:

Louis poasted a pictures and video for Soccer Aid at 9:13 AM

Louis followed Soccer Aid on Instagram at 10:53 AM

Louis liked a photo from Soccer Aid of his 28 jersey at 1:44 PM

At 10:00 PM (20:00) The Observer tweeted again:

Day 2, 20:00 Watching from the outside, I can only hope not to become one of them. Perhaps I already have… Is it too late for me? -The Observer

The pfp at this time replaced the 7 with a 2.

On March 12th, 2025:

At 3:12 PM The Obsever Tweeted:

Day 3, 15:12 How can I change what’s already been written? If the past is in permanent ink, can the future ever be a blank page? -The Observer

At this time the pfp updated to a red 3 at the bottom.

Around 4:00 PM CST Louis followed footballer Jermain Defoe on Insta.

Also on this day, a pretty TeRrIbLe article from The Standard dropped, essentially making fun of 28, Louis, and his fans.

We also get a "Rome Unseen" of Harry drinking coffee with a friend and yelling at stalkers trying to take his picture.

On March 13th, 2025:

At 3:12 PM The Observer tweeted:

Day 4, 15:15 Inhale. Exhale. Surrender to what’s beyond control. -The Observer

Pretty telling for a fandom that is crashing out over circumstances outside of anyones control.

The number in the pfp changes to a white 4 in the right hand corner.

Louis doesn't move on this day.

On March 14th, 2025:

At 6:20 AM The Observer tweeted:

The shadow consumes the light. A fleeting moment where past, present, and future collide. Do you see it? Observe. -The Observer

It is important to note that there was a Blood Moon Lunar eclipse that could be seen in London just before dawn. "Stargazers around the world caught the first sign of the lunar event, which began at 05:09 GMT, on a livestream run by LA's Griffith Observatory."

Note the nod to the Observatory, to shadow consuming light.

The pfp stays the white 4 during this tweet.

At 3:18 PM The Observer tweeted:

Day 5, 15:18 Across a million futures, one constant endures. -The Observer

Sound familiar? If you are a Larrie, it should. Mr. "souces say he has trouble with long term relationships" used a similar line in his "You Are Home" promo.

(personal opinion here. take with a grain of salt. this has confirmed for me that Louis has nothing to do with this account. This line was too loud when H tweeted it. It didn't fit any narrative. It wasn't even related to anything on the album. This and the "half way home" debacle were some of the craziest wtf is going on here moments in the You Are Home tweet saga. If this had anything to do with his work or career, Louis would stay far away from using lines this closely tied to Harry.)

The pfp updates to a white 5 (which really looks like an upside down 2)

At 6:00 PM LTHQ posted an IG reel from India.

On March 15th, 2025:

At 10:00 AM The Observer tweeted and immediately deleted:

"A true observer must always be watching. Blink, and you'll miss what matters most. 625 369 825 007 326 028 -The Observer"

369 and 28 are both intrinscly linked to Louis and can be found in the masterpost at the begining. 007 is typically a reference to James Bond which Harry is a favorite to perfom the next James Bond song or play him.

HOWEVER, 625, 825, and 326 could possibly be month/years. As in June 2025, August 2025, and March 2026.

Louis is playing in Soccer Aid on June 15th 2025. (THIS COMES INTO PLAY IN A FEW DAYS. Approximately 40% of the articles about Louis' new stunt involve his involvement in SoccerAid and how he will be on the team with his stunt's very recent ex.)

Should we be looking for August 2025 and March 2026 events as well?

At 9:45 PM The Observer tweeted:

"Day 6, Unkown Too quick to catch, too fleeting to frame in memory. But a true observer is always taking notes. -The Observer"

The pfp updated to a white 6 (at the three oclock position)

On March 16th, 2025:

We got two posts again this day.

At 9:30 AM The Observer tweeted:

Day 7, Unknown How did we end up here? -The Observer

The past two posts have stated that the time is "Unknown" instead of giving us UK time. Have we stopped tracking the time? Have we moved timezones?

The pfp updated to a white 7 at this time as in accordance with the dart board.

At 11:30 PM The Observer tweeted:

Silent? Silenced. Patience. Observe. -The Observer

The first part of this refers to an Oprah interview.

The implication is that someone has not CHOSEN to be silent. They've been made to be silent. However, if we - as the audience - are patient, we can observe what they cannot say.

The pfp updates now. There are no numbers. The pupil is smaller and we can see what appears to be eyelashes in the top right corner.

On March 17th, 2025:

We ge two posts again today. But it's what happens in between that makes it important.

At 8:25 PM The Observer tweets:

Day 8, 20:25 No key to turn, no doors to guide A journey taken, far and wide The walls unfamiliar, the roads unknown A wandering soul, yet not alone -The Observer

The pfp updates back to the original eye with a white 8. Which looks oddly like an infinity sign as the circles are elongated.

First thing to note is that were back on UK time. The second - your intepretation of this tweet will matter to how authentic you think this account is. For me - when I saw "no key to turn, no doors to open". I immediately thought of the tattoo Harry has on his ribs of a birdcage with no door. Next to his drama masks. Above the SMCL (smile more cry later?) tattoos. There isn't a keyhole nor a door to this closet. The "you are home" door is closed, it cannot be opened.

Yet the last line of the 28 word (if you include the signature) poem leaves us hopeful. Despite the distance, the walls, the unknown roads, there’s an undercurrent of connection

Then an hour and a half later at 10:00 PM on the dot The Sun gives us our very first confirmation article of Louis' new stunt. Which I will not speak about in depth on this post. If you want more info, my page is full of it, but I don't want to muddy this post with that.

At 11:55 PM we get another tweet from The Observer:

Fabricated fairytales, observed by all. -The Observer

The pfp does not change.

The "fabricated fairytales" is a line from Louis' She is Beauty, We Are World Class. (my intrepretation of that song is here if you're into that kind of thing.) This is in direct response to the stunt. It is not mincing words or leaving room for interpretation by the timing. It is saying "this is a fake romance and now the world is watching".

On March 18th, 2025:

At 8:35 PM The Observer tweets:

Day 9, 20:35 Nearly Halfway Home. A long journey, but well worth it. -The Observer

The pfp uppdates to a green 9 as per the dart board.

The tweet itself, needs lore to explain.

On April 1st 2022, Louis registered a song Halfway Home. This registration can still be confirmed here.

THEN on April 13th 2022 (two weeks later), the You Are Home account for Harry's House promo tweeted "half way home"

Home, as a concept, has always deeply tied to both Louis and Harry and both of them together. The lore goes deep, but a summary is here.

The capitalization of Halway and Home, directs us to the song name.

But if were intepreting, it's also telling us that there is a plan in place. And though its a long way out, we're nearly halfway there and it will be worth it in the end.

On March 19th, 2025:

At 2:28 PM The Observer tweets:

Day 10, 14:28 A fresh set of eyes, born from little white lies. -The Observer

The pfp changes to a white 10.

Little White Lies is a clear refrence to the One Direction song, Little White Lies.

Bare with my little larrie heart here (but since this account is obviously also a larrie I'd be suprised if you aren't too) but Louis is in the headlines more than hes been in a decade right now. The PR is PRing. There are a whole new set of eyes on him. All because he's selling the story of some "little white lies".

DARTBOARD THEORY AND UPDATES

At this point, to anyone who is paying attention, it's become clear that the numbers represent a dart board.

See the most recent overlay below:

There have been a lot of recent theories revolving around dart boards after Louis posted one while he was in New Orleans for the superbowl and then followed a darts player on Instagram.

As to keep this unbiased and not tied to further speculation, I won't comment on the connection around all of the other people in Louis' life that have posted pictures of dart boards recently (just know that his sisters, Pleasing, Lamby, Niall, and more have posted dart boards - usually with the dart in the triple 20 spot). HOWEVER, darts has always been popular in the UK and its growing in popularity with the younger crowd recently. It's entirely possible that Louis just loves a game of darts at the local, and his sisters' boyfriends do to, and he's watching competive darts lately (especially the first openly gay dart player who is super popular right now), and Pleasing thought somehow darts were Valentine's day imagery.

EXTRA STUFF & FINAL THOUGHTS

As mentioned by this Twitter user, the artwork is pretty well likely AI generated (plus a little Canva/Photoshop for the numbers). It has all the tell-tale signs of generative AI (wonkey lines, misproportions, etc).

Louis has entire teams of graphic designers plus Joshua Halling (who loves this skind of thing) in his back pocket. He wouldn't need AI for any of this.

At this point, The Observer is definitely an interesting mystery, but whether it’s something to pay attention to or just a fan-run account remains to be seen. The AI-generated images are a major red flag—it’s hard to imagine Louis or his team relying on AI when he has actual designers and photographers on hand. Even his more cryptic rollouts in the past have been visually polished and intentional.

That said, the timing of the tweets, the SACEM song listing, and the number symbolism do make it intriguing enough to keep an eye on. If this is a fan project, they’re clearly deep in the lore and know how to grab attention.

Key Takeaways:

Be cautious. If this is a fan messing around, engaging too seriously could be dangerous to your online safety.

Don’t assume it’s official.

It's probably not connected and Louis probably knows nothing about it. If it is somehow connected it will become obvious soon. If it's not (way more likely), it’ll probably fade out like other fandom mysteries before it.

For now? I’m just observing The Observer. 👀

[81folklore]

dress - VETTEL

pairings: sebastian vettel x famous!reader (fc: taylor swift)

summary: its known that seb has been married for a few years now despite the public never seeing is wife, its also known that yn is in a committed relationship and has been since she disappeared from public eye. maybe they are more connected than people realise

authors note: i have had this idea on my mind for SO LONG so im very pleased to finally be writing it. essentially in this, yn is taylor and seb is joe but no one has ever seen him nor know his name, if that makes sense? honestly i have no clue how this will turn out but i needed to write it

authors note 2: this is set in the midnights era however i switched the songs a bit so ‘dress’ is on midnights instead of ‘sweet nothing’ and vice versa!! also ‘dress’ is going to be a single. i also apologize for how all over the place this is, especially the tweets

authors note 3: just pretend whatever says taylor swift says your name and the photos with her hands have a wedding ring!! i also got so confused when trying to screenshot the twitter stuff so the timeline ones are backwards

authors note 4??: haha didnt realise there was a 30 pic limit... pt 2 here :)

masterlist

ynupdates

liked by user3, user18 and 10,628 others

yn on her story today, possibly posting song lyrics! thoughts?

view comments

user3: NEW ERA INCOMING

user18: OH I AM SO READY FOR THIS

user13: NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC

user66: is this hinting at her reputation era?

user13: i was just thinking this, more specifically the time just before reputation

user72: MUSIC ABOUT LOVER?? OH I AM SO HERE FOR IT

user55: if it is about lover and the time before reputation this will BREAK ME like,, HE SAW THE BEST IN HER EVEN IN HER WORST TIMES😭😭

yourusername

liked by gracieabrams, ynupdates, olliebearman and 7,277,739 others

everyone thinks that they know us, but they know nothing about…

this album has been such a rewarding piece to create and im so glad that soon enough you will all be able to listen and enjoy it with me! one thing i love in particular about this album is the song ‘dress’

dress was originally a piece i started to write when making reputation however i felt it was right to keep it to myself, to keep it between my partner and i for a little while longer. however recently our lives have been changing for the better, and while that lid of privacy will still be on, i want to share more with you guys

you have all been on this journey with me and you have treated my partner and i with the upmost respect and for that i thank you. for me dress is a letter, its statement, its a declaration of my love for him and im very grateful to be able to give this to you all

this song is one im very proud of, i really enjoyed writing this the first time, and getting to revist and polish it up felt very special to do.

dress out now on all platforms🖤

comments on this post have been limited

sebupdates

liked by user34, user5, user88 and 23,683 others

seb in suzuka with the grid at his turn 2 bee (insect) hotels,, we've missed seeing him at the track :(

view comments

user3: of course the grid come together for him :’)

user5: im not crying!! just hay fever!!

user5: oh i have missed him SO MUCH

user7: NO BECAUSE YOU DONT GET IT HES BACK

user88: DID YOU GUYS SEE THE VIDEO OF HIM HUGGING CHARLES😭😭

user34: the way he was like a teacher throughout the whole thing😭

user18: does anyone know if hes staying the whole weekend or is it like monaco??

sebupdates: we believe hes staying the whole weekend but unsure if hes with a team or not!

user18: ok thank you :)

user77: the way the first thing lewis asked him was if his wife was okay, oh what if i cry😭😭

user66: im kind of new here, have the grid met sebs wife?

user77: i know they all at least know about her and know who she is, i dont think everyone has met her but i know lewis has met her quite a bit!!

part 2!

