#come on seriously someone is gaming the algorithm

[katherynefromphilly]

I will never understand the Tumblr algorithm and I hope the Tumblr algorithm never changes are 2 things that can simultaneously exist together and do in my head.

[heliosunny]

Hihi....I'm really in love with your Yandere Phainon fanfics, so I wanted more....I don't really care whatever it is as long as it's in high school au🙏🙏

CTRL U

Yandere!Phainon x Reader

The school tech lab was always quiet during lunch break. While others filled the courtyard and cafeteria with chatter and energy, you found solace in the rhythmic clack of your keyboard and the soft humming of a monitor. You had taken over the corner desk near the window, your own little bubble away from the chaotic social jungle of high school.

Your fingers flew over the keys, eyes darting across lines of code. The pixelated spaceship on your screen moved up, paused, then exploded with a dramatic “BOOM!” animation. You smiled a little, it was just a simple 2D space shooter, but you were proud of it. Debugging the collision algorithm had taken two days.

Outside the lab, you heard distant voices echoing down the hall.

“Dude, Phainon! You coming to the court or what?” “Later, maybe! I need to drop by the lab first.”

Phainon. Popular, charming, and surrounded by friends like gravity pulling planets. You’d only ever interacted with him during that one disastrous group project in sophomore year. You didn’t speak much. He did all the talking.

The door creaked open. Your screen still glowed with the tiny spaceship hovering in space.

“Yo, is someone in?”

You whipped your head up and saw him. He had one headphone in, his school tie loosened, hair a little messy.

He looked around, then spotted you.

“Hey, didn’t think anyone would be in here.”

“...Hi.”

He tilted his head toward your screen. “Wait, is that a game?”

You quickly moved the mouse to close the window, but not fast enough.

“Whoa, don’t shut it down!”

“It’s still buggy.” you mumbled, minimizing the program and locking your screen.

He leaned in, eyes lighting up.

“Wait, you made that? That’s sick.” He turned to look at you. “You’re seriously talented.”

You avoided his gaze, focusing instead on unplugging your USB drive.

“It’s just a hobby…”

Phainon chuckled. “‘Just a hobby’? You’ve got a whole game running. That’s way cooler than anything I’ve done today.”

This wasn’t how your quiet lunch break was supposed to go.

You stood up quickly, slinging your backpack over your shoulder, trying to gather your things.

“I need to go.”

“Oh. Wait, did I say something wrong?”

“No!” you said too fast, stepping back toward the door. “I just... have other stuff.”

He watched you retreat, a confused expression softening his features. Then he smiled again, tilting his head slightly.

“Hey, what’s your game called?” he called out as you reached the door.

“…It doesn’t have a name yet.”

He grinned.

“Let me know when it does.”

You tried to return to normal after that day in the lab.

No more coding during lunch breaks.

No more late stays in the tech room.

But Phainon didn’t understand and keep showing up everywhere you go.

“Hey! Game Dev!” he called out from across the school courtyard one afternoon, jogging to catch up with you.

You pretended not to hear him and quickened your pace.

He caught up anyway, effortlessly matching your stride. “You never told me more about the game.”

“I’m busy.”

“That’s cool. I can wait.”

You stopped in front of your classroom. “Don’t you have a fan club or a game to get back to?”

Phainon just gave you that stupid, easy grin. “Maybe. But I kinda want to see what happens next in your game.”

You didn’t respond. Just walked in, ignoring the snickers from a nearby group of girls.

It wasn’t just one or two people talking. You’d heard whispers in the hallways.

“Why’s he talking to them?” “They probably faked the whole ‘coding’ thing just to get attention.” “Didn’t they get rejected by Phainon or something?” “Creepy how they’re always alone, right?”

At first, it didn’t bother you. You were used to being left out.

But that changed when you stayed late one afternoon to grab your notebook and accidentally overheard something.

“Okay, but what if we just hire some expert to.. idk, download a virus on their computer or something?” “Ooh, or leak their browsing history or whatever. Even if it’s fake, no one’ll care.” “Right? Who’s gonna believe someone like that anyway?”

You backed away slowly.

You’d had enough.

That night, you didn’t sleep. Instead, you slipped on your headphones, pulled up a few proxies, and found the backdoor in their school Wi-Fi habits.

In two hours, you’d broken into their cloud storage and group chat backups. In four, you’d carefully rearranged screenshots, spliced audio files, and created just enough drama to make it seem like they were all talking behind each other’s backs.

You didn’t even upload them yourself. Just scheduled a timed drop via a burner account.

By Monday, the group was in ruins.

And you, finally, had silence.

Until Phainon found you again. This time, at the bike racks after school.

“Hey.”

You glanced up. “What.”

He held up a hand in surrender. “Not here to bug you about the game.”

You turned away. “Then leave.”

He didn’t.

“They deserved it, huh?”

He took a step closer. “You’re good. Real good. That’s not amateur stuff.”

You looked at him sharply. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You didn’t deserve what they were doing. But...” He hesitated. “Just... don’t lose yourself in it, alright?”

You didn’t say anything. You didn’t have to.

“Next time someone comes after you… maybe let me know first.”

He turned and walked away, hands in his pockets, not looking back.

You never felt safe after the drop. Sure, no one came at you again, not publicly. But silence didn’t mean safety. Silence could be a trap.

And Phainon, despite everything, made you uneasy.

Why? Why was he so calm? Why did he know what you’d done?

That night, your fingers hovered over the keys. Your curiosity itched too loud to ignore.

You slipped past a few weak firewalls and into his cloud activity.

“...wait.”

The path you followed suddenly folded in on itself.

And you’d taken it.

You burned the scripts, cleaned the logs, wiped the trace tools—anything that might be tied to you. Anything he could use against you.

And when it was over, you sat in the dark for a long time. Cold sweat down your back.

The next day, he said nothing.

You watched him across the quad, laughing with his friends, sleeves rolled up, the same lopsided smile like he hadn’t laid a trap for you.

Maybe you were overthinking it.

So you did something stupid.

You pulled an old CD-R out of your drawer, labeled it in your tight, scratchy handwriting: [ TEST BUILD v2.6 — SPACEWAR ]

And the next morning, you caught him by the lockers.

“…Here,” you muttered, holding it out. “The game. Just a standalone version. I just thought you might want to test it.”

“You’re giving me the first build?”

“It’s just a test. You don’t—”

“I’m gonna play it tonight” he said. “I’m finishing it. No way I’m sleeping until I beat it.”

“It’s literally half-coded and full of bugs.”

“So am I,” he smirked. “Perfect match.”

You didn’t expect him to go that far.

Next morning, he walked into class with dark shadows under his eyes, hair messier than usual, hoodie half-zipped over his uniform.

“Hey,” he grinned. “I beat it. Twice.”

“Wait... You stayed up?”

“You said test it. I tested the hell out of it.” He nudged your arm. “Seriously, it’s awesome.”

You stared at him. Then laughed. You couldn’t help it. “You idiot. You could’ve just given me a bug report.”

“Nah. That’d be boring.”

You shook your head and turned away to hide your smile.

Later that night, at home, you sat down at your desk. Curiosity beat out caution.

You slid the same disc into your computer. It whirred softly.

[ SPACEWAR ] — Test Build v2.6

You clicked Start Game.

The opening sequence played—then flickered.

The background glitched. The pixels warped, briefly forming words in a distorted typeface:

"Hello, Player One."

Then the game resumed normally.

You yanked the disc out. Looked at the underside.

A low beep from your laptop made you jump.

You flipped the screen—the camera light was on.

For half a second. Then it shut off.

You stared at the reflection of yourself in the screen. And realized:

He gave you his disk.

You didn’t sleep that night.

The glowing reflection of “Hello, Player One” burned behind your eyelids every time you blinked. You’d covered the webcam, shut the laptop, and unplugged everything. But it wasn’t just paranoia this time—Phainon had done something, and you needed to find out why.

So the next morning, you waited outside the gym, watching him laugh with his usual crowd. He noticed you immediately, his smile slipped, and he walked over.

“You okay?”

“We need to talk. Alone.”

Phainon blinked. But he nodded.

You sat in the empty room, across from him at a table where morning light filtered through the blinds.

He leaned forward slightly. “So...?”

You looked him dead in the eye. “Why did you do it?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Do what?”

You pulled the disc from your bag and placed it on the table. “Why?”

Phainon leaned back, quiet for a moment. Then:

“You don’t remember me, do you?”

You frowned. “What?”

“Two years ago. National Coding Competition. You made that AI that learned player patterns in real time. I was in the same bracket—you crushed everyone.”

“You were there?”

He nodded. “You were the best person in the room. I admired you. Then you disappeared. I always wondered why.” He paused. “When I saw you here, I thought—maybe I could get to know you.”

“So you thought breaking into my computer was your idea of caring?”

He flinched slightly, guilt flickering behind his eyes.

“You invaded my privacy. You used something I made against me.” Your voice shook. “Don’t twist this into something noble.”

He sighed. “I just wanted to understand you. You’re brilliant, but you shut everyone out. I thought maybe if I got closer—”

“—by spying on me?”

There was a long silence.

“Didn’t you do the same? To those girls?”

You were speechless.

“I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it. But you didn’t talk to anyone. You handled it alone.”

That stung.

Your hands clenched under the table. “So now you’re saying we’re the same?”

He shook his head. “No. I’m saying we both did things we regret. Doesn’t mean I’m proud of it.” He looked at you. “I’m sorry. For crossing the line.”

“Stay out of my stuff.”

And you walked out.

The rest of the day, you ignored him. He didn’t try to talk to you. Not even once.

But the silence wasn't peace. It was pressure, thick and heavy. You couldn’t focus.

By lunch, you'd pulled up three transfer applications on your phone, but none of them felt like the right move. Running didn’t solve the problem, it just meant you’d keep running.

So instead, you started thinking differently.

If Phainon wanted to get close to you? Fine.

You’d make him hate it.

You listed ridiculous stuff maybe you could use against him:

Step 1: Code like a cryptid. Talk only in binary. Step 2: Constantly mention obscure operating systems and laugh when he doesn’t get it. Step 3: Bring spreadsheets of cat behavior patterns and pretend they’re “emotional simulations.” Step 4: Add him to a fake group project and send 3am emails titled “urgent patch notes.”

Your plan was almost working.

The constant 3 a.m. “patch note” emails. The random references to deprecated programming languages.

It should’ve been enough.

But he always came back.

You were exhausted.