[taylorklosscomeout138]

WE NEED TO REHASH SOME LORE and what I'm about to show you is arguably the biggest Kaylor confirmation there has ever been. This directly has to do with Karlie and Taylor confirming late stage Kaylor is real by using ME. Yes me. I still can't believe it.

Many gaylors/kaylors do not know this lore cuz it was such a niche occurrence that only my Tiktok following saw go down. So grab a seat cuz this is a WILD one.

I'm talking about the time Karlie acknowledged me and my all Kaylor tiktok account on purpose and then 2 weeks later she was at The Eras Tour on 8/9/2023......

But that's just the beginning. Walk with me...

1 week later from Karlie liking my comment Liz Huett posted me on her story ON Karlie's 8/3 birthday. Flagging that Taylor would play "I Can See You" that night by captioning it "okay I see you", and then Taylor did play I Can See You..... like???????

This video had every kaylor/gaylor related hashtag on it clear as day in my caption. The video was also posted an entire 2 weeks before Liz posted it, and 1 week before Karlie liked my comment. Meaning she had it saved and did not post it on her story specifically until it was Karlie's birthday on 8/3/2023.

Oh but we aren't even done. Because on 8/2/2023 the night before Liz posted me on Karlie's birthday, Liz Huett herself came out as LGBTQ+ on Tiktok with her song Katelyn From Last Night. Not coincidental timing at all and this video is still her pinned today an entire 2 years later.

But something else happened in the comments of this video....

After uploading a video of my reaction to Liz posting me on her story on 8/3 and mentioning how the video had every gaylor/kaylor hashtag on it, I thanked Liz on 8/3 in the comments of THIS video and she liked my comment almost immediately. So that interaction specifically is still what she has pinned to this day....

Ever since, Liz has liked my comments from time to time and has remembered who I am.

In addition, some time after this with keeping in mind that Karlie showed she knows about my page, I created a Kaylor discord. There have been a few extremely "Koincidental" incidences that made us suspect Karlie may have followed my tiktok on a burner, and is in the discord server.

There have been far too many times where we joked "Karlie if you are here post (insert)" and it happened. The most notable occurrence was when Taylor made her endorsement post and one of our members said "Karlie if you are here would you like Taylor's instagram post please" and then 7 minutes later, Karlie liked the post....

The reason this was so "oh my god can that really be a coincidence?" Is cuz Karlie didn't like the post immediately, it was a good 30 mins after Taylor posted, but only 7 mins after that message was sent. Could be a coincidence take it as you will but there has been other instances too... so I think it's possible especially timeline wise above.

In summation this was truly a time to be alive you just had to be there like the Kaylor closet door was ripped off it's hinges in 2023 I swear and so many people don't know because this never became widespread as I'm not that popular on Tiktok. So I hope this maybe spreads the word a bit more!!

What are yalls thoughts?!?!

[factual-fantasy]

Heya Factual! Hope you're having a good day! As always, I've enjoyed all your latest work- but there was something special about the most recent comic- even in drawn form, I too felt the whimsical nature of that paintbrush... The color palette on it looks really nice! Also, your work on your TF Prime redesigns is really cool to watch come together! You always find a way to strike a sweet balance between the original designs and new ideas- and it will be especially interesting to see Arcee in a new coat of paint if you go through with it!

I also wanted to thank you, Factual- I had a bit of a rough day earlier this week, and when I was recovering I went back and read through your FNAF series- it's still among my favorite works you've created, and I find comfort in those comics even now! Though, rereading it led me to watching some old security breach videos, which in turn led me to come up with a very random ask- so, in the og FNAF timeline their's's a business known as "El Chips", which is a typical Mexican joint with the titular beaver El Chip as their mascot:

It was originally a subsidiary/business partner of Fazbear Entertainment, as they provided them with an animatronic version of El Chip, later seen alive and well in FNAF 6:

However, at some point in the timeline, El Chips seemingly came under hard times, and was eventually fully bought out by Fazbear Entertainment- after which it was integrated into the Pizzaplex as a rather large built in dinner- though the beaver mascot was nowhere to be found...

It's possible he was canonically destroyed in the FNAF 6 fire, or just scrapped- but either way it's unknown if F.E intended to build a new one before the Pizzaplex closed down. Regardless, all this rabbit hole led me to was this Ask: as small and unimportant of a world building detail as it is, do you think El chips, at least the restaurant, still exists in your AU, having interacted with F.E before? And if it does, would it still be absorbed into the larger brand, or retain its individuality? And if so- would El chip ever be created at all? If not in the main AU it would be sweet to at least have it in one of the offshoot AUs- my boy Chip goes forgotten by so much of the community! ):

(Whimsical paintbrush)

Hello! Unfortunately I'm feeling rather low today, but I've been worse. I hope your day is better than mine. <:)

As for El Chip... Honestly I have never thought of him-- idk how I missed this character when developing my AU..

I suppose he could still exist, but FNAF 6 didn't happen in my AU, so no fire. Maybe that whole partnership and being bought out thing could still happen, but a physical animatronic was never made.?

Someday I'd like to go back to my AU and redevelop it. Do away with the recap/repair and just start fresh. And consider things I had forgotten about before like El Chip and all the nitty gritty of FNAF 6. But for now I just don't see a point in it. Maybe someday though 🙏

[lockpickingliar]

Let's Talk About Kokichi and the Importance of Metanarrative

Or: Kokichi Ouma as a Cautionary Tale on the Pervasive Nature of Prejudice

Had a very enriching discussion in the Danganronpa Alumni server this morning, and for the first time I was able to articulate my thoughts on why I feel like there is so much conflict in the fandom's perception of Kokichi and what his purpose is in the story of V3.

So let's talk about it!

A Quick Sidebar on Terminology

So, before going into this, I want to first define some terms I'm going to be using because I want to avoid misunderstandings.

First, this analysis is purely from a Doylist perspective, exploring the author's intent and general themes. In that sense, I especially want to define what "narrative" means in the context I'm going to be using it, because I feel like it is something that can be misrepresented when we're talking about a story.

To me, "narrative" is less about the actual events and timeline and characters, and more about the exact themes and discussion the writer is intending to have with the reader. The characters are essentially sockpuppets to create an example of the type of thing the writer wishes to discuss and the themes they want to explore and for the reader to consider. It's a question of craft and figuring out what the author's intention was behind the choices they made in how the story played out.

What's all this about metanarrative, then?

Well, metanarrative in general is to speak to a narrative within an existing narrative, and I feel like that is a very important thing that lots of people overlook when engaging in V3's narrative. Metanarrative is an inescapable part of V3's entire story, because there are effectively TWO writing teams and viewer relationships to consider:

Kodaka and the devs who made the Danganronpa V3 video game, played by us, the player

Team Danganronpa as the team that made the Danganronpa TV show, viewed by the audience within the world the game takes place in, and the mask that Kodaka wears to tell this story

And with that in mind, it becomes a lot more difficult to detangle V3 in particular from an analytical standpoint.

What does this have to do with Kokichi?

Kokichi is, understandably, a very divisive character. No one in the fandom can seem to agree what his Deal is, and in a way that's kind of the Point to him and his arc as a character. Within the universe, it is left ambiguous at best, and as Shuichi says, the "truth is in the eye of the beholder."

... Is it, though?

So, from a narrative perspective, what is Kokichi's story REALLY about? It's about a lot of things. How lies aren't inherently evil, how sometimes people who just want what's best end up doing bad things to achieve something better, how quickly paranoia can change someone for for the worse. All of these things are true, I think. There is no one singular answer.

But today, in the context of metanarrative, I want to talk about Kokichi's narrative commentary on prejudice.

The Book Report Part

At the core of things, Kokichi's arc as a narrative, to me, is the exploration of the pervasive and predatory nature of prejudice and the disempowerment of the disenfranchised, and how prejudice can force people to feel like they have no choice but to become what is expected of them. It's a commentary on how a discrepancy in beliefs, ways of seeing and approaching the world, can be a matter of life and death when everyone arbitrarily decides that your way of thinking is inherently Wrong.

Note that I didn't mention any actual events or characters in that explanation, because narrative is a discussion the writer is trying to have with the reader.

And the reason I approach this from a Doylist narrative perspective is because I feel like a lot of people get very emotionally charged over Kokichi because of his discrimination. The characters are overly cruel to him, even when he does nothing inherently wrong, like in Chapter 1 where he primarily takes a backseat for the entirety of the chapter, including the investigation and the trial.

People who dislike Ouma laugh at his expense and claim that he deserved it. People like Ouma become outraged by this treatment and feel it is excessive and unnecessary. And when you approach it from the Watsonian context of looking purely at what it is he is doing and whether it makes sense for a random person to be treated in such a way for such behaviors, it is excessive and unnecessary.

But if that's the case, then why did Kodaka make it that way?

Many people feel like Kodaka must hate Kokichi as a character and is deliberately punishing him for existing, and... I feel like that's a bit shortsighted. Kodaka and the rest of the dev team are professionals after all. Kodaka is known for very nuanced approaches to social commentary through his work, especially Danganronpa, with its themes of restorative justice, critique of punitive justice, and exploration of the nebulous hierarchy of Talent.

So then why?

It's because the excessive and unnecessary prejudice is the point.

In the context of Kokichi's story through the lens of a narrative about prejudice and how arbitrary it is, a lot of the narrative choices made to create this atmosphere that Kokichi is being forced into the box of being an antagonistic person despite starting out as a goof and a bit of a weirdo with a heart of gold is exactly the kind of feeling that Kodaka is trying to instill in the reader. He is deliberately trying to make you uncomfortable and outraged by making it feel like Kokichi is being wrongly accused.

It permeates the entire story, it's in every nook and cranny of every character's dialogue, every thought Shuichi has, that there is some nebulous level of distrust around Kokichi and only Kokichi, which turns into a self-fulfilled prophecy as Kokichi begins to feel trapped by these preconceptions and starts acting accordingly. A very beautifully crafted simulation of confirmation bias that I feel like is a big part of what those who dislike Kokichi get caught up in, but that's not really what I want to get into in this post.

What I'm truly fascinated by with this is the way this prejudice is so pervasive that it seems to infiltrate even the narrative itself.

Where the Metanarrative Comes In

One of the things we discussed in the server was whether this aspect of the prejudice against Kokichi bleeding into non-character text is a narrative flaw, an issue of Kodaka's own prejudices bleeding into the story he was trying to tell. I feel like this was a bit of a misnomer for a few reasons.

First, an author's prejudices bleeding into a story is not inherently a flaw. In fact, I feel like that does a disservice to what art is. A story and a narrative is about what the creator wants to talk about. It's up to the reader to respond to that discussion in kind. That's just what art is. You as the reader cannot impose your own beliefs onto a work in conflict with that of the creator simply because you feel like they are wrong and then call that a flaw. You need to take the work and what it's saying for what it is, the creator's words and beliefs. It is not the creator's job to be politically or culturally correct for their audience at the detriment of whatever it is they are trying to say.

Second, and much more on-topic, it didn't really take into account what the "non-character text" in V3 actually is. There was a lot of conflating the prejudices seen in this text as Kodaka's own beliefs, because there was no character associated with them. I felt like part of the discussion was hanging heavily on this misconception that Kodaka's narrative intent was for Kokichi to be seen as evil, because that's what the "non-character text" pushes, and I just do not think that is true.

I feel like a common pitfall with V3 analysis is that a lot of the general "non-character" things in the game (physical descriptors, visual storytelling, basically anything that doesn't come directly out of a character's mouth or Shuichi's thoughs) are being mistakenly attributed to Kodaka, and as a result people are assuming that the prejudice against Kokichi is coming from Kodaka himself because he does not like Kokichi. I already said before that I don't feel like that's the case, but then if that's not the case, what is the prejudice in the non-character narrative doing there?

This is where I want to remind you that Kodaka isn't the only writer here. The non-character narrative is not really "non-character" at all. It is itself a character that Kodaka is playing.

It's Team Danganronpa talking the audience, trying their best to make you agree with them.

This is the metanarrative.

In that sense, I think that the concept of "Kokichi being evil" was Team Danganronpa's metanarrative intent, but not Kodaka's narrative intent.

And that turns into an extra layer to the narrative Kodaka is trying to tell about how pervasive and influential prejudice is in the world we live in, in the greater context of society. The fact that at the end of the day, people in power are the ones who choose who is Good and who is Bad, and Team Danganronpa? They wanted Kokichi to be Bad, for their own metanarrative of their TV show.

Do I think Kodaka hates Kokichi? No, not in the slightest. I think he loves Kokichi with all his heart, and that shows to me in how bad the story is at trying to convince the reader that he's bad. Because it's Team Danganronpa that doesn't like Kokichi. It's Team Danganronpa that got in over their heads and are scrambling to keep Kokichi under control.

And Team Danganronpa is the real villain here.

If you're not convinced that Kokichi is evil, that's the Point. You're not supposed to be convinced.

From that perspective, all of the excessive prejudice and discrimination against Kokichi from the very beginning makes perfect sense, because he was Team Danganronpa's chosen martyr as the rival, and if the audience didn't believe that he was evil? Well, they'd make them believe it. You as the player outside of this story, meanwhile, are having a completely different conversation with Kodaka, because Kodaka made Team Danganronpa the villain of this story, and in doing so has put heavy critique on what they are saying to their audience and, more importantly, the prejudices they have with regard to typecasting.

@sw33tl1es in the server summed it up very succinctly: "You are have to consider what Team Danganronpa is trying to say to the in-game audience Vs what Kodaka is trying to say to you."

That's why I feel like it's a bit shortsighted personally, to assume that non-character writing is inherently the writer's genuine beliefs, especially in a metanarrative like V3 where there is an entire second ghost writing team haunting it. Everything the writer puts into their work has a purpose, and while maybe that could be a sign of their own prejudice shining through, I do think it's important to consider the context from all angles. You need to assess the deeper intentions and meaning of the narrative the writer is trying to discuss with you, the reader.

Because otherwise you might end up stuck the other way around, with you holding prejudices against the writer while missing the forest for the trees.

[harrysgal]

I DIG YOUR CINEMA (11)

harry styles x yn aspiring filmmaker — social media AU

I’m really sorry if this part sucks. I really tried my best.

About the smau: yn starts posting videos on youtube and is trying to build a career as a filmmaker. Things are going pretty well for her and she starts getting more attention when she creates content about shows she goes to. She’s also a fan of Harry’s music and some of his fans start getting suspicious when his team starts interacting with her.

About yn: although the character does not have a faceclaim, pictures suggest reader is white.

Disclaimer: The story it’s set in 2021 and it will follow their relationship through the LOT leg in the US. Since this is nothing but fiction, I will be following some of the real timeline but also adding my own stuff. On top of that, I won’t be basing myself on Harry’s actual posts.

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PART 10 // MASTERLIST

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I DIG YOUR CINEMA (PART 11) — NYC

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liked by bestfriend, harrystyles, jefezoff and 45,671 others

yourinstagram well hello hello. its two am and im still awake bc i was hanging out with my fake friends and fake ex-boyfriend celebrating the end of another wonderful and amazing very real show <3 i thought i’d let you know since apparently what truly happens in nashville is the new online entertainment now. also fyi today i was allowed to leave my hotel room and i also behaved very politely and didnt run outside to cry. a real angel, i’d say. its too bad my attempts to fake date harry styles didnt work, tho. i mean i thought it was a great and innovative plan tbh but as you might’ve read already he officially called things off so that’s all gone now. boohoo. im not sure what im supposed to do on tour now. maybe i’ll have to actually learn how to use a camera and start to actually film things during shows… idk… i’ll figure something out tho. if you have any ideas or suggestions pls let me know. for now i’ll enjoy my freedom. it’s was very kind of them to even allow me to open the window and breathe some fresh air. so, so amazing!

btw, congrats ＠popgossip on finding such reliable sources. also the fact checking was impeccable. there was nothing left for me to hide. keep it up with that journalism! that’s clearly how you go from amateur to professional. im taking notes now! anyway, have a great life and tysm for your kindness and all your thoughtful consideration to my real human feelings 🥰 there’s nothing like getting back to the hotel and seeing those many great things being said about me. thanks a lot. hope the same treatment finds its way back to you along the way! xoxo lots of love, yn

view all 1,001 comments

user2 😲 user2 holy molly…  user2 I think you absolutely ate this? left no crumbs behind? 

↳ yourinstagram haha thanks?

harryfan3 GIRL!!!!! im so shocked i dont even know what to say or where to start or

↳ yourinstagram lol 💋💋💋

harryfan5 miss yn ilysm you made me laugh so hard like this is so confusing but so great i truly truly love you  

↳ yourinstagram miss emma you made me smile so hard rn thank you thank you hope to see you again at another show someday!

ynrryfan calling out that account so openly is so bold of you omfg im so proud

↳ yourinstagram thanks im so proud, too 

bestfriend ok but did they feed you today? gave you some water?

↳ yourinstagram yes. i had two glasses of water and one banana ↳ bestfriend wow! they be treating you like a princess now ↳ yourinstagram i know it wasnt easy but they finally agreed to make some improvements 

harryfan7 yn babe are you drunk or something? wth is all this? lmaooooooo

↳ yourinstagram lol maybe a little tipsy but no regrets at allllllll

lookitsnyoh  does this mean I am finally allowed to stop hanging out with you?

↳ yourinstagram no. your contract still says you’re forced to have at least one lunch a week with me and one drink every two shows ↳ lookitsnyoh well then ＠jefezoff let’s talk about this? Please? ↳ jefezoff I’m sorry but I’m afraid that’s not negotiable ↳ anthonypham I tried too ＠lookitsnyoh unfortunately I’m stuck with her friendship, too :( ↳ pillowpersonpp me too ↳ paulithepsm me three ↳ harryfan9 the way yn is such a stronger person than me bc i could never handle this much teasing from my friends like i’d be thinking it’s real and crying under my pillow for months  ↳ harryfan2 maybe she should bc doesn’t feel like “just” teasing to me ↳ yourinstagram it’s not ＠harryfan2 is right & everyone really hates me  harryfan10 ? How old are you? 8? ↳ yourinstagram 28, actually. you? 

harryfan4 to put popgossip on the spot like this it’s rude and uncalled for. like this isn’t funny. also what’s going on with all these comments? don’t you have better things to do than being here replying to people?

↳ harryfan7 im sorry, but uncalled for? are you serious? lmao she’s bringing them up because they made a full post with nothing but lies about her own life cmon ↳ harryfan4 still, she should’ve done this privately or something ↳ yourinstagram you’re right this isn’t funny and i don’t have nothing better to do. im sorry. im really very sorry. ↳ harryfan6 being sarcastic isn’t funny, girl ↳ yourinstagram oh, i thought it was. im sorry. wont do it again.

harryfan8 I mean, what are you even trying to accomplish here? Are you not embarrassed at all to behave like this?

↳ yourinstagram i am. very very embarrassed, actually. im sorry :( shame on me.

user3 Honestly, things are so different around here now that I almost forgot how fun it used to be to keep up with your posts. I’m glad to see real you back! Stay strong and don’t listen to the noise. 

↳ yourinstagram what noise? ;)  ↳ yourinstagram (thank you 💗)

user1 ok I know this isn’t at all related to the post but… no sightseeing this time? :(

↳ yourinstagram omg yes! are you kidding me? i always make time for sightseeing haha i’ll actually get to it tomorrow!  ↳ user1 ahhhh this is great! I love it! Hope you enjoy the city, then!  ↳ harryfan12 is this your way of letting people know where you’ll be so they can find you and see you with harry? 🥱 ↳ yourinstagram oh damn, you caught me! 

harrystyles ok. screen time is over now

↳ yourinstagram :( five more minutes, sir? ↳ harrystyles request denied. they’re heading to your room to take your phone away right now ↳ yourinstagram 😭 ↳ yourinstagram after all we went through? unbelievable ↳ harrystyles it is what you’ve signed up for ↳ yourinstagram cant fight with that ↳ harryfan9 helloooooooo??? ↳ harryfan11 HAJSHBAJSDH WTF IS HAPPENING TONIGHT ↳ harryfan13 sprinting to the gc RIGHT NOW to scream at this interaction bc what the fuck what the fuck WHAT. THE. FUCK.

user15 this whole thing was actually so refreshing to see! Please don’t ever stop standing up for yourself. It’s good for your soul but it’s also great entertainment for mine lol

harryfan0 guys I’m so confused… what is all this? haha can someone please fill me in?

↳ harryfan3 @/popgossip posted a lot of stupid things about yn. to sum it up, they said harry tried to end their pr relationship and yn didn’t take it well, so that’s why she was crying outside the hotel the other night. and they also said she spent the day at the hotel bc harrys team didnt let her leave… just nonsense like that. there are more details to the story that you can check on their last post, but it’s all clearly fake and not even worth the read (I promise)  ↳ harryfan11 also, can I just say they didn’t JUST create stuff, they were also unnecessarily aggressive with the lies? I mean, they said her crying was “a manipulative tactic to get his attention and also keep the rumors alive” !!!  There was absolutely no need for that?!? or to write that harrys team advised her to stay inside and away from him or “there would be consequences” ??? I mean wtf ??  ↳ user17 👆 this. THIS. is the reason why this post has become my favorite thing she’s ever done 

Oct 2, 2021 •

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liked by bestfriend, ynrryfan and 33 others

ynupdates After such an eventful night, Yn just posted this on her stories, meaning we can all relax now and catch a break from the madness 😅

Also, ＠harryfan9 shared with us a really nice screenshot of a conversation she had with Yn a few minutes ago! We asked what she’d comment on Yn’s post for her to say that, and she told us she’d said: “the way yn is such a stronger person than me bc I could never handle this much teasing from my friends”. The fan also said that Yn ended up replying “everyone really hates me” to a comment underneath hers, which is why she thinks Yn felt guilty and dmed her right before she posted the story.

To be honest, we loved to see this kind of Yn tonight. How do you guys feel about it?

view all 9 comments

harryfan5 this was just soooo great! for a moment I couldn’t keep up with it anymore lol it was so crazy but so great harryfan1 stop she reached out?? she’s soooooooooo sweet  user11 good for her! I feel like she’s finally owning the narrative and maybe now people will calm down a little

↳ user13 I hope so! I’m low-key kinda worried it’s actually going to make things worse ↳ user11 idk. people were hating on her nonstop anyway so… tbh I think she should’ve done this way sooner lol

ynrryfan the way she posted her texts with harry !!!!! also “so you know I mean it” !!!!! PLEASE 

↳ harryfan17 how do you it’s him?? no hate i swear just genuinely asking ↳ ynrryfan I just figured by the “screen time is over” bc is what he left on her post… but I might be wrong idk 😬

harryfan3 wish I could see when those behind popgossip wake up and find out about all this lol

Oct 2, 2021. •

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liked by bestfriend, yourbrother, gemmastyles and 23,114 others

yourinstagram GOOD MORNING nyc your wonderful wonderful city!! im so unbelievably excited for tonight!! my fake friends and fake ex-boyfriend are playing madison square garden and i KNOW it’s going to be sosososo great!! let’s do this CMONNNN!! 

view all 117 comments 

harryfan1 im sooooo excited too!! harryfan3 so jealous! I wish I could go  lookitsnyoh SO EXCITED  harrystyles weren’t you supposed to let me know? 