So you went back to Plan Move Away. You re-opened the school transfer forms, actually filled out your personal statement, and left the tab open just in case.

And then, out of nowhere, Kaito happened.

You met him during a school lab module. He wore round glasses, always had cat-hair on his hoodie, and genuinely laughed at your dry jokes. Even better? He knew how to debug. You both ended up fixing an old RPGMaker horror build for fun and spent lunch breaks balancing variables and laughing over cursed enemy sprites.

He wasn’t dramatic. He didn’t hack your life. He was just... easy.

Which was why Phainon noticed right away.

He cornered you by the vending machines after school.

“So... That new guy.”

“His name is Kaito.”

“Cool... But I thought we were working on your game.”

You crossed your arms. “We were. Then you installed spyware on my hard drive.”

“I apologized for that.”

You didn’t budge.

“So you replaced me?”

“I didn’t replace anyone. Kaito’s just someone I can work with without needing to run background checks.”

He scowled. “So you don’t trust me.”

“Can you blame me?”

Phainon looked at you, searching for something. Then he took a step closer.

“Okay. Fine. Maybe I messed up. Maybe I made it weird. But I thought we were building something—together. I didn’t realize you’d hand the controller to some new guy and bench me.”

“Everyone deserves to code.”

That struck a nerve.

“Right.” His voice dropped. “But not everyone gets you.”

This was personal.

Which made it more complicated when, the next day, you came home, turned on your PC and noticed a new folder on your desktop.

“GAME_PATCHED_FINAL_no_KAITO”

And a note:

“If you're gonna replace me, you better fix the recursion loop. Or let me help.”

You stared at the screen, heat crawling up your neck.

You didn’t know if you were furious or impressed.

You had your code. You had your own project. You had Kaito now.

You went on without him.

You stripped your old game build clean, rewrote the framework, even changed the name. Burned all the folders that had anything labeled “v2.6” or “player_one.” You started fresh.

And Phainon? He kept his distance. At least physically.

Then came the mailbox.

It was a regular Thursday when you got home. You were stepping out of your shoes when your mom called from the kitchen:

“There’s something in the mailbox for you.”

You blinked. “Mail? As in—physical?”

“Yeah. Like the old days.” She chuckled. “Looks like a CD.”

You grabbed it, peeling back the envelope carefully.

Plain. No return address. Just one thing written in black marker on the CD’s surface:

“BOOT ME :)”

You rolled your eyes. “Really?”

Of course it was from him. The handwriting was unmistakably chaotic.

You weren’t stupid. You weren’t going to test this thing on your personal machine. Not after last time.

So you waited.

The next day during free lab hour, you sat down at one of the school’s clunky public PCs. You slipped on the headphones just in case it played audio.

The CD slid in.

[ Loading... Welcome Back, Player One ]

A single line of code glowing on a black screen:

function whyYouLeft { return “?”; }

Then the screen glitched again—and a video window opened.

It wasn’t anything dramatic. Just a shaky webcam video of Phainon in his messy room, sitting on the floor cross-legged.

“Okay. So, if you’re watching this… then I guess I broke like, ten privacy boundaries again. But I swear—this time, no access to your camera. Just... this.”

He scratched the back of his neck, looking sheepish.

“I don’t know why you pulled away. But I want to understand.” He looked at the disc. “I know I messed up. And maybe that scares you. Maybe you think people only get close to you because of your talent. Maybe you hate how I made it all messy.”

He looked up at the camera, eyes sincere.

“But it wasn’t about your code. Or the game. I wanted to know you. The person behind all that.”

He paused, then added quietly: “I miss being your Player Two.”

The screen turned black again.

You stared at the screen. The headphones still buzzed faintly in your ears with the silence that followed.

You didn’t eject the CD.

You just… sat there.

----

The hallway echoed with the soft shuffle of bags and the clatter of desks being dragged back into place. Students were peeling off one by one, some still laughing, some too tired to care. The bell had rung fifteen minutes ago, school was out, but you stayed.

Until it was just two people left in the room: You and Phainon.

He was halfway through zipping up his bag when he noticed you approaching.

He blinked, clearly surprised. “…Hey.”

“I watched the CD.”

Phainon straightened, instantly alert. “Yeah?”

“It was unnecessary.” you said dryly. Then paused. “But… I get it.”

He opened his mouth, maybe to defend himself, maybe to apologize again, but you raised a hand before he could.

“I’m not starting over with you. I’m continuing, with conditions.”

“You can join the project again,” you said firmly, “if you promise to stop doing stuff behind my back. Everything stays aboveboard.”

You added “Also, if we’re working together, you have to be civil with Kaito.”

“Kaito?” he repeated.

You nodded. “He’s part of this now. Whether you like it or not. I’m not removing him just because it makes you uncomfortable.”

“You want me to team up with someone who’s clearly trying to be me?”

“He’s not trying to be you.”

Phainon didn’t say anything for a moment. His fingers curled slightly around the strap of his bag.

“So that’s the deal?” he asked quietly. “Let you keep your new friend, and I get supervised access to your game like it’s a daycare pass?”

You shrugged. “If it bothers you that much, you don’t have to join.”

There was a tense silence between you.

“Fine,” he said, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “If that’s what it takes.”

You both left the room.

But the minute he walked into the golden hour light outside the school building, Phainon’s smile twisted into something else.

He had no intention of sharing.

Kaito was an obstacle. And Phainon knew exactly how to handle obstacles.

He didn’t need to hack anyone this time. Not when he had reputation.

He was a magnet in the school ecosystem - student rep, the guy everyone knew, the guy everyone liked. Popularity was a language, and Phainon was fluent.

He spoke to people in Kaito’s other classes. Casually dropped things like:

“You know that Kaito guy? Little… intense, right?”

Or:

“Hey, just a heads-up. He’s been engaging with some guys out of school these days. Kinda weird, don’t you think?”

Rumors ran faster than servers during a DDOS attack.

You didn’t notice it right away.

But the others started acting cold toward him. Like he was radioactive.

“Hey… did I do something? People’ve been acting weird.”

You frowned. “Weird how?”

Kaito hesitated. “I dunno. Just… off. Like they know something I don’t.”

Phainon acted perfectly normal the next day.

He brought snacks. He complimented your new UI layout. He laughed at your deadpan jokes.

Phainon never played fair.

It started with a casual invite. One that looked harmless on the surface.

Phainon leaned over your desk during your group’s usual project hour. “Hey,” he said. “There’s a match this weekend—finals. I’m playing.” Then he added, “You and Kaito should come. Y’know. Team bonding. Off-screen chemistry.”

Kaito, surprisingly, looked excited. “I’ve never been to one of your matches. Might be fun.”

For once, Phainon was asking.

So you said yes.

But plans changed.

Your part-time shift at the local computer shop ran long, someone brought in a corrupted hard drive and left in tears, and by the time you were done running diagnostics and fixing their system, the sun had already dipped behind the horizon.

You texted Kai.

[Sorry. Can’t make it. Tell me how it goes later.]

No reply.

You didn’t hear from him until the next morning.

Your phone buzzed with a single message:

From unknown number: “Your friend’s at City Medical. You should come.”

You nearly dropped your phone.

Kaito lay in the bed, right arm in a sling, a thin cut on his brow, bruises trailing the side of his cheek. His glasses sat on the tray next to him, bent out of shape. He was asleep when you walked in.

Phainon was sitting beside the bed.

He glanced up when you entered.

“Hey.” He stood slowly, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeves. “Didn’t expect you so early.”

“What happened?”

“It was an accident. During the second half, he tripped—took a bad fall.”

You stared at him. “He doesn’t even run. Why was he even on the field?”

“He got a little too excited. Honestly, I tried to wave him back.” He looked at the bed again. “Poor guy. Probably got caught up in the moment.”

But… the whispers had already started at school. You heard them in the hallways, snippets like:

“I heard that nerd wasn’t watching the game rules.” “Why was he even on the field?” “Guess he wanted attention.”

It was already being spun. And no one could prove it otherwise.

You sat quietly in the chair by Kaito’s side once Phainon left. Your eyes didn’t leave the steady rise and fall of his chest.

With Kaito out of the picture, it was just you and Phainon again. He was standing behind your chair, one hand resting on the backrest while he leaned over to comment on your code.

He would speak low near your ear like the two of you shared something secret. Sometimes his hand would linger on your shoulder, a little longer than it should.

And you just kept coding.

You didn’t want to say it out loud, but ever since the hospital visit, your guard hadn’t dropped once.

Every time Phainon brought snacks, or coffee, or even just his charming laugh, there was something clawing at the back of your head.

The others in school weren’t subtle either. You noticed the sideways glances. The hushed tones in the hallway. Students whispering by the lockers, pretending not to look your way.

Some even snickered outright when you walked into the lab with Phainon beside you, your laptops under your arms like a pair of matching uniforms.

“Guess if you can’t compete, just date the star instead.”

Phainon noticed. Of course he did.

He smirked as he leaned in and whispered: “Let them talk. We’re the ones doing something real.”

You didn’t reply. You just sat down and turned on your machine.

And when you got focused, really focused, you forgot everything else. You skipped lunch. You skipped breaks.

That’s when Phainon would step in again.

You hadn’t even noticed him peel open a rice ball wrapper until he tapped your chin gently with it.

“Eat.” he said simply.

“What?”

“You haven’t touched a single thing since third period. Just chew.”

He held it closer to your lips—half a challenge, half a joke.

You frowned slightly, but opened your mouth. He fed it to you.

---

"Why are they always together now? It’s getting annoying."

"Seriously. Ever since that freak started hanging out with Phainon, he’s been acting weird. Ignoring us."

"They practically live in the lab. It’s pathetic. Clingy."

"Didn’t Kai or whatever his name is end up in the hospital too? You think it’s a coincidence?"

"Well… maybe we should remind them where their place is."

Your bag was heavy on your shoulder. You were heading to the lab as usual, maybe Phainon would be there already, or maybe not. You didn’t text him today.

You were halfway down the stairs when it happened.

A slight nudge.

There was a moment—a single heartbeat—when your brain recognized the danger.

Then everything went black.

[Hospital Room – Present]

You woke to pain pressing behind your eyes and an icy pressure on your wrist.

“Hey.. hey. You’re awake?”

You blinked through the blurriness. Phainon’s face came into view, shadowed by worry and sleeplessness.

“Don’t move too fast. You hit your head—really hard.”

Your throat felt dry. You tried to speak but failed. He immediately reached for the straw in a plastic cup and held it to your lips.

You let the water coat your throat. Your mom entered then, her voice choked with relief as she kissed your forehead and muttered prayers under her breath. Behind her, your sibling waved awkwardly with puffy eyes.

Your body still ached. But in your stillness, your mind drifted.

[Seven Years Ago]

You stood outside the regional coding challenge arena, holding your little cardboard certificate for First Prize in your hand. The others from your school were celebrating inside, but you stepped out for air.

That’s when you heard it.

Sniffling. The sound of someone trying really hard not to cry.

You followed the noise and found him, curled behind the bushes next to the school’s HVAC system, arms wrapped around his knees. He was kicking at a tangle of wires and muttering under his breath.

His screen had crashed halfway through the demo. His mom, who was in the audience, had made that face. Not angry—disappointed.

“Leave me alone” he snapped when he noticed you.

You stood there silently and pulled out a juice box from your bag. Pushed it toward him.

He glared at it, then you. “I lost.”

You shrugged. “Your code was complex, though. That’s impressive for our age.”

He finally took the juice box. Sipped it quietly.

You sat beside him, ignoring the grass stains and bugs. “I could help. If you want. You’ll get better.”

He stared at you, like trying to see through your intentions.

“…Why?”

“Because you were good. And no one helped me when I started either. So I guess I just want to promise it won’t always suck.”

You smiled. “Wanna be friends?”

He nodded.

You forgot that moment. Years passed. But Phainon never did.

Because in that moment, you were the first person who saw value in him.

And he kept that memory like a loaded save file.

Waiting to be opened again.

[Hospital Room – Present]

You stirred awake.

Night had fallen.

Phainon hadn’t left. His hand was still holding yours, as if letting go would make you disappear.

You stared at the ceiling. “Did you know?”

He looked up.

“About the stairwell?” you clarified.

His jaw tensed. “…Yes.”

You didn’t respond.

He continued: “I told them to back off. I thought that was enough.”

You turned to face him.

“I was too late. And I’m sorry.”

You didn’t want his apology.

You wanted to go back and undo all of it. All the memories with him.

[One Month Later]

It was as if you had never existed.

Even your home, he passed by once, late at night, still in his hoodie and uniform, was locked up, the windows sealed, the gate chained. A "FOR RENT" sign swayed faintly in the wind.

You had moved.

Without goodbye.

“…Didn’t they get, like, pushed or something?”

“Maybe their parents freaked out.”

“Phainon’s been acting insane ever since. You think he—”

The boy they were whispering about passed them without a glance.

He just sat in the old lab sometimes—your chair cold and silent across from him—staring at the unfinished game you both used to work on. His fingers would hover over the keyboard, only to fall away.

He didn’t talk to Kaito anymore. He didn’t talk to anyone, really.

One week later, Phainon stared at the wall of post-its he'd started building.

A map of digital footprints.

The last IP address you logged in with.

An email you once mentioned.

A string of code only you would write—he knew because he still had a CD of your logic framework.

An old blog post under a different name, dated three years ago.

He had learned from you. Studied you. Watched you work, memorized the way you built firewalls, nested loops, hid access points like digital breadcrumbs only someone obsessed would find.

And he was obsessed.

At school, Phainon finally started speaking again.

To the computer science teacher.

To the club advisor.

To anyone who might know where the school sent your records. What your “transfer” details included.

But they all said the same thing.

"We don’t know." "It was a private transfer." "We were told not to disclose further."

He sat by his screen again. The glow cast his face in cold blues.

On it was a pixelated image—the game you had coded.

Only this time, it had been modified.

There was a new character. One that looked an awful lot like you. Standing at the end of a path surrounded by glitchy trees.

He pressed enter.

And the character vanished.

Phainon leaned back in his chair.

Where did you go? He didn’t get an answer.

Not yet.

But he would.

----

The screen glowed in the pitch-black room.

Phainon hadn’t slept. Not properly.

There it was.

Phainon’s lips parted. His eyes lit up like a mad scientist finding the last missing variable.

“…Got you.”

----

You sat in the back of the new lab, a new place, everything is new to you, headphones in, hoodie up. You'd been making slow friends here.

Safe. Or so you thought.

Until you saw a notification blink on your laptop.

“System Resource Conflict – Unknown Peripheral Access Attempted.”

You immediately yanked the USB port out.

"Dammit."

----

[Night – Back in Your Apartment]

You watched the camera LED on your laptop blink once, then stop.

You covered it. Disconnected from all networks.

And still, you found phantom code—commands embedded in weird spots.

He was inside.

“What do you want, Phainon?”

The screen lit up again.

Just a simple text file opened itself.

I want what’s mine.

[Elsewhere – Phainon’s POV]

He sat in a cheap hotel near your neighborhood, his laptop surrounded by energy drink cans and open notebooks filled with your old quotes, half-written function names, sketches of you in the margins.

This wasn’t about revenge.

This was about fixing the error that happened the day you left.

[The Next Day – At Your School]

You felt someone watching.

Students still walked the hall like normal. But your hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

And when you reached your locker, you found a CD. Labeled in black marker:

“Final Build – OUR Game.”

You dropped it immediately. You didn’t pick it up.

But someone else did. Your cousin.

“…Hey, isn’t this yours?”

“No. Leave it.”

That night, when you checked online, your cousin’s PC pinged offline.

“Ugh.. I warned him already.”

Then his phone. Then his socials.

Gone.

You wanted to end this. So you did what you must.

“Don’t worry. I’m here now.”

“We’re going to finish what we started.”

“Together.”

The lights in your room dimmed.

You agreed to meet him.

“Let’s end this.”

Rooftop. 5:00 PM.

You knew this was dangerous.

But you were exhausted.

Of hiding. Of losing friends.

You needed closure—even if it meant facing him again.

----

Phainon stood at the edge of the roof, back to you.

He hadn’t changed much.

You approached slowly.

Phainon turned.

“I never wanted to hurt you,” he said, stepping forward. “I just… wanted to be with you. Always.”

“You hacked my laptop.”

“You left first.”

“You stalked me. Threatened people. My cousin.”

“He shouldn’t have touched our game.”

“It wasn’t ‘our’ anything!” you snapped. “It stopped being ours the moment you tried to control me.”

“...I see”

That was it. You said what you had to say. You turned toward the door.

You should’ve kept your guard up.

CRACK

Blinding white. Then black.

-----

You stirred.

Phainon sat nearby, typing.

“Hey,” he said softly, as if he hadn’t just abducted you. “You were out for a while. I was worried.”

“Let me go.”

He tilted his head. “But I just got you back.”

“You can’t keep me here.”

“I can. And I will. We have work to finish.”

“…You're insane.”

“No,” he said with unnerving calm. “I'm in love.”

He stood, walking toward you, crouching beside your chair.

“Look, I added your old AI logic into the game. It talks like you now.”

You stared at him in horror.

“Phainon… you can't replace me with code.”

He smiled.

“Then stay.”

Then, like he was explaining code to a beginner:

“If I lose you again… I’ll transfer you.”

“What?”

“If your body dies… I can keep you. Upload your consciousness into the framework. You’re brilliant, after all. Your patterns, your memory depth... already trained into the AI from our game.” He reached up and gently touched your temple. “You won’t even notice the difference.”

You went completely still.

He was serious. Fully convinced. He would do it.

“…Phainon” you said quietly, doing everything you could to keep your voice steady. “That’s… sweet. But I’m not ready for that.”

“I just think,” you continued, “maybe I can help improve the code more if I’m still—” you laughed nervously—“you know, in this form.”

Then… he sighed. “You’re so logical,” he murmured. “So calm.... That’s why I love you.”

He leaned his forehead against yours.

“I knew you’d understand eventually.”

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

My dumbest TWST headcanons

Yuu: everyone has forgotten their name and preferred pronouns. No one is willing to ask after so long, hence everyone calling them 'prefect' all the time

Grim: he is the reason why no dorm has tried to get Yuu to transfer in. They simply do not want him and unfortunately they are a package deal

Riddle: cannot handle spice. He ate a bell pepper once and started sobbing incoherently. Bell peppers are notoriously non-spicy

Trey: has mom hands in that he can handle hot plates without even flinching because he has permanently ruined the nerve endings in his hands from all of the times he's handled hot baking trays without mitts

Cater: has only like 7 Magicam followers because, as fun as his tags are, they aren't great for the algorithm

Deuce: has been told "that's unfortunate" multiple times after introducing himself. Does not understand why. No one tell him.

Ace: the type to never wait for his food to finish cooling. He burns his tongue at least once a day. He will never learn. Nor will he ever actually taste anything he puts in his mouth. Uses this for bets ("bet you that I can eat *insert the most disgusting concoction ever*" "don't...")

Leona: the entire school has a group chat devoted to the most insane places they've found Leona sleeping. Nothing has managed to top the time someone spotted him curled up in a cauldron that the first years were about to use for Alchemy. (Ruggie has tried to bribe his way into this group chat multiple times but everyone is too scared of Leona to give it to him)

Ruggie: the type to dump trauma on you without realizing it's messed up. Jack asked him once "Where'd you get that" and pointed to a scar and Ruggie was like "oh yeah that's from the time a guy stabbed me" and Jack has never asked him anything since

Jack: complains constantly about how big his tail is because it keeps wagging and giving away his tsundere-ness. Wants a little tail he can stuff into his pant legs to hide it

Azul: his glasses are fake. He thinks they make him look intimidating

Jade: will make fun of people for yawning in front of him. ("Scandalous" "????") He refuses to explain

Floyd: bites people he likes. Moray eel bites can cause paralysis and even beyond that his teeth are wicked sharp. This has caused several misunderstandings in his life

Kalim: everyone know's he's coming because all of his jewelry clink against each other. Like a cat with a bell on its collar. There is a betting ring about whether Jamil planned for this or if it's just how Kalim is that has spread schoolwide

Jamil: has absolutely responded to Kalim saying "Treat spiders the way you want to be treated" with "Killed without hesitation". Unironically

Vil: has accidentally cursed his own food several times. Never anything serious, but you would think it was with the expression of utter horror on his face every time

Rook: is the one in class to deal with bugs. He will pull a hairband out of his pocket (saved for this very occasion, or in the horrible case that Vil's hair tie might snap) and snipe the bug out of midair

Epel: constantly tries to get away with breaking rules right under Vil's nose. Out of spite. He has yet to succeed, but insists he WILL. One day. He will not

Idia: has lamented sending his tablet to class several times because he can't play some of his favorite games when it's away. Does not seem to realize that he would not be able to play those games while in class anyways