↳ yourinstagram i was and i can explain why i didnt, but please don’t expose me like this??! ↳ harrystyles then reply to my texts??!  ↳ harrystyles please??! ↳ harrystyles and thank you??! x  ↳ ynrryfan i cant 😭😭😭

bestfriend text me back too !!!!!! 

↳ harryfan7 lmao not yn being called out by everyone  ↳ yourinstagram istg you are all so damn impatient  ↳ yourinstagram (but also yes!! I will!! im sorry!!)

Oct 3, 2021. •

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liked by annetwist, bestfriend, harry_lambert and 30,109 others

yourinstagram hi, hellooo!! posting twice in less than 12 hours I KNOW but jenny lewis is about to start anytime now and i just wanna say that everyone looks sooooo pretty tonight!! you always do but there seems to be something extra special tonight <3 got to film so many sweet people already, but if you see me walking by and you wanna be a part of this ultra mega secret lot project pls dont be afraid of letting me know! (im the one jumping around in this outfit — minus the flowers unfortunately) id love to film as many of you as i can!! okay lets go now CMON LETS DO THIS cant wait to dance to canyon moon tonight!!! 🕺

view all 135 comments 

harryfan1 does harry look pretty, too?  user1 girl you’ve come so far this is so beautiful to see  bestfriend so happy so jealous so sad so proud so emotional rn

↳ harryfan3 cant believe you havent gone to a show yet!! ↳ harryfan5 fr you should be there rn

harryfan7 THANK YOU I LOVED MEETING YOU TONIGHT THANK YOU THANK YOU  harrystyles count me in  

Oct 3, 2021. •

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liked by anthonypham, bestfriend, harryupdates and 357,189 others

harrystyles Love On Tour. New York City, NY. I

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harryfan1 im so so proud  harryfan2 best concert ever cant wait to do it all over again tomorrow  harryfan3 i miss you already harryfan4 LOOKING SO HOT OUTFIT IS ON FIRE 🔥  harryfan5 why is she never here lol

↳ harryfan7 i ask that myself every time lol

Oct 3, 2021. •

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— — — — — 

PART 12 — STILL IN NYC

— — — — — 

[daughterofheartshaven]

So it's a very common opinion that Big Finish stories are not as good/interesting as they used to be. I don't know if that is actually a dominant opinion, but I see it a lot. I had a realization a few days ago that got me to a point where I feel like I can respectfully explain why I firmly disagree with this opinion.

To be clear! If you hold the opinion that classic Big Finish is better, than I still think that is a very valid opinion! I actually really hope that this post turns into a discussion with the classic Big Finish fans.

So, to clarify, my opinion is that Big Finish has always been good, but has notably increased in quality over time. For the record, my favorite thing Big Finish has done is probably the second half of the Doom Coalition subseries (published 2016-2017). Other favorites include Dalek Universe (2021) and the Purity Trilogy (2022-23).

My understanding of the criticisms of modern Big Finish are as follows: in the early 2000s, Big Finish was incredibly creative and was able to make some really dark and off-the-wall stories and create some really new and compelling characters, whereas today a lot of Big Finish is much more restricted in the sorts of stories they can tell and lean much more heavily on characters from the tv show, leading to stagnation and less interesting stories. I really don't want to be strawmanning here, so if I am mischaracterizing the argument, please let me know!

My main counterargument to this is that Big Finish is currently doing so much more than they were doing in the early 2000s. Back in those days they made what, 20-25 stories a year? These days, it's probably over 100 a year. And so, with this change, the amount of types of stories has allowed to increase dramatically. In my opinion, the really inventive, twisted stories still exist and are still being made frequently. They just aren't the main thing Big Finish does.

I should probably give some examples.

Stranded is a sixteen-part series starring the Eighth Doctor that I've compared to classic Big Finish before for having a lot of stories that are told in unconventional ways and going to personally dark places. The finale of the Purity trillogy, Purity Unbound, is an alternate-timeline cavalcade that feels like an shorter, Earth-based reimagining of the Divergent Universe arc.

But my biggest example is Torchwood. Especially the monthly Torchwood stories (This is the revelation that I had earlier). Big Finish Torchwood has been a massive collection of really dark, imaginative, up off-the-wall stories. And yeah, there are some of classic Big Finish that isn't kid-friendly that they couldn't do on Doctor Who anymore. They didn't stop making stories like that, though! They moved those stories over to the more adult and darker sibling series.

And re-characters - this is mostly from a youtube video I saw. I respect the youtuber (Council of Geeks) a lot, but she said that Big Finish is currently leaning on preexisting characters too much and isn't creating interesting characters like they used to - specifically citing Charley Pollard and Evelyn Smythe as excellent characters Big Finish had created in its classic days.

My counter argument to that is as follows:

New Big Finish characters created for Doctor Who between 1999-2004. Companions are bolded, and arguable companions are italicized: Charley, Evelyn, Erimem, Bev Tarrant, C'rizz, Kro'ka, Hex, Nimrod, Vansell, that unnamed Gallifreyan President, Cassie Schofeild

New Big Finish characters created for Doctor Who between 2020-2025. Companions are bolded: Raven, Naomi Cross, Hebe Harrison, Patrica McBride, Elise Kaplan, Elise's Ron, Tania Bell, Ken and Robin Bright-Thomson, Tony Claire, Tony's Ron, Aisha and Zakia Akhtar, Hieronyma Friend, Case, Callen and Doyle, Valarie Lockwood, Patricia Lockwood, Roanna, Kiera Sanstrom

I define a new character as an individual who appears on audio, is used for multiple releases within that time period, and has no prior appearances. I also restricted myself to stories starring the Doctor - I would be here all day if I went into other Whoniverse stories that didn't star the Doctor.

My point, if it wasn't clear, is that saying that Big Finish is making less characters than it used to is incorrect (unless I'm misunderstanding parameters). If you want to say that the 1999-2004 characters are better or more creative, then that would be a valid opinion to have! I don't agree with that, but that's a valid opinion.

And if you want to point out that Big Finish is also spending more time retreading old ground then it used to, then yeah. It is. But again, Big Finish is just doing so much more than they used to in general. They can do that and also do new stuff.

Okay, that's it for this, I think. If you have a response to my thoughts here, I'd love to hear it!

[mysticcollectionvoid]

Pt 1 above

The Phone Call

Sylus pt. 2

I created her is the first thing that came out of your mouth. His eyebrow raised at that and the most coiled tighter around your throat.

Out of everyone this should surprise you the least Sylus, you’re the fiend from another timeline who was in a space time prison, so you shouldn’t be too surprised about someone from an alternate reality. She was my character in a video game.

Finally the words stopped falling from your lips and the adrenaline from everything that had happened left your body. You slumped the mist the only thing holding you up. Looking up at Sylus you couldn’t read his expression, but you couldn’t sense any disbelief coming from him. Finally after what seemed like an eternity the mist pulled away from you and a pair of hands wrapped around your waist.

You know who I am

Was all that came from his mouth. You looked at him seeing the shock and a hint of something else subtly etched on his face.

Of course I do you’re my dragon

As soon as the words left your mouth you felt your face flush and tried to back track.

Im sorry you’re not my dragon, that was stupid you don’t even know who I am and besides you’re supposed to belong with the MC that I created her being the other half of your soul……

He put a hand over your mouth before you could continue. As you looked up at him you saw the loving look that normally you only saw through a small screen and you felt your heart melting.

Just as he was about to speak the sound of an engine approached you and a caw was heard above. Looking up you see Mephisto circling above your heads, smiling you watch and the mechanical crow lands near by and starts to caw at Sylus. You take a step towards him and greet the crow. Mephisto stops cawing and tilts his head at you, then spreading his wings he flies cover to land on your shoulder. Reaching up you start to stroke the feathers,

Hey Mephie, don’t you looks dashing today are you keeping everyone safe being their eyes in the sky

You hear a low chuckle from beside you and you turn away from Mephisto to look at the man beside you. Raising an eyebrow you stare at him wondering why he started to laugh at you.

You definitely aren’t her that’s for sure, she and Mephisto got along as well as cats and dogs.

You couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt at his words. Looking down an apology fell from your lips. You felt Mephisto nudge your cheek smiling slightly you looked at him and could feel his sentiments.

You’re right Mephie I don’t need to be her I am me and while I don’t know how I got here I must be here for a reason.

A pair of arms wrapped around you as a car pulled up. Glancing up you see Sylus nodding in the direction of the car as a pair of masked figures got out of it. Recognizing them your smile got wider.

Boss, what is Miss Hunter doing here?

Their eyes fell on you and the arm that Sylus has around you. Unable to keep your mouth shut you said

You would think twins would be better at telling people apart.

It seemed like the world stopped as a deep laugh rang out from behind you. All heads turned in Sylus’s direction and he continued to laugh. All you could do was stand there absorbed in how amazing he was.

Boss hasn’t even smiled since Miss Hunter ratted him out to the Association, why is he so happy to see her?

You heard one of the twins whisper to the other, realization dawning on you why Sylus seemed surprised you called him.

Turning in his grasp you put your arms around his neck. Quickly before you lost your nerve you brought his head down and kissed him. You felt him freeze under you, and just as you started to pull away because you thought he didn’t want you his arms tightened around you. One hand coming up to the back of your head to keep you from pulling away. He nipped at your bottom lip causing you to gasp and he took that advantage to slip his tongue into your mouth, the smell of whiskey and leather clogging your senses as he left you breathless. Finally you managed to get away from his grasp so you could get the air required to continue living.

Crimson eyes locked with yours as he tightened his grasp around you again pulling you to his chest. Feeling him lift you off the ground to walk to the car you heard him say

Welcome home my treasure.

[stars-and-sugarcubes]

Pluto, the Internet, a Night in the Woods.

I was going to repost thoughts I shared from watching a Night In the Woods video essay, but I have decided to expand on it and re-write it completely.

" During one of Rosa's sleepy reminiscences about her youth, she says, 'Back then there were places that brought us all together, the church and the union.' Both the union and the church were hubs for community building and shared values. You could trust that your fellows in these places would think about the world similarly to you, and if you think about how unions suffered near extinction when manufacturing moved out and the industries that these unions had formed in died, that on top of how with each generation we become more and more agnostic, thereby losing that common gathering place in the church. it kind of explains why young people are so atomized and miserable these days. The only common place that we can gather and delude ourselves in is the internet. "

- Flundering Chipper (minutes 30:44 to 31:27)

1971, Intel released the first microprocessor, and home computers entered the market in 1977, raising in popularity and accessibility through the 80s and 90s. Today, technology is known to have developed exponentially since then.

The video essayist, Flunderingchipper, spoke about the younger generation's lack of religious faith and physical spaces to commune, and it made the cogs turn in my head. GenZ, the Sagittarius Pluto generation (1995-2008), is considered both digitally fluent and dependent due to being the first generation to fully grow up with computers and abundant internet access. GenZ also marks a significant difference between the generations after and before them.

The timeline for micro computer and personal computer usage begins at the bookend of the late Summer sign of Virgo (1959-1971) and the beginning of the Autumn signs with Libra (1971-1983), planting the seeds for the transformation of social and worldly connectedness we see today with Pluto now in Aquarius (2023-2044). Computers and further advancements like smartphones cemented themselves in the US and the world through Pluto's transits in Scorpio (1983-1995) and Sagittarius, the generation of Sag. Pluto is gaining the reputation of being extremely different from older generations and being connected online and less so in person. That is, not to mention the Capricorn (2008-2023) and Aquarius generations. On the internet, the general impression American GenZ seems to be that they are absurd, politically minded, and socially aware, gregarious, zealous, and unwilling to participate in corporate and political struggles of older generations. At least, from what I understand.

Computers came in the autumn of Pluto's treck through the zodiac. A time when previous generations harvested their gifts and their young have less material gains in turn. It started with the Libra Pluto generation, but the Scorpio Pluto generation was likely the first to notice it. Millennials.