Ortho: has programmed idle animations

Malleus: his horns constantly hit the top of doorways. The entire room will go very quiet when this happens because they're scared if they breathe they will laugh and they Can Not Laugh At Malleus Draconia

Lilia: upon finding out his true age, the first question he is always asked is how his cooking is seriously "like that"

Silver: will wake up, find a miscellaneous animal sleeping on him, and go back to sleep because he would rather die than wake up the poor thing

Sebek: banned from the school library. There is no librarian so it literally doesn't change anything there's no one to enforce it but he still won't go in on principle

Crowley: has submitted a tax form with simply the word "No" on it. Is not sure why it didn't work

Crewel: messed up a potion once in front of a class. Swore everyone to secrecy about it. It is the only secret that has not spread through the school

Trein: has been called by his cat's name more than once

Vargas: students are often late to things because "Coach Vargas is hunting students for sport again :( ughhhh"

Sam: will trip students he doesn't like over 'loose floorboards'

[hms-no-fun]

you were on cohost? i guess too late now, how was it for you?

cohost had its fair share of problems and i could often find the community there a bit too tumblr-core fingerwaggy if you know what i mean. but the site's dead now so it's kind of a moot point. what i find myself reflecting on most these days are the positives.

first, no numbers. i think their no numbers policy was probably a bit over-aggressive, but it quelled some of the rat race popularity contest aspect of social media that often makes it so tedious. i liked their tag tracking system, their robust content warning options, and the absence of infinite scroll. what i miss most about cohost is that their text editor supported CSS, which led to people programming elaborate text effects and puzzles and games in-site that harkened back to the days of flash animations. there was something in this combination of elements that drew out a rebellious creativity in users.

cohost came at a time when social media was across the board feeling terrible (and it's only gotten worse hahaha), particularly as someone who makes shit that relies on you clicking links that take you away from the website or app. algorithms hate this and punish it. users also just seem kind of lazy and disinterested in using the internet so much as letting the internet happen to them passively. but when a post of mine went viral on cohost, people engaged with it. it wasn't just likes and shares, it was comments and additions. it felt like a place that (at its best) encouraged actual conversation and the development of new ideas among like-minded peers. when my posts did well and i included a donation link, people gave me money. it felt genuinely like a website that COULD support professional blog work in a way that was more customizable even than substack yet still RSS friendly, and the Following tab which let you easily see posts of specific users was a REVELATION, like a mini RSS reader within the website itself.

but the enterprise was unsustainable for various reasons (not all of them outside the dev crew's control) and the haters got what they wanted. now our big social media alternative is bluesky, a website that dares to ask the question "what if there was another twitter?" the answer is that it fucking sucks. i hate microblogs so much dude, why on EARTH are we still acting like these disambiguited 300-character-limit posts are the most preferable means of social communication online??? why would you set out to make a better twitter and then deliberately choose to replicate literally every aspect of the user experience that encouraged low-information high-drama conflict fabrication? WHY WOULD YOU MAKE A VERSION OF TWITTER WHERE YOU CAN EASILY LOOK UP THE ACCOUNT OF EVERYONE WHO HAS YOU BLOCKED AND IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A FEATURE NOT A BUG???????? i just don't get it. i don't even get the optimism of the early adopters. i've seen people decry the post-election decay of the platform like "of course the cishets come in to ruin a community that was defined by trans & queer people" i'm sorry HELLO???????? from literally day zero bluesky was aiming to be a hands-off centrist IPO-friendly tech startup, there was never anything structurally embedded within the platform itself to keep this kind of decay from happening, you just happened to be on there when there were dramatically fewer users most of whom were curious tech enthusiasts. seriously, how have we not learned this lesson yet? you can't define a digital culture by the vibes of random user behavior! unless you have LAWS and GUIDELINES whereby you fucking BAN people for being shitheads, unless you enforce an actual code of conduct and punish bigoted speech and design a system that encourages constructive conversation, you are always always ALWAYS going to wind up at unhinged facebook boomer slop!

the death of cohost and the utterly predictable decay of bluesky are a big part of the reason why i've been posting so much more on tumblr. this is like the last bastion of anything even remotely resembling the old web, with its support of longposts and tagging and how easy it is to find random hobbyists doing cool shit you never knew existed before. like, yeah, you have to search that shit out and tailor your feed to not drive you crazy, but that's what i like about it!!! i am an adult with agency who understands that life is complicated and as such i expect to have to put some work into making my experience with a website positive! but in the hellworld of the iphone everything is walled garden apps for aggregating content where the content and its creators are structurally established as infinitely replaceable and uniquely worthless punching bags to be used and cast aside. everyone's given up on moderation and real jobs don't exist anymore especially if you happen to work in the "creative economy" IE are a writer or critic or artist or hobbyist of literally any kind. we've given up on expecting anything from the rich moneyboys who own and profit immensely off of the platforms whose value we literally create!!! especially now with the rise of "AI" grifters, whose work has ratcheted good old fashioned casual sexism and racism and homophobia up to levels not seen in such mainstream spaces since the early 2000s.

i like tumblr because i don't have to use a third party app to get & answer asks at length, and because it is a visual artist friendly platform where i won't be looked at funny for reblogging furry postmodernism or transgender homestuck OCs. it is a site that utterly lacks respectability and that's what makes it even remotely usuable. unfortunately it also sucks! partly it sucks because this place was ground zero for the rise of puritanical feminist-passing conservatism in leftist spaces, so it's like a hyperbolic time chamber for brain-melting life or death discourse about the most inconsequential bullshit you could ever imagine. but it also sucks because it's owned by a profit-motivated moneyboy who has consistently encouraged a culture of virulent transphobia and frequently bans trans women who call this out. so like, yeah, this place is cool compared to everywhere else, but it is exactly like everywhere else in that is also on a ticking clock to its own inevitable demise. the owners of this website will destroy everything that makes it interesting and will EAGERLY delete the nearly twenty years (!!!!!!) of posts it's accumulated the instant it will profit them to do so. this will be immensely unpopular and everyone will agree it's a tragedy and it won't matter. the culture and content of a social media platform is epiphenomenal to its rote economic valuation. i mean, obviously it isn't, zero of these massive tech companies would be what they are if so many people weren't so eager to give their time and labor away for free (and yes, writing a dumb dick joke on tumblr IS a form of labor in the same way that doing a captcha is labor, just because it's a miniscule contribution in an economy of scale doesn't mean you didn't contribute!), but once a tech company reaches a certain threshold its valuation ceases to be tethered to anything that actually exists in reality.

all of which is why i remember cohost with a heavy heart. yeah, it was imperfect. it was also independently owned, made with the explicit goal of creating a form of social media that actually tries not to give you a lifelong anxiety disorder so it can sell you homeopathic anti-anxiety sawdust suppositories. for the brief window of time when it was extant, i was genuinely hopeful for the future of being a creative on the internet. part of why i spend so much time on godfeels, a fucking homestuck fanfiction with no hope of turning a profit or establishing mainstream legitimacy, is that my readers actually ENGAGE with the material. what brought me back to using this website consistently was precisely the glut of godfeels-related questions i got, and the exciting conversations that resulted from my answers. meanwhile i put so many hours into my videos and even when they do well numerically, i barely see any actual engagement with the material. and that is a deliberate design choice on the part of youtube! that is the platform functioning as intended!! it sucks!!!

what the memory of cohost has instilled in me is a neverending distaste for the lazy unambitious also-rans that define the modern internet. i remember the possibility space of the early web and long for the expressiveness that even the most minor of utilities offered. we sacrificed that freedom for a convenience which was always the pretense for eventually charging us rent. i am thinking a lot these days about what a publicly funded government administrated social media utility would look like. what federal open source standards could look in an environment where the kinds of activities a digital ecosystem can encourage are strictly regulated against exploitation, bigotry, scams, and literal gambling. what if there was a unionized federal workforce devoted to the administration of internet moderation, which every website above a certain user threshold must legally take advantage of? i like to imagine a world where youtube isn't just nationalized but balkanized, where you have nested networks of youtubes administrated for different purposes by different agencies and organizations that operate on different paradigms of privacy and algorithmic interaction. imagine that your state, county, and/or city has its own branch of youtube meant to specifically highlight local work, while also remaining connected to a broader national network (oops i just reinvented federation lmao). imagine a world where server capacity is a publicly owned utility apportioned according to need and developed in collaboration with the communities of their construction rather than as a deliberate exploitation of them. our horizons for these kinds of things are just so, so small, our ability to imagine completely captured by capitalist realism, our willingness to demand services from our government simply obliterated by decades of cynical pro-austerity propaganda. i imagine proposing some of this stuff and people reacting like "well that's unrealistic" "that'll never happen" "they'd just use it for evil" and i am just SO! FUCKING! TIRED!!!!

like wow you're soooooo cool for being effectively two steps left of reagan, i bet you think prison abolition and free public housing are an impossible pipedream too huh? and exactly what has that attitude gotten you? what've you gained by being such a down to earth realist whose demands are limited by the scope of what seems immediately possible? has anything gotten better? have any of the things you thought were good stayed good? is your career more stable, your political position more safe, your desire to live and thrive greatly expanded? or do you spend every day in a cascading panopticon of stress and collapse, overwhelmed to the point of paralysis by the sheer magnitude of what it's cost us to abandon the future? you HAVE to dream. you HAVE to make unrealistic demands. the fucking conservatives have been making unrealistic demands forever and look, they're getting everything they want even though EVERYONE hates them for it! please i'm begging you to see and understand that what's feasible, what's reasonable, what's realistic, are literally irrelevant. these things only feel impossible because we choose to believe The Adults (and if you're younger than like 45, trust me, to the ruling class you are a child) whose bank accounts reflect just how profitable it is to convince us that they're impossible. all those billions of dollars these fuckers have didn't come from nowhere, it was stolen from all of us. there is no reason that money can't and shouldn't be seized and recirculated back into the economy, no reason it can't be used to fund a society that is actually social, where technological development is driven not by what's most likely to drive up profits next quarter but by what people need from technology in their daily lives.

uh so yeah basically that's my opinion of cohost lmao

[purlty23]

Ghost… oh Ghost…

I’ve been a fan of Ghost for a long time. I’ve seen them shift, adapt, and evolve. But with these new singles — Peacefield, Lachryma, and Satanised — it’s become painfully clear: Ghost is no longer a band pushing creative limits. It’s a brand rehearsing a role.