All this to say, Pluto, the planet of ordeals, transformations, and death, showed us a time when the internet grew in influence, taking the place of community with friends and colleagues. Less people go outside to have fun. More people turn to gaming, social media, art, and sharing their interests with each other. There are fewer free spaces to commune. The Church loses its grip as people grapple with religious dogma and share in their struggles with it. People learn more about the world and connect with others from further distances. The average person can share themselves with the world and create communities and gain influence on a wider scale, changing the culture around public figures. Mall walkways are emptier, and stores shut down and become desolate. Small shops and average people are threatened by growing corporate power. But that begins to bleed into Capricorn Pluto.

As an older GenZ person reflecting on life as we move forward, I just find this morbidly fascinating. We must endure Pluto's travel through winter.

[sleepanonymous]

im trying to get into sleeptoken - one of my friends is dragging me into it and i love it - can you just give me like a huge timeline and lore overlook? im looking around your feed, and im SO confused but also SO intrigued !! would love to hear from you :)

Hi! New fans always make me so happy! I’m glad you’ve been shown Sleep Token and you like what you’ve heard so far! I always recommend this video and this article regarding Sleep Token lore, but… yeah, I will take a stab at a complete timeline for you. I’ll be honest: I never was very into the lore of “Sleep” as much as I was curious about the band itself (which is typically why I recommend the two above sources for lore purposes). I know that much of the lore is from fans’ deep analyses of Sleep Token’s lyrics and not anything official from the band or Vessel. Almost everything is fan-made, so there are a lot of differing opinions—anything official or stated by Vessel and the band in interviews I included. If anyone is interested in my take on the lore, I might make a separate post about that.

This ended up becoming a massive post. Take what you think is massive and then double or even triple it. Fun fact: I aggressively fact-checked this and actually learned some new things about the band myself. I have marked any unverifiable statements and opinions in this post with an asterisk. Due to the band’s secrecy, the sentences with an asterisk are either heavily opinion-based or my best guess at what might have happened during a specific time period. Take them with a grain of salt.

Anyway! I have a problem; below the cut, I am making it everybody else’s problem.

In September of 2016, a video was posted to YouTube. The video was a black-and-white depiction, through short clips and flashing images, of what appeared to be a lone masked man, Vessel, performing a ritual by candlelight. The music over the video, a hauntingly beautiful mixture of indie pop and prog metal, was met with heavy praise from commenters. The description had three links to a new band’s social media and a Bandcamp account. Below the links was the following description:

Sleep Token are a masked, anonymous collective of musicians; united by their worship of an ancient deity crudely dubbed “Sleep”, since no modern tongue can properly express it’s name. This being once held great power, bestowing ancient civilisations with the gift of dreams, and the curse of nightmares. Even today, though faded from prominence, ‘Sleep’ yet lurks in the subconscious minds of man, woman, and child alike. Fragments of beauty, horror, anguish, pain, happiness, joy, anger, disgust, and fear coalesce to create expansive, emotionally textured music that simultaneously embodies the darkest, and the brightest abstract thoughts. He has seen them. He has felt them. He is everywhere. Sleep Token, led by the perpetually tormented, supremely talented Vessel, creates music that brings to the fore our most submerged thoughts and feelings, coaxing them from the desolate, terrifying caves of our subconscious mind.

The band officially formed in April 2016 (The YouTube channel, for reference, was created on April 14, 2016), but things had already been in the works for nearly a year before the uploaded Thread the Needle music video. In July 2015, Vessel came into contact with a talent scout/independent project manager by the name of Tom (I won’t provide his full name since Googling him brings up biased, embellished, and most likely false information about the band and its members).* In 2015, Vessel was already a skilled, trained, and experienced musician with the ability to play several instruments, including the piano, guitar, and bass, and the knowledge to compose and produce his own music. That being the case, Tom introduced Vessel to a drummer, dubbed II, as well as a skilled producer by the name of George Lever.*

On November 10, 2016, a second video was posted to Sleep Token’s YouTube channel, a music video for the masked collective’s second release, Fields of Elation. Much like Thread the Needle, Fields of Elation was met with enthusiasm and praise by Sleep Token’s growing fanbase.

Finally, on December 2, 2016, Sleep Token independently released their first EP, aptly titled “One”, on their Bandcamp page. The EP included Thread the Needle, Fields of Elation, and a new song: When the Bough Breaks. Accompanying the three songs, the band also included piano renditions of all three songs, performed solely by Vessel.

On the last day of February 2017, Sleep Token posted another video to their YouTube channel, a sombre piano cover of Outkast’s Hey Ya. Following the release of “One” and the cover of Hey Ya, Tom, now acting as Sleep Token’s manager, got the band signed to a label called Basick Records.* By May 2017, the band had another three-song EP, dubbed “Two”, already written and set to release that summer. This was announced via the release of Sleep Token’s third music video, Calcutta. By this time, Sleep Token’s manager had gotten a stand-in bassist and guitarist, dubbed III and IV, respectively, for the band’s first live Ritual. This was mentioned at the end of Sleep Token’s first-ever published interview with Louder. You can read it and the accompanying short article here.

On June 17, 2017, less than one month after the release of the Calcutta music video, Sleep Token took the stage for their first Ritual at The Black Heart in London. The band played seven songs live, including the three songs from “One”, Calcutta, two unreleased songs, Nazareth and Jericho from their upcoming EP “Two”, and their cover of Hey Ya. Very little is known about this Ritual. Most online sources seem to not know of its existence at all. The only concrete facts known about Ritual I are that doors opened at 7 pm, it was 18+, and tickets were £8.00 each. It is unclear how many people attended the Ritual; no footage or pictures have surfaced from that evening.

Sleep Token’s second and third rituals were performed in London in October and November 2017. The band opened for Motorpsycho and Perturbator, respectively. Because they were openers, any visual or audio documentation is nearly non-existent, but the band did appear in a few online articles reviewing the concerts.

In this article, author Roger Trenwith wrote the following about Sleep Token’s Ritual II:

“The support act Sleep Token was an odd mix of metal and pure pop, played by a band in horror masks and cloaks. Musically they were somewhat formulaic, in the tried and trusted quiet-loud-quiet-F’KIN LOUD nature of most of the songs, and accompanying theatrics by rote. When they diverted from the formula, they showed some promise, mostly down to the singer, whose extraordinary range made them just about bearable.”

Ritual III was met with similar criticism. This article, written by a much more helpful and open-minded Chris Keith-Wright, stated the following*:

“Remarkably, by the time Sleep Token take to the stage to start the evening off, there’s a very respectable amount of people front and centre to check them out. Perhaps this is due to the up-swell of media attention on the band since their signing to Basick Records and the release of their second EP, cleverly titled Two, that landed this summer. [...] The conceit surrounding the group is that the band are representatives of an ancient deity known only as “Sleep”, and that their frontman is an appointed-one dubbed ‘Vessel’. Whatever one makes of that, the fact is that Sleep Token’s Vessel has a most extraordinary set of pipes. [...] With a lighting show in time with their music and Vessel’s strong, soulful melodic voice featuring some impressive falsetto, they quickly engaged the audience. With the amount of vocal harmonies and extra musical depth that came over the sound system, I have to admit that it felt throughout their set that they were missing a band member, someone who could control and wield the keyboards, samples and electronics in a live setting. Donned with the obligatory cloaks the band produce a strong performance with their points of difference, clearly thought out prior to their live debut only a few weeks before. Their odd masks obscure their faces and during the quiet, vocal-led passages the guitar and bass players stood stock still. It’s simple, understated, but effective, producing quite the spectacle. Sleep Token’s transition between soulful, repetitive vocal melodies and brutal Meshuggah-esque riffery, and after a few songs this formula felt well-trodden. This is unfortunate as on record these transitions between the two disparate styles are far better executed – live there was far too much juxtaposition. Despite this, I and the majority of the growing crowd were transfixed by their performance.”

In March 2018, Sleep Token opened for two Holding Absence/Loathe shows, two bands with which Vessel would later collaborate. By April 2018, Sleep Token had parted ways with their manager and the Basick Records label.* It is unclear if both of these departures were related or amicable. As a once again independent artist, Sleep Token released the single, Jaws, on June 3, 2018, using footage filmed for their Nazareth music video that their previous label did not utilise. Through the spring and summer of 2018, Sleep Token performed their rituals at UK music festivals, further growing their fanbase.

In August of 2018, Vessel gave his second interview to Kerrang! UK. Interestingly, the article refers to the frontman not as Vessel but simply as Him. The main focus is on Sleep Token’s music and the single Jaws, released two months prior. A transcribed version of the article can be found in my Google Drive

Following these successful rituals and the Jaws interview, the band released another single, The Way That You Were, on October 8, 2018, along with its music video on YouTube.

This release preceded the last Ritual the band would perform that year. On October 11, 2018, Ritual XI was held at St Pancras Old Church in London, dubbed the band’s Inaugural Headline Ritual. It’s rumoured that all 120 tickets to the Ritual sold out in seconds. The band performed ten songs in total, including the live debut of the song Blood Sport. It is also worth noting that this is the first ritual Sleep Token performed with an opener being a band called Exploring Birdsong, which would become a staple opener for later ritual dates. Several members of Exploring Birdsong would also later become touring members of Sleep Token as the Choir.

At an unknown date in 2019, Sleep Token signed with a new label, Spinefarm Records. Together, the band and label began releasing music from Sleep Token’s first full-length album, “Sundowning.” Starting with The Night Does Not Belong to God on June 20, 2019, the band methodically released a new song bi-weekly at sundown BST until the record’s full release on November 21, 2019.

Interestingly, Sleep Token’s biography on Spinefarm differs from what the band had previously had in the description of their first two music videos. It is as follows:

Beneath the Sleep Token banner, lies the unique, broad-based vision of one individual – anonymous, silent, masked, armed with a staggering vocal range, a deft touch on the keyboards, plus a live approach that is never less than fully engaged.

While all factual statements to Vessel’s capabilities and talents, it appears that the band and their new label had retconned the lore surrounding them, granting the creation credits solely to Vessel himself. This is further evident by the Kerrang! Interview Vessel had previously given, which was removed from the internet, as well as the band’s Facebook page getting scrubbed of all posts prior to April 2019. Replacing them is a video of Vessel sitting at a piano and removing his mask, reminiscent of what would later happen at The Room Below Ritual in 2022.

Sleep Token would return to the stage on July 2, 2019. During this Ritual, Sleep Token opened for Amaranth and headliner Babymetal. This Ritual is notable because two key stage members, the guitarist IV and the Keyboardist, were replaced. The new guitarist took on the same moniker of IV, and the Keyboardist was replaced with three women from Exploring Birdsong, forming the Choir (or, as fans have dubbed them, the Vesselettes). The Choir was not yet a ritual staple, and there were several festivals and rituals where they did not accompany the band on stage, such as Sleep Token’s first US tour from November 7 to December 15, supporting Issues on the Beautiful Oblivion tour. The replacement for IV, however, did accompany Sleep Token on this tour.

With the release of “Sundowning,” Sleep Token once again gave an interview to Kerrang! UK to accompany an article reviewing the album. The article can be found online here, but no longer has the accompanying interview section. A photo of the original magazine review + interview, and a transcription can be found in my Google Drive.

Returning to the UK, Sleep Token performed several more rituals in late January 2020. Due to COVID-19 and subsequent lockdowns, they did not conduct another ritual that year. Nearly one year after the release of Sundowning, the band released a deluxe version, including new covers of Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Billie Eilish’s When The Party’s Over, a piano version of Blood Sport, and a new original song titled Shelter.

Sleep Token would not perform another Ritual until the Download Pilot festival on June 18, 2021. Despite being Sleep Token’s first Ritual in over a year, this festival also had IV replaced again by another guitarist donning the same moniker. The Choir also returned to the stage with Sleep Token, completing the lineup that we know today. This festival was the same day that Sleep Token dropped their new single from their upcoming second album, Alkaline, along with a music video on YouTube.

Another reason the Download Pilot ritual was significant is that it was the first time a spoken message had been given to the attendees of a Sleep Token ritual, not by a band member but by a prerecorded, AI-generated voice. The following text was the message:

Let’s not deceive ourselves There is a reason we are here It follows us wherever we go We were in love We are in love It is what floats above us as we try to sleep It is what stands beside us as we gaze into nothingness It is drowning us It is eating us alive A million outstretched arms in complete darkness They will reach forever Remind me We’re both dying to find out what happens when we die We’re both scared of being We’re both stolen pieces of each other We’re both exploring our own frontiers of grief We’re both just strangers We’re both just particles We’re both so lost in what it means to be lost We’re both a house that remained unoccupied for too long Let’s not deceive ourselves.

Sleep Token released another music video for their upcoming album’s second single, The Love You Want, on August 6, 2021. Sleep Token played the same spoken message before taking the stage at the 2021 Heavy Music Awards on September 2, 2021. On stage, they performed several staple songs from “Sundowning” along with new singles Alkaline and The Love You Want, with the latter including the same dancers from the music video.

Two weeks later, on September 17, 2021, Sleep Token released their third and final single from their upcoming album, Fall For Me. Unlike the previous music videos for the band, this video focused on a single man, whom keen-eyed fans had identified as Vessel, though he was maskless, paintless, and in street clothing. Over the video, words will flash across the screen. When strung together, they give the following message:

The truth is I am due a harsh lesson In truth itself and how bitter it can be  Will you teach me? The truth is, I am ugly, I am inadequate, I am lost, I am no god The truth is, I want to want to live And so do you I just can’t do this any longer I am afraid Are you afraid? I want to understand what it is to let go So for now let me serve as a living drama of your pain If we are to be submerged let us be submerged  Together

One week later, On September 24, 2021, Sleep Token released their second full-length album with Spinefarm Records, titled “This Place Will Become Your Tomb.” This album was the first to find a spot on the UK music charts, reaching #39 for UK Albums.

That following November, Sleep Token had their first multi-date headline tour supporting their second album. They toured with another of their staple openers, AA Williams, and played eight rituals in total throughout the UK.

On November 26, 2021, an instrumental version of “This Place Will Become Your Tomb” was released, stripping all songs of Vessel’s vocals, except for Missing Limbs, which was not included. Surprising fans, just over one month later, on January 2, 2022, Sleep Token released a cover of Loathe’s song Is It Really You? The cover is listed as a collaboration between both bands but is simply (though still beautiful and enrapturing) Vessel singing alongside a piano rendition of the original song.* A year later later, the vocalist of Holding Absence, Lucas Woodland, would also announce that his band had collaborated with Vessel on an unreleased song on his Twitter.

This unofficial announcement accompanies another that was made in March of 2019 by Lucas, who stated in an interview that Vessel assisted Holding Absence with playing the piano in the song Purge.

On March 30, 2022, Sleep Token released an instrumental version of their first album, Sundowning. Nearly a month later, on April 29, 2022, Sleep Token, or rather Vessel and the Choir, performed an intimate ritual at the Lafayette in London. The Ritual was dubbed “From the Room Below.” This performance is one of the most significant rituals for two reasons. Vessel sang and played guitar for the first several songs, then removed his mask and played the rest of the set while sitting at a piano with his back to the audience. The second reason is that Vessel, once again, played an AI-generated message to the crowd of 600 people while he openly sobbed on the piano bench. His full message to the audience was this:

We are here to silently connect. To project ourselves onto one another. We are here to remember. We are here to forget. We are here to worship. Some time ago, I was given a message. It was a message that originated from one of you. Someone possessed by a strong desire to tell me something. The message read very simply: You saved me. I have thought about this message a great deal since. It left me with a feeling that I have somehow been mistaken for someone else. I did not save anyone. I do not believe I have the capacity to save anyone. All I have ever given anyone was a small window into the emotional waiting room of my mind. I do so whilst doing everything in my power to minimise my own vulnerability. In this way, I am selfish. I chose not to give what others can, and yet I am the benefactor of this thankful praise. I experience a great deal of pain in my life. However, I do not believe I have suffered as you have suffered. Perhaps that is another reason why we are here. At the very least, we have all suffered. I would also like to take this chance to tell you something. To love oneself is not the easy task we are sometimes told it is. We are all limited by something. We are all guilty of something. My own path towards a place of greater self-acceptance is paved with the art that I create. It is a path that I continue to stumble down at the expense of everything else. I am nothing without this music. I am nothing without this mask. So, in this sense, the message I received was true, but only in an inverse sense. The truth is I did not save anybody. You saved me.

After this first Ritual of 2022, Sleep Token had a busy year of touring, performing rituals in the UK, for the first time in Australia, and returning to the United States. In all, fifty-four rituals were performed, making 2022 Sleep Token’s busiest year— until 2023.

On January 4, 2023, Sleep Token dropped a new YouTube video, a visualiser for a new song, Chokehold, from their upcoming third studio album, “Take Me Back to Eden.” One day later, on January 5, Sleep Token posted another visualiser to YouTube, this time for the song The Summoning. This song is specifically responsible for Sleep Token’s sudden skyrocketing into the spotlight of modern music. To date (late November 2023), the visualiser has over 13 million views on YouTube, and the song has over 80 million streams on Spotify.

Around the same time as Chokehold and The Summoning were released, Sleep Token also added new merchandise to their store. Among the new “Take Me Back to Eden” themed shirts and pullovers was a crewneck sweater with a poem written in runes. The poem read as follows:

I am hunting something, and in turn, that same thing is hunting me. The beholder, the void beyond. I am the line between. I am the teeth of God.

Sleep Token released six singles for their third studio album: Granite on January 19, Aqua Regia on January 20, Vore on February 15, and DYWTYLM on April 19. “Take Me Back to Eden” was released on May 19. Dubbed the end to a trilogy, Sleep Token’s third album reached a peak point of #3 for UK Albums and #16 for the US Billboard 200. With this success, Sleep Token and Vessel were featured on several magazine covers, but the accompanying articles lacked an interview by the band or their servants.

Sleep Token spent the time between single releases touring Europe, the UK, and Australia. In September of 2023, the band returned to the US, for the first time with the Choir, for a headline tour, using AA Williams as their opener. At every date on this headline tour, a series of interludes were played between songs. All four interludes are below.

Interlude I Mask: They think you fake it Vessel: What do you mean? Mask: When you cry on stage, they don’t think it’s real. Vessel: That’s a reasonable assumption. Mask: Do you fake it? Vessel: No, I don’t. But it is something I do consistently, so if I was a member of the audience, I would probably assume that it wasn’t real. Mask: Do you ever see them crying? Vessel: No, I can only ever see them smiling. That’s good. I want them to smile. Mask: Do you think they want you to cry? Do you think they like it? Vessel: Not as such; I think they just want to know that I am feeling something, feeling what they are feeling, perhaps. Mask: Do you think that this amount of crying is healthy for you? Vessel: I don’t know. But at least I feel something; if I don’t feel anything, then why would I even do this?

Interlude II Mask: Why am I here? What is my purpose in all of this? Vessel: Your purpose is twofold. You protect me from them, and you also protect them from me. Mask: How is it that I serve to protect anyone from anything? That makes no sense. Vessel: In order for all of this to work, there has to be a certain boundary in place. They need to be able to project themselves onto this without anyone else’s identity getting in the way. In turn, I need to be able to show my true self to them in a way that does not compromise their ability to connect. Mask: So that’s what I am? A boundary?  Vessel: Yes. Mask: I don’t believe you. I believe there is more to it than that. I believe you are afraid of something.  Vessel: We are all afraid of something, are we not?  Mask: What is it you are so afraid they will see? Vessel: That I am exactly like everyone else.

Interlude III Mask: Are you afraid of me? Vessel: Sometimes. Mask: Why? Vessel: I think I am afraid of becoming you. Mask: What does that even mean? Vessel: My life is becoming gradually consumed by you. Before long, all that I am will be contained within you. Then, one day, when I no longer wish to wear you, there will be nothing else left. Mask: It seems you have forgotten who you are. Before you had me, you were nothing. All of this artifice, all this pathetic conjecture about your identity, it is nothing but a manifestation of how short-sighted and solipsistic you have become. I lifted you from misery and obscurity. You would be better to become me. You are nothing without me. You always were nothing without me.

Interlude IV Vessel: You. Are. Wrong. In the end, my fractured sense of self was only another piece of fuel for the fire that burns in the eyes of these people before us. They, too, are pained. They, too, do not know who they truly are. They are each stood alone on a stage of their own. And yet, they are here. United by that sense of never truly belonging. They see something beyond their own bleak horizons. And they reach for it. Together. So let us join now. To reflect their joy and to serve as a conduit for their anguish. To swallow their fear.

Though only one month remains in 2023, Sleep Token still has a set of rituals to complete in Germany, as well as their largest venue as a headliner: OVO Wembley Arena, with a staggering 12,500 capacity—tickets sold out in ten minutes when they went on sale earlier this year in June. With the band’s continuous and foreboding statement of “nothing lasts forever,” many fans worried that this would be the last we ever saw of Sleep Token, with everything starting from “One” and culminating to a peak with “Take Me Back to Eden,” only to evaporate into nothing come the new year. Fortunately, several 2024 tour dates have already been announced for Sleep Token, including a tour in Australia where the band will be supporting Bring Me the Horizon and a festival date for the USA in April. Though all we can do is speculate what may come next for Sleep Token, one thing is for certain: This is only the beginning for our favourite band.

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Good Omens, staying skeptical, and the mystery and the lie at the heart of Gravity Falls

-Neil Gaiman, 29 June 2023

I recently came across this post by @apathetic-revenant, which goes into extensive detail about a whole secret meta lie generated by Alex Hirsch, creator and head writer of Gravity Falls, midway through the show.

It went like this: the show was very focused on mysteries, codes, ciphers, etc, and early on a character discovered a mysterious journal with an unknown author, and this drove the plot. There were clues placed in the show so that people could solve the journal author's identity, or more probably so that it would all make sense in hindsight after the big reveal. However, the show ended up with a larger-than-expected fandom who started organizing online in a way the creators hadn't expected or planned for, and they were worried everyone would collectively solve the mystery too easily, too soon, and the suspense and appeal of the story gradually unfolding would be lost.

So they took a fake BTS photo that appeared to reveal the journal's author and "leaked" it online. To give it credibility, the show's creator posted "Fuming right now" and then deleted the post soon after, once they were certain it had been seen and screenshots taken. The Gravity Falls fandom then stopped trying to solve the mystery, as they believed the answer had already been revealed. It was a solution "targeted toward delaying that group problem-solving, without actually affecting the experience of any individual person watching the show."

Ok, Good Omens fandom. Are we Gravity Falls all over again? Are we also experiencing meta lies?

Is it possible that Amazon's marketing department has just released a new promotional video about Aziraphale & Crowley's "timeline of interconnectedness" (discussions here and here ) where they honestly:

got several of those timeline dates wrong, including labeling the entirety of seasons 1 and 2 as belonging to the same year?

mixed all the season 1 and 2 clips together so they're completely interconnected and out of the order they were presented to us so far?

didn't consult with Neil Gaiman for even a moment to be sure they had their facts straight? (Or literally anyone else who's spent years working on it? Or even someone who has just watched it once while paying attention?)

didn't understand the way most series tell a story by moving through time in a realistic linear fashion?

When Neil said today that "time is fine" in response to questions about the timeline of interconnectedness video, was he trying to misdirect the fandom away from the mystery that's clearly hidden throughout both seasons (and especially season 2)?

The Good Place seems suddenly more relevant than I'd imagined:

Neil has told us that his Tumblr posts aren't canon. He's also said:

"Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story."