Peacefield

This track is lifeless. That generic choir + child vocal intro? It’s not grand. It’s not spooky. It’s generic trailer music. You could slap it on a fantasy video game ad and no one would blink.

Then there’s this gem of a lyric:

“We all need something to believe in until it’s over, anything, anyone, anytime, but it’s not over yet.”

Seriously? That’s not introspective. That’s the kind of line you’d find in the Notes app of a high school kid writing edgy poetry during math class.

And then — plot twist — Tobias Forge didn’t even compose it. Two outside pop producers did. That explains everything. It’s a Ghost-branded pop rock single that could’ve been released under any band with eyeliner.

This isn’t art. It’s product.

Lachryma

This one hurts more because you can hear potential. The synth intro is beautiful. The chorus is solid. But everything else? Paint-by-numbers filler.

It’s Ghost doing a cosplay of their older sound — imitating their own identity instead of building on it. There’s no tension. No drama. No left turns. No surprise. It plays like something written to safely hit the Spotify rock playlist algorithm. You can practically see the songwriting formula in the waveform.

Satanised

This one is just baffling.

It desperately wants to be edgy. Dark. Controversial. But instead it comes off like a parody of a parody. And the real kicker? As an Orthodox Christian, I actually found the lyrics… oddly familiar. It reads more like actual Christian theology than any critique of it. And the delivery isn’t even ironic — it sounds sincere. Like something you’d hear in a church youth group rock night, but with a pentagram slapped on top. Ghost used to twist religious imagery into eerie, poetic metaphors. Now they’re just reciting doctrine louder, pretending it’s subversive.

It’s not Satanic. It’s not rebellious. It’s not clever.

It’s empty theater.

⸻

And Now, the Bigger Problem…

What’s really shocking is seeing fans actually celebrating things like:

“Wow, Papa can finally move his mouth while singing with the new costume!”

Wait — that’s the bar now?

He can move his mouth?

We’re applauding a musician for doing the bare minimum of human functionality on stage? If that’s what excites you — not the music, not the composition, not the emotional weight — then this is no longer a band. It’s a Hot Topic mannequin showcase.

Ghost is becoming Lordi 2.0 — all spectacle, no soul.

If you stripped away the masks, the gimmicks, and the stage fog, would these new songs still move you? Or would you skip them entirely?

And maybe that’s where Ghost should go next: not deeper into music, but into fashion.

If the focus is on how good Papa looks under a spotlight or how cool the tour merch is, then just admit it — Ghost is a visual brand now. A goth fashion label with guitars.

The Truth Is This:

Ghost could’ve ditched the Satanic shtick years ago and reinvented themselves into something honest, raw, and creatively free.

They didn’t. And now, the once-dark, genre-bending, risk-taking band is slowly fading out in a cloud of recycled theatrics and outsourced melodies.

These singles — Peacefield, Lachryma, Satanised — aren’t songs from a band on fire. They’re the final wheezes of something that doesn’t realize it’s dying.

Ghost isn’t a cult anymore. It’s a costume.

And I say this not out of hate — but as someone who once believed. /Copypasta

[blissfulbluee]

Something that I don't get about people who think anyone who killed someone, directly or indirectly in the games, is a terrible murderer through and through is that like.

Any of them could've killed someone outside of the games for money at any point. That's evidently not something they would do in normal circumstances, even the already very stressful circumstance of living in poverty. The games are SUPPOSED to push people to their worst because that's what entertains the VIPs. Like idk, algorithms showing people ragebait.

They bait you to get mad and write something mean to someone on the internet who's life you have no investment in, they bait you into a situation where killing someone who's life you have no investment in can not only save your own ass, the ass of others and get you a lot of money. Obviously that's not a perfect comparison but it's the best one I can think of. If you cage a dog and push on it's boundaries every day and treat it like shit then you really shouldn't be surprised that it ended up biting you or even another dog that was in the wrong place at the wrong time. That's not because the dog was violent to begin with, it's because you put it in a situation that fostered violence.

Hopefully this makes sense, it just baffles me that people think that. Obviously in some cases (Deok-Su for example) where they kill outside of the game I guess there's a little more ground to stand on but like. Sick of people acting like if anyone makes any bad decisions in the game that reflects badly on them as a person overall or they're suddenly 100% evil and have no other traits besides being a filthy murderer manipulative mustache twirling villain.

This isn't to say I think every player is a good person overall most people aren't good people in some capacities but some people far exaggerate characters' badness in certain areas just because of some actions that don't necessarily correlate fully.

Sorry for the long ask!!

Hi! Thanks for the ask. Don't apologize. I love long asks and hearing y'alls thoughts.

"it's because you put it in a situation that fostered violence" exactly this!! the game is created for players to inevitably kill other players. it's for entertainment and proof to the rich that people the deem below them are nothing but violent animals.

Obviously killing other players is wrong but seriously, that is so natural when it comes to wanting to survive.. it's not about just the money anymore. You also have to worry about even living.

I agree wholeheartedly, anon. It's like these people don't understand the characters or the situation they've been put in. Even our main character, who watched his childhood best friend kill people and try to kill him (not to mention he also fought sang-woo), knew this was the case. Sang-woo is not a villain. The games just took advantage of his already desperate state and times that by ten. That also applies to the other players.

[violet-moonstone]

ranting about internet "media literacy" -- started angry but mellowed out as I continued writing:

highly tempted to start writing dark romance and monster romance to piss off the growing amount of people who feel the need to proclaim their judgments about stories that are obviously meant to be outrageous fantasies and not models for realistic or healthy relationships

cannot imagine being so boring that you think everyone's fantasies have to be safe and sanitized

sounds miserable

remember when there was a moral panic about violent video games? and how we collectively looked back on that and said "wow that's wild. clearly the issue is either with kids playing games they're not old enough to play, or with people in general not being adequately taught how to recognize and avoid emulating harmful behaviours they see in media. surely censoring media isn't the solution, but good education and proper parenting is."

and then remember how we decided to forget all of that and do the exact same thing with books?

if you are concerned about readers not having adequate media literacy and being easily affected by what the they read, then address the media literacy instead of just complaining about the fact that there are books with things in them that you don't like! show people how to recognize harmful tropes so that (if they want to) they can still engage in them without unconsciously normalizing harmful behaviour.

to me, reading dark fiction is like riding a rollercoaster. It's a simulation of a dangerous experience without the actual risk (assuming the ride has been built and maintained properly) -- the vast majority of people don't want to be flung into the air without any safety precautions -- so we make sure people are safe so they can briefly experience simulated danger before coming back down to the ground, nice and safe. Some people hate rollercoasters because they're scary, make them nauseous, or even seriously trigger them -- those people should absolutely not go on rollercoasters. Some people might experience the thrill of the rollercoaster and want more and engage in dangerous activities to feed that desire -- this is an example of someone who needs support to make sure they stay safe and don't hurt others, but that doesn't mean rollercoasters should be banned

that being said, I do think there's an issue with the way the internet works now that's contributing to this moral panic

while I'm glad that more people are becoming aware of kink, bdsm, and dark fantasies in fiction and that those topics are being explored more by writers who can gain exposure through the internet...that higher exposure also means bringing something niche into the mainstream that a lot of people refuse to wrap their heads around

part of the problem is that the internet has become too universal. yes, there are certain places you can go for niche topics -- you can follow specific blogs and forums that focus more on intentional online community than algorithms -- but on platforms like youtube, tiktok, and instagram, it is extremely easy for people to just stumble onto things they never intended /wanted to see without warning

at the very least on a lot of reddit forums and properly tagged works on archive of our own, you have to pass a warning telling you about what you're going to see (and people still complain about it but whatever) but on other platforms, you're kind of just presented with stuff with no context -- including people who are either not willing to learn about that context or not old/mature enough to even be seeing that content who are just going to go with their immediate reactions

P.S. -- I lied. I mostly want to write monster erotica because I think it's hot

[ninjagirlstar5]

Akane, beyond the grave: *steals her ex-friend's ultimate talent*

Jokes aside, the wheel chose Sora to be the Ultimate Merchant, so that's fun! Designing her outfit was interesting since I know Akane would take her role as a merchant seriously, but since Sora is (supposedly) an amnesiac, she would not have the memories that would influence her personality and decision-making, let alone her tastes in fashion. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I approached this design not by thinking on what Akane would wear, but rather what Sora would cobble together upon waking up the first time and what peaked her interest as an Ultimate Merchant.

In Sora's OG design, she was just wearing a regular school uniform, and in Teruya's designs, they were either a school uniform he personally designed himself, so he was doing self-promotion by physically wearing his own product, or just a regular suit underneath a very iconic coat with a hat, scarf and goggles which were all mementos of people he held dear. Both are good designs in their own right, although Sora's was definitely the simplest and perhaps uninteresting between the two of them. And considering that a part of being a merchant is making an impression on your customers and fellow businesspeople, Ultimate Merchant Sora can't look too simple to the point that she just blends in with a crowd. So I decided to go with an outfit that's similar in it's simplicity like her uniform but leaning a bit more towards a business-like vibe. So now she has a button-up, a shorter skirt, replaced her ascot with a tie, gave her a jacket to help her stick out more, and made her socks shorter along with some transparent tights underneath. While Akane is pretty professional in her design (when not in Despair), Sora comes off as someone who's much more casual in personality, hence why her button-up has it's collar popped open a bit and is untucked, her tie is a bit loose, and her original mary janes were replaced with sneakers. I also gave her skirt and jacket her matching criss-cross plaid pattern as not only was it an iconic part of her OG design, but I think Sora would choose this pattern to stand out thanks to her instinct as the Ultimate Merchant. Her hair went through some minor changes as I wanted to reference my Akane redesign's bang hairstyle a bit by giving Sora a similar style, just with a straighter style as Akane's hair is a bit more...floofier, to say the least. I also moved Sora's ponytail over her shoulder cause I wanted it to be more visible and as I mentioned in my Kiyoka redesign, making a low ponytail visible in a front-facing sprite like this one can get lost behind the body. I think it looks kinda nice like this. I stuck to her black, white, and red color palette and thus, we are done with Sora.

Next up is Kokoro!

Considering Sora is supposed to be Akane (but not really) in original canon, Sora's "backstory" might as well be her past up to the DRA events, but one that she had completely forgotten due to her amnesia. Since I mentioned not going with the Neo World Program setting for the killing game back in my Swap Talent Yoruko post, I'm gonna approach this as if Sora really was Akane and not just an algorithm put together to protect Yuki and attached to Akane's brain (or however this game described it on how Sora can be familiar with the DRA events but not know them).