"Writers are liars, my dear, surely you know that by now? And yet, things need not have happened to be true. Tales and dreams are the shadow-truths that will endure when mere facts are dust and ashes, and forgot." -Both quotes are from The Sandman [link]

So here's my plea to whichever part of the fandom might read this: Stay Skeptical. It's wonderful to talk to Neil about his characters, the worlds he's created, his writing process, his views on world events, his sense of humor, his kindness, his compassion and empathy, and his good advice & encouragement for the entire range of the human experience. I respect him very much, and I'm thrilled he's here on social media talking to all of us. (Except he doesn't have social media, obviously. He's like Schrödinger's Social Media Neil-cat.)

I'm looking forward to all the surprises I'm certain are in store for us (and Aziraphale and Crowley) in Good Omens season 3. I trust Neil (and Terry!) to deliver our beloved characters to a very satisfying ending. But I don't trust Neil to honestly answer all of our questions on social media - and neither should you.

Especially not when he's already blamed obvious season 2 changes to the Bentley on the "lighting" (as just one example).

With lots of thanks to the members of the @ineffable-detective-agency - including @bbbitchvibbbez, @kimberleyjean, @maufungi, @noneorother, @theastrophysicistnextdoor, and @thebluestgreen for all their excellent fact-checking, ideas, and discussions!

Interested in diving further into all the Good Omens mysteries? I have more posts plus Clues and metas from all over the fandom, here.

[hr-twink]

wwfo materials dump

in honor of finishing this beast 3 weeks ago here is a digital scrapbook of my materials and some behind the scenes

initial sketches for the art

Below is the 1 paragraph version of the dms i sent to @thehorsesthatareslow who had the misfortune of letting me bounce this idea off him. ( dms are separated by || so thats why there are 30 'so like's 💀)

ok so my evil mind came up w this last night after i had caught up on all the content on ao3 😔|| ok so like the trope that makes me want to die the most is like reincarnation/finding eachother in every life (😫😫😫) ok so like what if river spider enemies (sexual) in every lifetime over like a couple hundred years and one always dies before it gets like romantic || but the line that i created was “how many lifetimes until we get it right?” gonna kmsssss ||so like at the end coda (the modern era show timeline) spider doesnt die and they finally get to be together ||you are welcome || im going to make it seem like its a sad ending and then drop a final chapter where he comes back to life and everythings fine because its the 21st century and like medicine exists 😂

some of the general rules i tried to follow for each story

meme @cakebatteronabrickwall sent me after chapter 4? i think. sums up the vibes i wanted

the forsaken 1700s chapter :

i referenced this as an easter egg in chapter 7

other chapters that could have been: (real and joke)

1300s plague

Originally chapter 4 was supposed to be 1666 The Great Fire of London but I moved it to the Gunpowder Plot for the espionage.

1600s spider is one of the bored crazy teenaged girls that started the salem witch trials (@manbeaft partially responsible for this idea dfkjgf)

ww2 (although i like to think that the turn-around has to be longer)

Main source for the early chapters:

Arthurson, Ian. "Espionage and Intelligence from the Wars of the Roses to the Reformation." Nottingham Medieval Studies, Vol. 35, 1991,pp.134-154.

The other stuff i got from my knowledge of history, the internet, and youtube videos explaining the insane geopolitics of medieval england

I also went on a giant rabbithole for the telegraph Roddy has in chapter 5 that ended up just being an offhand thing. Same thing happened with the Wire Repair in Chapter 6 where i read like 3 articles and several pages in a book on archive.org about trench telephone wires and wiretapping. Also went no where and ill never need the information again!

finally for this weird post: i went to Lewes today for brunch (Brewers Arms 😘😘😍🥰) and saluted our fallen chapter 2 spider🫡🫡chose a spot in the distance for him to have fictionally died :)

[also song rec from @manbeaft: Old Souls ]

[storgicbytes]

ehehehehehe okay. first things first i figured out a good name for stohio: carteblan (i cannot believe it took me this long ive been calling it stohio for like ? oh my god just over a year now)

anyways yeah.

i havent figured out the exact timeline, but a couple years before victim "came back to life"/escaped the ava1 youtube video (that's a whole other can of worms), stickfigures were just finding out about the existence of other living sticks. in particular, freedom was a rather popular figure as one of the first sticks to break out of stick slavery (many living stickfigures were put to tasks, similar to chosen and second, where it was either do the task or die). freedom specifically was the first to discover the outernet, and quickly provided a link to others online.

he then created the "stick freedom ad" (which earned him his name; prior to this, he was simply known as unti (short for untitled) (sticks having Names outside of their roles was not a common thing yet)). he made this ad and scammed several websites into displaying it without actually paying for it by using fraudulent money (there are a couple very old blog posts and forum posts about the Stick Freedom Ad and what its supposed to mean, since clicking on it leads to an error 404).

as more sticks were freed and entered the outernet, they began to build houses. some sticks that had experience with drawing helped draw the sketches for these houses, which was then built upon using the surrounding resources. this eventually developed into carteblan, the city that mango and purple live in today.

however as time passed the culture in carteblan became a little elitist--- victim-blamey (haha), acting like all sticks should be strong, and turning down their noses on sticks who look a little too different from the norm (like paleo, ballista and hazard) (the norm being hollowheads, fullheads and whiteheads).

like i mentioned in my reblog, the sticks in carteblan began to crave more, lives similar to human lives, and amongst that was a demand for stick children. in my headcanon, sticks cannot reproduce and any sex they have is entirely recreational, so they had to devise another method for having kids. adoption, like mango did with gold in my hc, is the most common way of doing this.

sticks like second, that can draw things to life, are extremely rare (like 1 out of a thousand) in the outernet, but theres a couple thousand people in carteblan as of 2024 so there are a few sticks that can actually draw sticks to life. thus, they do 'kid' commissions where they literally draw a kid to life in exchange for money. there are also some website sticks in touch with their animators who ask their animators do do kid commissions as well for people in the outernet.

wow okay this is long. there are other stick cities too but the two major cities are carteblan and adagia most other sticks live in solitude or on websites ok im done woo

grabs you by the shoulders. falls onto the floor. has a fucking awakening

DUDE.

this is one of the most amazing things ive seen recently that inspired me to make a ramble/srs.

im going to create another part of my ramble series and pin it because of it im fr

foundation of the outernet, development of outernet sticks and creation of living beings

(a ramble made with the help of an immaculate person with amazing ideas)

OH MY GOD?????? FIRSTLY. i need to mention that i ADORE that we both have an idea that outernet was discovered by created internet/pc sticks. that its appearance began to be a place for a whole race to live in. and that its not something that exists completely naturally and independently from it. this is the theory of their origins i believe most right now

freedom being the founder IS SICK. ITS SO FUCKING SICK im rolling on the floor

in my "rules of code" ramble also i supposed sticks being in touch with their creators as well and them also BEING DRAWN!!! by sticks and creators. ill put a screenshot of everything hold on

outernets creation

my thoughts about outernets existence that most of which i think i explained

lives of stickmen and reproduction

my thoughts were about reproduction as well!!!!! its mostly accepted as canon in the fandom that sticks reproduce naturally but i cannot say that it actually is canon. everything that was going on with purple was symbolic and didnt showcase like. natural birth

alan said that for gold to exist king would have to marry a very neon yellow stick.

AND THIS made me confirm my headcanon that stick children are created by parent(s) own code. that they cannot influence it or prefer a color, that their code INHERENTLY has the variety of the color palette and hexcodes embedded into it.

ABOUT the code and colors. (i believe that the colors of sticks mixing up with each others is COMPLETELY code.)

all sticks inherently have a code and a name that gives them associated power. that can be messed with as well by a user (tdl command). its something that ive also talked in my rules of code ramble and mentioned the concept of "levels" and name power hierarchy

the chosen one, created and possessing a grandeu amount of power

the dark lord, also posessing a lot of power (that i dont believe couldve came from the command that was written into them. the command of destroying chosen is a goal that i believe is able to not be achieved)

the second coming, the name of someone that ties them with their predecessor (does make me wonder though how exactly their code made a connection with our chosen. maybe its possible that the name "the second coming" by itself, as a level, implies being a coming of someone powerful)

victim, being quite weak by themselves and not posessing any power by their own and having to rely on pc programs they're aware of.

i believe that being able to code a stick into a specific power and duty is something that could only be achieved and controlled through the feature of the program the stick was created in. in case of outernet, since they dont have access to computer programs and therefore, programs of creation such as adobe they cannot influence or change one's code

when it comes to creation of a stick i truly believe that you are able to give them color by yourself, unless the child is made by connecting it to the codes of its supposed parent(s). they gain hue by either actually taking/mixing up the colors of the parents or by taking one color in case of a sole parent.

(societal thought: its possible that outernet sticks, due to not wanting to have a literal copy and just an extension of themselves and wanting to create an "actual new life" by mixing colours prefer to have children with a partner, and not by themselves only)

have thought that color/code of the stick could be influenced by the parent(s) preferences, like a parent would like to have a kid similar to them and name them the same way (thus resulting/having their hexcode being picked out individually) BUT. i remembered alans words about kings spouse.

that for gold to exist king would need to marry a really neon yellow stick.

would it imply that sticks that subtract parent(s) code cannot influence the color of the stick created? as much as it impossible to influence the features of a born child in our real life, only taking it from parents and letting the nature play a randomizer. and that the only thing that they are able to influence is the shape of their creation?

society of outernet

THE CONCEPT OF STICKS SOCIETY BEING ELITIST ABOUT THIS STUFF. im eating it im not sure what fully do with it yet but im eating it

ive also talked about society there

when talking about creators of mercs king purple and co i was mostly thinking about real users. BUT YOUR CONCEPT OF STICKS BEING DRAWN BY OTHER STICKS AND ME THINKING ABOUT IT AS WELL . THIS IS SO FUCKING AMAZING. this is canon for me IDC!!!!!!

it does, however, make me wonder of their living process. we know that alan's hollowheads are created for a reason, are born aware of themselves, how to walk/run/interact/fight and havent been seen aging or changing. and due to chosen, victim and second surviving a whole bunch of damage that should've killed them, second literally REFUSING to delete, the fate of dark lord being unknown and alan not giving a straight answer about it and, very important: cg as created sticks being unable to actually die and needing only refresh of a page to continue living, having all their memories intact... makes me wonder that stickmen created directly by a human hand are unable to die.

(does make me wonder about another completely different thing. the societal perception. is it acceptable to be in touch with your stick creators? how would it even feel. do they perceive them as a distant relative?? do sticks that are able to create life consider their creations close to them as well??? im imagining something along the lines about detroit stuff with connor&kamski but way less intense)

connection of realms and creation of life

ive rambled A TON about connection of internet and outernet and how sticks especially of outernet could connect and travel between realms. hear ye hear ye.

right now i genuinely believe that stick society advanced so far in the outernet and got to live there that their connection with the internet mightve severed:

sticks of outernet don't physically interact neither with internet/pc programs OR travel there unless they obtained something that could allow them to travel to a pc/internet (the minecraft block and nether portals that seem doing quite fine in the outernet dimension) or have powers that can allow them to break through (chosen and the computer/ip sky which, interestingly, has only been seen broken through on the alanspc ip adress//dark portals to the internet).

given this, there's not a lot of accesible methods of traveling to the internet and most of them are available only to pc sticks.

(except. for king and purple. except for king getting a block from minecraft that was not supposed to be in the outernet from that merchant in his backstory. but it is a whole another can of worms as well)

as far as we've seen sticks that werent exposed to pc and internet tech dont really use or possess any tech that could access it??????? the times where we've seen tech such as computers/phones/tvs/pc and programs interface were always in possession of sticks that came from a pc or were there at least once (hollowheads, the cg, purple) or were entrusted with it from someone that was on a pc (mercenaries). talking about the video used on the tv in "the king" episode... it has never been shown that this video was being shown directly from the youtubes platform either. and that lead me to a thought that outernet sticks might not even interacted with internet's properties except for the tools used to create a life that came along with the foundation of the internet and most likely were developed from tools brought by the first sticks. but the way outernet progressed they might not even know that this stuff is literally from another realm

heck, a daring thought.

in case of outernet being almost completely cut off from its original internet history recent sticks of outernet might not even know of the existence of pcs and internet.

this does however clash with sticks being still created by people and sticks that are able to create life being in touch with them. but its still supposable that only rare sticks with an ability to create life somewhat have a.. gene? passed through to them from some of their ancestors that could've been able to create life. and users dont exactly come into this (also given its unlikely that its a regular experience for a user to be emulated in the outernet world like it was with alans cursor in showdown)

continuing to talk about elitism. again this is such a sick concept

im thinking right now that elitism towards stickmen that arent completely strong/prefer not to engage in fighting due to the progress of their civilization//different kinds of stickmen mightve also came from the original stickmen (im going start coloring this concept now. also this whole is some adam and eve stuff) that were created to fight. we know from our real world that the first appearance of sticks in the internet didnt come from a desire to animate them in a fighting ring but the whole scene and culture of fighting sticks came around pretty quickly. the whole reason avam exists as a series

its possible that while predecessors of original stickmen werent created with fighting in mind the stickmen that discovered the outernet might as well been the first sticks created for fight. and since it isnt a thing that gone away and is most likely embedded into the code of sticks themselves in the avam universe the whole "fighting code gene" mightve been carried over to recent sticks as well. and this elitism exists that even though sticks dont have to fight anymore (to literally survive in most cases) due to the progress of their kind some conservative mfs might believe that "this is what our ancestors intendeeeddd you need to bow to your roots and your existing gene"

the elitism towards kinds of sticks is. god its such a big and very explainable and amazing concept

due to sticks just beginning existing in the internet a long while ago and mostly drawn pretty similarly (since most creators were just exploring how to draw them digitally) the race of stickmen that passed down from original stickmen could've been all just fullheads and whiteheads and perhaps hollowheads?.. im really thinking hard about it because. we havent seen hollowheads in the outernet and the fact that orange didnt even know of their existence anywhere else and even WE didnt up until they saw victim (and were probably quite damn shocked) and the fact it was possibly quite a grand moment to them confuses me.

im not sure for what reason, but the number of sticks of the race of hollowheads might have been reduced in present outernet, only having the ones that posses incredible power survive. (yet. also victim. that does not posses such power. but its a whole another idea on that they could've acquired it through different means and not from power coming from their own self)

or, it just is an avam universe rule that users didnt really think of drawing hollowheads when creating first sticks because it was hard for them to keep track of the background besides their damn hollow head and it was easier to have a stick that covered it fully on another layer LOL

either way, coming back to elitism (this sounds funny out of context), due to original sticks being simply drawn as fullheads whiteheads and possibly hollowheads it was the main race that stickmen were used to creating when drawing a new life. but with the progress of their civilization they started to experiment, eventually inventing new kinds of sticks (the kinds of hazard, ballista and paleo). due to some conservative sticks clinging to their roots they didnt like the difference from the norm.

elitism thought.

even with a possible inability to code a stick into doing something by outernet sticks would people still try to draw a stick with a specific build associated with certain jobs and tasks, trying to force them into a mold of who they are "supposed" to be? like, drawing a stick that resembles a sign (like hazard) and having them work for example as an aircraft marshaller or some other job that requires caution and directive? the grey sticks working in rocketcorp, possibly made as clerks and errand dudes?

..could purple be drawn being stronger and having a greater build than a usual stick would have, therefore disappointing navy when they dont match their expectations of a stick they wanted?

would it be a problem that progressive sticks would try to solve? allowing different kinds of sticks to exist, but not forcing them into a certain shape?

another thing. YOUVE OPENED A GATEWAY TO A SEA OF WORMS BY TELLING ME ABOUT POSSIBLE ESCAPE OF VICTIM FROM A YOUTUBE VIDEO.

my previous ramble (rocketcorp, dimensions and virtual reality) made a theory that victim, in one way or another essentially brought pc programs and tech into outernet, thus obtaining power that is, quite literally, linked with their whole creation. (very symbolic considering their whole power is the one that made their life end so fast) and, due to outernet being cut off from programs and powers of internet and pcs, became a being that literally stood higher than the reality and fabric of the outernet realm itself, possesing power that could possibly meddle with it (mercs cannons literally changing structure and whole being of objects like the corndog stand or literally messing with a sticks state and body with chosen). and i have thought that victim is the one that could use internet itself as one of their grand tools.

and. animation vs youtube. we fucking know. that a stick is able to upload itself and break the interface of internet.

no one said that the original ava video on youtube is the whole thing that victim used to escape.

also. remember me mentioning that the original video of animation vs minecraft wasnt shown to be accessed through youtube. this video looked like it was downloaded having a whole different bar at the bottom and everything. couldve it been downloaded by vic or rocketcorp?

(victim interneted the fucking internet and started showing avam series like their own show. by the way its ALSO a potential scenario i talked about before. that due to potential severing of outernet citizens with the internet the recorded adventures of the cg on pc, internet and minecraft (ESPECIALLY considering that minecraft existed as a fun simulation game on a festival) that was broadcasted could've been interpreted by outernet sticks as fiction. but its an independent funny concept to be thought about and i still didnt fully figure it out)

op.

you cracked my mind open like a walnut and i cannot stop thinking about all of your ideas

oh my god this did so much to me. ive been writing for the past two hours due to how much ideas it gave me. im going to pin this ramble because its very important to me and puts a lot of theories and headcanons in stone. you are my saviour cindersnows and you are probably going to be fucking FLABBERGASTED by the length of this post

sincerely yours storgic "the aspiring matpat of the avam fandom" dealer

[vixthefantheorist]

Lore Clues! Or well... *clue* more like it

Wow, I have... not really opened up tumblr to do much of anything, let alone post any stuff in a good long while. So... uh... hi! How's it going fellow theorists? Missed making theories and posting them. I have read the comics of Altrverse but right now it's a jumbled mess in my head about it. We went from basically zero information on Marvin and Jackie to quite an overwhelming amount of it with, of course, questions still rearing from them. And I'm looking at all the strings and wondering where the hell to start with them. But today, tonight (whenever I post this thing), we're not talking about these two.

No, today for however long I can keep talking about this is our good lovable boi, JJ.

Because... THIS from @turquoisemagpie (lovely artwork as always!) has a clue in here~ (thanks to @septicuniverse for sharing this with me and the comics!)

There's probably other clues in other artwork before, I'm not sure, this was only brought to my attention like... an hour ago? So yeah. Good ol' JJ, we miss you buddy. BUT can you see the clue? If the answer is

These badges, then you are correct, friend!

These are in fact IRIS badges! On uniforms. That JJ is making, I guess? Is he really making these? Because I can see the little puppets at the bottom of the artwork, so making tiny matching uniforms for them? Or are they using his sewing skills with making clothes for the puppets of his shows to make the uniforms for IRIS? Which then begs the question... does JJ work for IRIS or is he creating it? Or at least helping in creating the company if he is making the IRIS uniforms? I mean IRIS got its start LONG ago. (Since how can we forget that IRIS's science is keeping chicken dinners so fresh it still clucks!)

There are other questions I have about the piece that I haven't... quite asked myself yet. Like, why is the door cracked open like that? For the lighting maybe? Can't exactly sew in the dark, but then what closet wouldn't have it's down light source? Because the room is pretty well lit, so why have the door there open like that? And the wall in the hallway (if it is a hallway) seems similar to the walls of the facility Chase was brought to in AF:CB but... having looked at the video for a quick assessment, those walls don't have tiles like that. So not the same building exactly... but then again we are talking about timelines so -shrug-. But there is one other thing that has bothered me about this art piece, not in a bad way but more of curious. I am well aware this could be absolutely nothing and I'm overthinking it from having just read the new issue of the comics today with a friend, that I'm just super excited for things.

But, does anyone else... notice these lines?

They're outlines of the tops of the tables.

Again, I'm aware that these could just be leftover sketch lines from the drawing process before outlining the piece to color and thus means absolutely nothing. I just... I just can't help but notice... how crisp they are. Like they were outlined but faded out to make them transparent, but still visible enough to see it clearly. Even zoomed out I can still seem them, so that's why I don't know if it was intentional to be that noticeable or it really is just leftovers. I just thought it was very interesting to see them so had to point them out. And no, this isn't a jab at Magpie's artwork, I have nothing but awe, love and respect for them. Because holy hell, just look at this skill! So for fun, even if the lines have no meaning whatsoever, kinda wanted to say that with the lines there, makes the room feel unstable temporally and with the table in the back behind JJ, makes feel like he's a ghost or fading in and out of Time. lol Dunno if it is him or just the closet being funky with Time. Either way its cool.

[demigodsanswer]

TUAP Prompt: Through to magic of 2014 facebook video (or whatever the kids were using back in the day), Percy is able to prove to Annabeth (who has never believed him) they they were partners at SAB.

((goofy little thing I wrote in 15 minutes to put off cleaning the apartment. Annabeth Chase admit that she's wrong? Not likely))

Percy had taught Annabeth a lot since they'd started dating a year ago. He'd taught her what unconditional love felt like, which was pretty amazing. He'd taught her what a man needed to do to get her off without a vibrator. That almost felt better. And he'd also taught her about the absolute, unparalleled joy that came from committing to the bit.

And he'd created a monster.

Annabeth did actually believe him when he said they'd danced together at SAB. The timeline matched, and he remembered too many details for it to be a lie. It would have been a dumb lie anyway.

But she didn't remember him at all. More accurately, she remembered dancing with a boy who was not very good, and that simply couldn't have been the exceptional dance partner she knew today.

For a year she'd denied his story. It was always playful, just getting him him a little frustrated before giving up the bit and kissing him. She could tell from the smile and laugh on his face every time he said "We danced together," and she responded "no we didn't" that he knew exactly what game she was playing, and he now was playing it to.

Except he also wanted to win the game. And Annabeth hated losing.

"Look what I found!" He said, bursting out of their bedroom with his laptop in hand.

"What?"

He sat on the couch and pressed play. It was some old footage of SAB. There, in a black leotard and pink tights was Annabeth. And next to her was Percy -- scrawny and nervous looking in his white top and black tights. There were some muttering voices in the background, but it mostly seemed like some random documentation of their pas de deux class.

Annabeth had vague memories of this day. It was a week or so before she'd been pulled into the company. She remembered a different ballet master recording on an, at the time, high end iPhone. She also remembered that camera stuck on her most of the time.

She could hear Chiron's voice whisper to the person holding the phone. "Yes, her. Yes, I'm sure."

Annabeth had never put it together that he'd been there that day to film her, presumably to show her work to other ballet masters before they agreed to put her in the company.

The pianist started to play, and the boy who was undeniably Percy started to dance with her. He actually didn't look as bad as she remembered. She could see his clear potential. He'd certainly maximized it in the last decade.

"Well now that could be anyone," she said.

"Annabeth, Percy, can you step forward?" Chiron's voice asked from behind the camera. The past versions of them did as he was told. "Take the combination from the top, please. Everyone now."

"They're common names," she said, laughing through the lie.

"They are the two most unique names in the world!" Percy said, also laughing. "It's us!"

"It's AI," she tried.

In one swift move, he stopped the laptop of the coffee table, the video still playing, and he tackled her back onto the cushions, tickling her sides.

"I won! Admit it!" He pressed. "I was right!"

"Never!" She swore through her laughter. She was mostly not ticklish, but Percy had a way of finding all of her sensitive spots. It wasn't long before she was struggling to breath and aware that if he kept this up much longer, she'd pee her pants. "Alright! Alright!" He stopped. "I believe you! You win," she said with a reluctant smile.

He leaned down and kissed her. "You were such a beautiful dancer, even back then. I had such a crush on you."

"Great, I'm 0 for 2 on boyfriends not being attracted to sixteen-year-old me," she joked.

"Hey, at least I was fifteen!" Percy said, looking a little genuinely hurt.

"Sorry," she said, resting a hand on his face, "I didn't mean that in a serious way. I know you ... you're not like him, trust me."

Percy accepted her apology with a kiss, and then another. Soon, he was reaching over to shut the laptop, quieting the sounds of their adolescent dancing in favor of something much more adult. Nothing like him at all, she thought a few moments later, and thank god for that.