Honestly, the most that would change from this is that Akane was supposed to die at the end of the DRA events but when her body inherited Divine Luck, she ended up surviving instead. But due to her injuries and being underwater for so long, even the Divine Luck couldn't keep her memories intact, so when she woke up in a hospital, she literally didn't know who she was and could only think of "Sora" as a name. So, unable to remember who she really is and the horrible things she's done, Sora kinda just...goes off to do her own thing as she searches for answers on who she is. In the process, she realizes that she has a distinct talent in business, and she uses them to buy and sell products to try and help others during the Tragedy. Which she's able to do very well...with a bit of luck. (I always considered that Divine Luck isn't the most active when the user isn't consciously aware that they have it. It's how DRA!Yuki had Divine Luck the whole time but people still died/bad things still happened because he just wasn't aware that he has a literal deus ex machina that is Divine Luck, and the only times it became active in his subconscious was when he was involved in a game reliant on luck or willed for a scenario so badly that it just happened, like with what happened with Kinjo in Chapter 5. Same with Sora in canon and it's basically the same here.) So Sora starts making headway with her reputation, with some people even calling her the "Ultimate Merchant" although she laughs it off since she doesn't have any papers to prove she was ever an Ultimate (she was). Mikado finds out about this, curiously looks into it since "Hey, wasn't there an Ultimate Merchant in the Proto-Killing Game?", and, after a lot of digging, he figures out that Sora is most likely Akane who managed to survive her fate from DRA, most likely due to her own luck. But of course, he never figured out that she has THE Divine Luck, he just assumed that either her Fortune pulled through for her or Utsuro blessed her a second time to save her life before dying. Either way, he needed an extra player since his class only had fourteen students, and who would be better than the accomplice to the mastermind herself? And oooh, how convenient, she also has amnesia so she can't blab about how strangely similar these events are in her previous killing game (although to say everything goes according to Mikado's plan would be a lie). So he snatches her up and does some convenient memory science alterations with the help of Void, more on that in future posts, to make her believe that this is her first time waking up and is a part of their class in this strange killing game when really, none of them had met her until now.

And to make matters worse, it's through this killing game that Sora finally starts to find out who she is and what her past was. And OH boy, would that hit her like a fucking truck to find out that she was a Despair and even got most of her real classmates and friends killed for the sake of her Master Utsuro. Since she has no memories of when she was Akane Taira, the dissonance between her past self and her current self is VERY strong and she's riddled with a huge sense of guilt and shame. Even to the very end, she never fully remembers her past, but she does take responsibility for her past actions even if she'll never forgive herself as Akane Taira.

[wesleysniperking]

I have an Usopp problem 😵‍💫

***Break over

I’m seriously not sure if it’s because of the algorithm, or Oda’s 3 week break and fans are bored and suffering because of it, but it seems like Usopp has become more of (???) a person of interest in the fandom, very recently—for the wrong reasons. Maybe it’s because of my hyper-fixation on Usopp’s journey…I admit. Can’t even cross it out.

…So, maybe it is JUST me.

Maybe that’s why it seems like he’s a person of interest even more nowadays.

I am avoiding Reddit and Worstgen, but YouTube is testing my resolve. I use YouTube for other things besides One Piece analysis vids and whatnot.

Tamir’s Verse do post pro-Usopp videos, but even those bring forward slander in the comments that’s hard to look past, personally. There’s a video about how and WHY Usopp is the most disliked Strawhat! 🤯 I can’t watch Tamir’s Verse videos and shorts at all anymore.

And then there was a poll of “Who’s the Most Disliked Strawhat?” on my YouTube feed. Usopp had the second to the most votes. If “Other” hadn’t been an option/choice, he would have won. If the algorithm is gonna play mind games, can they give me the positive Usopp videos? Please?

This isn’t meant to be a rant at all.

But having to read that Usopp is “The Butt” of the Strawhats is kinda sh**ty. (This was in response to when I posted a comment in one of the vids. I said that Usopp was a nuanced and brave character).

But have no fear, I will forever argue against the harsh criticism. The harsh criticism and arguing won’t matter in a year. I know this. There’s the real world outside. I have to talk to someone about this…I know 😔.

The YouTube algorithm is playing mind games.

I won’t look at the comments I won’t look at the comments I won’t look at the commets I won’t look at the comm–

I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comment I won’t post a comm-

No more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arguing no more arg–

Let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda cook let Oda coo–

Conclusively, I’m gonna go do some soul searching. I have an exam this week, and I’m experiencing writer’s block (currently writing a one-shot, writing Act 2 of an ongoing Usopp-centric fic)…and..

So, I’ll go and touch grass.

And I’m gonna give myself the hard challenge of not talking about Usopp for 1 week. You know what? Let’s give myself a bigger challenge. I won’t talk about Usopp for 2 weeks. But if that means not talking about Usopp, I’ll need to stop watching One Piece for 2 weeks, and writing fanfiction (even just updating the drafts) for 2 weeks... I’ll need to stay off YouTube, Reddit, and TUMBLR for 2 weeks... I’ll need to stay off Ao3 for 2 weeks…

I’ll have to clear my cache and delete all my tabs. I’ll have to avoid my email (I’ll unsubscribe from the YouTube messages I receive). I’ll reply to the last of my notifications…then…

2 weeks. 2 weeks. I’ll give it 2 weeks…

I can do this. Right? Right? I’m writing this to instill some discipline in me. I want to find a way to approach things differently, and not argue endlessly about nonsensical comments…I want to feel what it’s like to not participate.

Then I’ll come back to the fandom and be a little bit more positive and well rested. And I’ll contribute to all the nice things.

Note to self. I got this…if anyone is reading this. Thank you for your time ❤️

My break starts now!

Stay true!

– wesleysniperking

[okayto]

Mini-Review: Polygon Unraveled

A video series that explores the dangers of taking video game lore and logic too seriously.

Or as others online put it:

A series of viral videos for the gaming website Polygon in which he slowly goes insane while talking about video games.

Brian David Gilbert tries to unravel game lore without losing his grip on reality.

Several years ago, this guy who somehow managed to exude cryptid vibes despite appearing to be the walking embodiment of an excel spreadsheet kept coming across my dash. I gleaned enough info to determine he was a YouTuber and promptly scrolled on.

A couple years later...I'll be honest, I have no idea how I actually came to watch any of this. At some point, someone on tumblr tricked me into watching a completely different channel, which showed me that there is, in fact, entertaining content on YT despite a preponderance of talking heads and intensely parasocial fandoms, and the Almighty Algorithm recommended me a a video with a title I couldn't ignore, probably The Perfect PokéRap.

Host Brian David Gilbert is to all appearances an unassuming besuited nerd with high charisma and an even higher ability to subject himself to mental torments in the form of reading in real life all 333 books in the video game Skyrim, calculating how much money in OSHA fines Mario would owe, and interviewing his mother as part of a mathematical process to determine the Game of the Year...during which she kindly says, "This is a lot of research into things that really have very little meaning."

"A lot of research into things that really have very little meaning" would be a great and accurate tagline. Unraveled tricks you into thinking it's about video game-associated nerdery, but actually refers to Gilbert's mental state.

At any rate, it's easy to see why this garnered attention: it's funny and full of the specific pedantry that fandoms enjoy, taking canon details seriously to their ridiculous conclusions.

The subject is video games, but I haven't play the majority of titles/series/franchises featured and enjoyed it all, so it should be accessible and enjoyable to people who similarly haven't. Clips and brief descriptions of games/gameplay/stories are included when necessary, which for me gave all the context I needed.

Because listen: you do not need to be familiar with any Legend of Zelda games to enjoy the hilarity of Gilbert and a non-gamer coworker trying to recreate 78 recipes from Breath of the Wild using only ingredients listed in the game (that is: very few ingredients). I don't need to know anything about Hideo Kojima or the games he creates (and to this day, I do not) to understand the humor of his character names, because Gilbert explains that particular brand of peculiarity in the course of generating an 11-page form that will help him generate his own similarly-kooky names. There are a minimum of three different song/musical interludes throughout this series that are enjoyable and impressive.

Final comments: Highly recommend. It's accessible and fun even with a very small amount of video game knowledge (the small amount I have via pop culture osmosis) and witty; Gilbert has a talent for spouting great one-liners that contribute to the preponderance of gifs on this website.

Subtitle availability: English captions (not auto-generated) are available!

Where to watch (USA, as of May 2024): A playlist (X) on Polygon's (@Polygon) Youtube channel contains all episodes. Polygon's channel contains literally thousands of other videos, so I recommend using the playlist regardless of whether you watch them all or just a few.

Start watching with: My best recommendation is starting from the beginning using the playlist, with Solving the Zelda Timeline in 15 Minutes, because individual videos are great but it's also fun to watch Gilbert increasingly, well, unravel. But if you want a few videos to sample, I'd start with any of these:

Every Sonic game is blasphemous

The Perfect PokeRap (live convention panel; trust me it's worth watching instead of the PokeRap-only video)

We made all 78 Breath of the Wild recipes in one day

Calculate your pet's HP with my 100% legitimate formula

I used The Sims to perfect my apartment

Status/Frequency: There are 28 videos total, most of which are 15-20 minutes long with only a handful of outliers. The series was released from 2018 to the end of 2020, when he left the company to pursue other projects.

Click my “reviews” tag below or search “mini review” on my blog to find more!

[tobiasdrake]

THE FINAL HANGOUT for Desuhiko. I. Think. I've gotten all of the Baubles up to this point. Going into this chapter, every character has one Bauble left to find for one last chill-sesh with them. The way that lines up looks deliberate.

Like, if this is the final chapter, it makes sense that everyone's last bauble to close out their Gumshoe Gab would be located here.

Oh god, are we breaking up?

You're literally the only character who has shipping tags pop up in the tag list when I go to type your name at the end of the post. Not even Kurumi. So if this is what it sounds like then you're about to break the hearts of approximately 100% of the game's audience.

Yuma has the patience of a saint. Imagine spending an hour hanging out on an empty rooftop with nothing to do but get rained on, while your only companion (who asked you to come here) is evasively trying not to talk to you.

I would have excused myself and bailed after like five minutes.

This conversation is coded as hell. No wonder Desuhiko's the only character with algorithm-prioritized shipping tags. He's gotten closer to a love confession in this brief conversation than Kurumi has in hours of hanging out with Yuma and constantly refuting that she's his girlfriend, anime-style.

This is purposeful ship bait. The game's made clear that Yuma/Kurumi is its OTP. It refuses to shut up about it even though it's moving that subplot along at a snail's pace. But the coding in this conversation is clearly meant to throw a bone to the shippers.

100% "If you get it, you get it. But if you don't then Desuhiko's just being a silly-billy by how seriously he's taking this." A paper-thin subtext with just enough deniability.

And judging by the hashtags, people have absolutely taken the game up on its offer. In fairness, reading into things like this is what you have to do to squeeze even an ounce of same-sex romance out of most IPs. Writers will ship-tease until the cows come home but balk at giving us openly gay/bi characters.

At least we got our cool enby Halara. As long as Kodaka doesn't lose the fucking script in the final chapter and sticks the landing for them, Halara will easily be the best LGBT character he's ever written. (Not that the competition makes that difficult or anything.)

Trust Yuma to be utterly oblivious to the subtext here. It's a long-established character trait that he struggles with understanding people when their behavior doesn't match his standards of normalcy. As is typical of Kodaka's protags, he is aggressively the Straight Man.

The musical equivalent of saying, "No, I will not go out with you, but I would like to be friends instead."

Desuhiko is not taking rejection well. But at least he's not doing that thing some people do, where they'll let someone go on tour with them as a fan while utterly convinced that, if he gives it some time, Yuma will come around and realize that joining the band really is what he wants for his life.

Desuhiko's in too much pain right now to accept Yuma as a fan. But he's accepting Yuma's rejection for what it is. He isn't deluding himself to cling to something that can't be. He's processing his emotions and allowing himself to feel. That's the first step in healing.

He is, however, stonewalling. His moment of vulnerability has passed. The defensive walls are up and stronger than over. Accusing Yuma of only wanting to be his fan out of pity is a defense mechanism.

Yuma has successfully pried Desuhiko back out from behind his walls. He's sorry that they can't form the band that Desuhiko wanted but there is a strong basis here for an incredible fanship, one that could change the course of both of their lives.

Sorry, Yuma. You talked yourself into this. Fortunately, I get to bail and let you two have this private moment together.

As is pretty well established by this point, I don't have a high opinion of Desuhiko. It's personal. He hits too close to home and reminds me a lot of myself at his age. But I can see why others would like him and his dynamic with Yuma.

He's a far cry from what I expected him to be when I met him. I expected a much more objectionable character, especially given Kodaka's track record. But actually, Desuhiko's pretty cool.

[cryptid-manor]

FAQ, Q&A, Resources

Hi, I’m new in town and you lot have been very kind to follow me.

Here’s a little blog post that I update occasionally.

Do you have any technique or app recommendations?

If I’m on-the-go, on my tablet or phone, I use a lot of different applications. Procreate w/ an Apple Pen, Midjourney, Dalle, Glitché, Filmm, GlitchCam, Groovo, Canva, PicsArt, VSCO. I’m getting into Lightroom, Photoshop and Adobe Express editions. Save and edit and save and edit and save and edit and save and edit.

If I’m at my desk, I use GIMP a lot. I use or add a few old school glitch art techniques that can only be done on my Mac or on my PC. Versions tend to jump from phone to laptop to phone to laptop.

Here are two tutorials if you’d like to learn some, ever more seemingly, old school techniques for yourself. I’d be utterly pleased if this was your first entrance to “glitch art” —

Do you sell prints or shirts or any fine, fine merchandise anywhere?

Not of anything I make with MidJourney. Well, technically, no merchandise of anything right now. If you see it sold online, it’s a fake. If you see anything of mine go viral somewhere other than this Tumblr account, it’s fake.

Maybe I’ll make postcards, some day, out of sheer novelty. But, honestly, right now, a lot of this blog is going to turn into behind the scenes, drafting, etc.

…

i.e…. “~•*•THE PROCESS•*•~”

…

At 800 followers, I feel like I’ve cultivated a scene that I can trust with feedback on my other passion projects.

Wait, other projects?

Oh yeas. Have you ever read House Of Leaves? That’s what the inside of my brain looks like if I don’t Make Things.

Ok cool.

Yeah, for sure, of course.

Can you recommend any fandoms or other accounts that you like?

I like stuff. Stuff is good. Have you seen some of the stuff out there? It’s everywhere. Stuff is all over the place, and I love it. And I love that for me. And I love that for you.

Stuff for everyone, stuff for all, I say, at times when I’m going from here to there.

Here’s some of the stuff I like. Do you have any stuff you like?

— Degenesis (TTRPG)

— Trevor Henderson (@slimyswampghost on IG)

— Plastiboo (Artist)

— @louceph (seriously, a truly amazing artist)

— @hannahorca (wow wow wow)

— LIMINAL_ (TTRPG)

— MORK BÖRG (TTRPG)

— Mayfair Watchers Society (Podcast)

— Quiet Part Loud (Podcast)

— Welcome To Scarfolk (Book)

— Uzumaki & Gyo (Manga)

— Elden Ring (Video Game)

— Lovecraft Country (Series)

— Blasphemous (Video Game)

— Berserk (Manga)

— Oats Studio (Series, Netflix)

— District 9 (Movie)

— Love Death + Robots (Series)

Any more?

Sure but they might be “off-brand” for the aesthetic.

— Hollow Knight (Game)

— The Long Dark (Game)

— Frostpunk (Game)

— Nausicaä (Movie)

— Princess Mononoke (Movie)

— Scavenger’s Reign (Series)

— Raised By Wolves (Series)

— This War Of Mine (Game)

— Midnight Gospel (Series)

— The Beginners Guide (Game)

Okay, so hey I’ve fallen in love with one of the Monsters on here. Can I adopt it and name it and feed it and call it mine?

Listen your head-canon is your head-canon but for god’s sake remember that I have to read the fic and you have to write the fic. A curse on both our houses if ever used for PvP combat.

Do you sell NFTs?

No.

Okay…have I thought about it? Yes. Sure. Whatever. But I don’t sell NFTs. No “legitimate” NFTs of my work exists. If you see it, it’s fake.

I’ve told myself there’s only one way I’d use an NFT or Ethereum — if someone would like to “legally” adopt one of my OC critters. I would literally draw up the novelty adoption papers. That sounds like so much fun.

Conclusion

Thanks for hanging out and reading my words. This kind of came to an abrupt end, didn’t it? Yeah, pacing isn’t something I’m good at yet. But am I not deserving of love, simply as one voice amongst the many spiritual echoes singing the tune of our grand eternal choir of life? Am I not worthy of perhaps a little treat?

[maskedemerald]

Pre-Order The Last Straw Novella

So the Kickstarter didn't work out but that isn't going to stop me! The book still comes out on the 25th of November! I'm still planning to do a smaller print run so if you want Paperback its going to exist! Follow the link to my website to pre-order in either E-Book or Paperback format!

A Curiosity Piqued – The Last Straw Novella – Masked Emerald

Also If you are interested I have some thoughts about the Kickstarter experience below the cut! Just my thoughts going forward and not words from any kind of expert on the matter. In fact they are rather rambly, sorry about that.

The Numbers

Costs

Indie printing is definitely not cheap, the costs have gone up for pretty much everything. However the worst thing was the increased cost of postage. Everything I read said make 20% of the goal postage costs. The way things are now I found it was more like 35% which is not good. My original printing costs were £3000 but by the time I'd added on fees, postage for the physical books and taxes it was £7000!

The Problem with Social Media

One of the biggest adversaries I faced was the algorithm and social media. Discoverability is shit on pretty much all social media at the moment. Getting seen beyond my existing followers was a big challenge. The only place I found growth was Tumblr and specifically in the Writeblr side of it (Hi new writer friends! I appreciate you! I'm still catching up on the tag games from when I was ill!)

The Experience

Preparations

Definitely next time starting preparations earlier. There is a lot of preparations involved so I'm definitely going to give myself more time so I'm not trying to do it all at the same time.

The video was harder than I thought it would be, give me unscripted streams any day over trying to get that perfect take.

Shy Bens Get Nout

Is a useful phrase however my anxiety sometimes makes it hard to actually do but seriously if you don't ask then you don't get. While it wasn't me that asked, someone asked on my behalf and as a result I got to do a talk about the book on the radio. Pick up the courage and ask, it might just make a difference. The worst they can do is say no. Which yeah can be intimidating but I need to get better at it!

Stress

I've been describing the Kickstarter as a mad dash. That's what it felt like. I had to constantly be pushing it and then things got worse, I got ill. I was in bed with no capacity to do anything for a week. It tanked my ability to push the Kickstarter. I seriously think its a good idea to have a bunch of posts already written and scheduled to go out. That way anything I post is extra. I really didn't like the stress of it personally so if I try again in future I'll be working to keep the stress low.

Future Plans

Longer Term Funding Pool

I'm going to be tracking the money made by The Last Straw and any merch designs to count towards the next print run of either The Last Straw or the next book. I'm also thinking about the people subbing on Twitch and the people considering becoming a Patreon. These people by the time a book comes out have put money into the printing pool and I think it would be more fair if they can also get the physicals without needing to pay full price. Also without them feeling they need to participate in a Kickstarter to make the thing they want happen. So I'm planning to change my rewards! Subs and Patreons will get virtual stamps towards physical items. This lets me keep entry low and even based on how much I get across the Twitch subs and Patreons. I'll be posting a proper breakdown soon.

Plans for Trying Kickstarter Again

I plan to try crowd funding again if the long term pool doesn't get enough for the next book but I am also considering trying out other sites like Indiegogo. The flexible funding is interesting if I could work out the costs the right way. We'll see what happens in March/April when I need to start thinking about printing the next A Curiosity Piqued.

[verushkak70]

I understand what you're trying to do but in my experience it doesn't work

I've debunked literally hundreds of insane, factually & scientifically wrong crap a friend has been sending me off social media since the FIRST orange asshole campaign

It has not made a difference & I recently realized why (aside from, y'know, tens of thousands of Chinese & Russian social media bots gaming algorithms to inject false narratives into the mainstream to influence elections & democracy in multiple countries...)

It's because facts do not matter to him anymore

This is a belief system very much like religion - it might as well be religion

It is impervious to facts & science

Yet this is someone who I once considered highly intelligent & I still cannot understand how he's fallen for all of this except that, deep down, he must have either a hollow core, or a core of hate, that wants everyone else in the world to be as secretly miserable as he is (which I only know because I've known him for decades - since high school - casual observers would never say "this guy is miserable & self-loathing")

Objectively, on paper, he is intelligent or at least was intelligent & high scoring enough to get into Ivy League universities when we were graduating high school (he did not go to any tho; neither of us could afford such universities; we went to the state university that would take literally anyone, at the time, & from which you had to work at getting kicked out)

This was formerly a pro-choice, pro-porn, pro-drug guy who has drunk the Kool-aid - he's still pro-porn & pro-drug but suddenly in the past 2 years, as "throw it back to the states" became the propaganda on X (his favorite social media, ugh), he started saying it should be thrown back to the states

This from a guy who used to say - in his 20s, 30s, 40s - that abortion should be available on demand at drive thrus (which was hyperbole ofc; obvs you can't get one at an actual drive thru; it was the concept of fast & easy access he was championing)

As these right wing evangelical positions have trended on X, they have come up in his speech the past couple of years (really the past decade, but it accelerated like the speed of light once he moved from FB to the post-Musk Twitter/X)

Because I've known him for so long, I've been able to say, "Huh, you never used to say/believe that over the last 40 years... Why the change, & why now?"

& even that does not get him to realize his opinions are being deliberately shaped by propaganda

He will deny it or say "well I always kind of thought that way" & when I say "dude, you've never been shy of sharing your opinions, whether people wanted to hear them or not, especially if not! so why haven't you mentioned this change of opinion until after X became your main source of 'news'?"

That gets evasions & subject changes because the idea that he didn't come up with these ideas on his own is unacceptable

He will share literally fake news from X & when I ask, "OK, I get that you don't trust mainstream media, with good reason; or the government, with good reason; or the medical/scientific establishment, not without good reason; but you'll just believe anything some clown you don't know on the Internet - who could be anywhere in the world despite his "US Navy Vet" trucker hat - says, without question?"

& his response is always subject changes & attacks on mainstream media/government/politicians/parties but never an answer to the actual question because there is no rational explanation & he knows it

& if I call him on the subject changes, he just ratchets up the subject changes & attack rhetoric as if I'm one of those easily offended wilting liberal flowers he can steamroll, which I'm not & never have been, so it's interesting (if sad) that he thinks what works on other people will work on me

Or maybe he just doubles down because there IS no rational explanation, idk

This is seriously depressing me because this guy was my BFF for like the first 30 of our 40 year friendship - my older sisters would call him "our adopted little brother" - & I don't recognize him anymore

The only reason I continue to talk to him, really, is my oldest sister, who passed away a year ago in February, & was a big activist & organizer/coordinator of various (large) protests here, said "don't give up on him, don't fight or argue - just keep listening & questioning" because "he's a good egg"

& honestly he is, underneath all the sourball curmudgeon thorny exterior - the man has never not been there when I needed him & lots & lots of times when I didn't, just for fun

But this is becoming exhausting & I'm stressed out from not literally screaming "WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!? WHERE IS MY FRIEND, YOU CRAZY POD PERSON WHO TOOK HIS PLACE??"

I'm sorry - I'm just venting, I guess

But please tell me how someone can maintain the cognitive dissonance of a high index of suspicion for the mainstream media, the government, & medicine/science, but not some Joe Blow clown on the Internet - as if somehow that guy (who's probably actually a Chinese or Russian bot) is telling the gospel truth & has a hidden mainline to the secrets of the universe

Because I can't understand it

I can understand it in people who've not had the privilege of university education (my friend has)

or international travel (my friend has, multiple times, with me & others)

or who never left the neighborhood or town where they grew up (my friend did as soon as he could)

I cannot understand it in my formerly skeptical & always shrewd friend

I honestly do not get it 😞

So many people do not understand the relationship between climate change and cold weather.

[isabellalopez258]

Why Players Are Loving Fortuneplay This Season

AN ELEVATED DIGITAL EXPERIENCE

This season, players across the globe are flocking to a new favorite in the world of online entertainment. What makes this platform stand out isn't just one factor, but a dynamic combination of innovation, user-centric design, and non-stop excitement. The modern player demands more than just a place to play they crave a place to experience. And that is precisely what’s drawing attention.

From the moment users land on the homepage, the experience feels fresh, smooth, and intuitive. The interface is tailored for ease of navigation, allowing users to explore the platform without friction. Whether they’re seasoned enthusiasts or newcomers just dipping their toes, the design adapts to every level of expertise. It’s minimal where it matters and vivid where it counts, crafting a journey that’s both engaging and seamless.

A REWARD SYSTEM THAT ACTUALLY REWARDS

At the heart of the excitement is a thoughtfully structured rewards program. Unlike conventional loyalty systems that often overpromise and underdeliver, this one is vibrant, layered, and genuinely motivating. Players are consistently surprised by how achievable milestones feel, thanks to a points-based progression model that’s transparent and fair.

Daily challenges, seasonal promotions, and tiered incentives offer an ever-changing landscape of opportunities. Players are not only recognized for their engagement but celebrated for it. Each level unlocks new possibilities, creating a sense of progression that fuels ongoing interest and loyalty. It’s not just about winning it’s about evolving within the platform.

A LIBRARY BURSTING WITH VARIETY

One of the most talked-about features this season is the staggering diversity in digital content. Whether players prefer classic themes, immersive narratives, or modern twists, the variety is unmatched. New titles are added regularly, keeping the catalog fresh and relevant, while player favorites are carefully curated to remain within reach.

This blend of tradition and innovation creates a dynamic digital playground. From thrilling real-time competitions to quirky, fun-filled mini adventures, every session feels distinct. There’s something for every personality type whether someone is seeking high-energy excitement or a relaxed, laid-back experience.

LIVE EXPERIENCES THAT FEEL AUTHENTIC

In recent years, the demand for real-time, immersive interactions has grown, and this platform has taken that desire seriously. The live content segment is designed to replicate the thrill of real-world experiences without the limitations of physical venues. High-definition streams, engaging hosts, and interactive formats make these live events more than just games they become social moments.

Players have voiced how engaging it feels to be part of a community, not just a user base. The chat features, personalization tools, and responsive design make every session feel unique and tailored. It’s not just about participating it’s about connecting. This depth of interaction fosters a sense of belonging that keeps users coming back.

MOBILE-FIRST AND TECH-ENABLED

Accessibility is no longer a bonus it’s a requirement. This platform excels by offering a mobile-first approach that doesn't compromise on quality. Whether on a phone, tablet, or desktop, the experience remains fluid and fully optimized. Features load quickly, graphics remain crisp, and navigation is consistently intuitive.

Beyond mobility, the platform integrates cutting-edge technology behind the scenes. Enhanced security protocols ensure data privacy, while intelligent algorithms recommend content based on user preferences. Players appreciate a platform that feels as intelligent as it is entertaining.

USER FEEDBACK THAT DRIVES EVOLUTION

One reason this fortune play casino has seen such exponential growth this season is its commitment to community-driven development. Updates are not pushed arbitrarily they’re built around real user feedback. There’s a transparent feedback loop in place, where players are encouraged to share suggestions and observations, and these contributions are visibly incorporated into platform improvements.

From interface enhancements to the addition of new features and experiences, the evolution is both rapid and relevant. This responsiveness builds trust. Players feel heard, respected, and empowered, knowing their voices matter in shaping the platform’s future.

SEASONAL EVENTS AND EXCLUSIVE EXPERIENCES

This season, in particular, has seen an explosion of limited-time events and themed campaigns. These experiences go beyond simple reskins they offer unique challenges, time-sensitive rewards, and specialized content that can’t be found anywhere else. It creates a sense of urgency and exclusivity that’s thrilling to engage with.

These special events often feature unique themes, collaborative competitions, and interactive leaderboards, allowing players to showcase their skills and creativity. It’s not just about participating in an event it’s about being part of a story that unfolds over days or weeks, leaving lasting memories.

CUSTOMER SUPPORT THAT ACTUALLY SUPPORTS

Another aspect earning admiration this season is the responsive and human-centered customer service. Support isn't just available it’s proactive. Whether through live chat, in-depth FAQs, or email assistance, users receive timely and helpful responses that feel genuinely supportive.

This level of attentiveness instills confidence, especially among newer users who might feel overwhelmed by digital environments. Knowing that help is available and effective transforms hesitation into enthusiasm.

LOCALIZED EXPERIENCES FOR GLOBAL USERS

While the platform has a global reach, it’s the local attention to detail that’s turning heads. Users from different regions are welcomed with language options, region-specific content, and payment methods tailored to local systems. It’s this commitment to inclusivity and personalization that makes players feel right at home, no matter where they are.

By catering to both macro and micro preferences, the experience feels customized and relevant. Users aren't forced into a one-size-fits-all mold they are encouraged to explore their own version of the platform.

SOCIAL CONNECTIONS THAT FEEL GENUINE

One of the hidden gems of the platform is its vibrant player community. Social features are baked into the experience, allowing users to interact, compete, and collaborate with others around the globe. These social mechanics transform individual sessions into shared adventures.

Friend systems, cooperative missions, and user-generated content create a digital space where connection flourishes. It’s more than just playing it’s about being part of something larger. As social dynamics become more essential to digital life, platforms that nurture these relationships naturally rise to the top.

AN APPROACH TO FAIR PLAY AND TRANSPARENCY

Trust is essential in digital entertainment, and this platform takes that trust seriously. Transparent mechanics, clear policies, and fair play standards are not just features they are foundational principles. Every outcome is generated using verifiable systems, and fairness is prioritized at every level of engagement.

This emphasis on integrity assures users that the experience is not only fun but also respectful. It creates a balanced environment where players of all skill levels can thrive without feeling manipulated or misled.

FREEDOM TO EXPLORE AT YOUR OWN PACE

Unlike some platforms that pressure users into specific patterns or engagement metrics, this experience offers freedom and flexibility. Players can log in for quick sessions or dive deep into extended adventures it’s entirely up to them. This flexible design respects users’ time and allows them to tailor their journey based on their schedule and mood.

This season especially, users are celebrating the autonomy they feel. The platform encourages exploration without coercion, discovery without pressure. It’s entertainment on your own terms, and that independence is refreshing.

THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT

With all these advantages, it’s no wonder this platform is resonating so deeply with players this season. It isn’t just about entertainment it’s about crafting experiences that matter. Players are no longer content with generic, outdated formats. They’re looking for innovation, integrity, and interactivity. And they’re finding all of that right here.

The platform's rapid evolution shows no sign of slowing down. With more features in development, growing community engagement, and continued investment in quality, the momentum is expected to carry forward. This season may be the turning point, but it’s clear that the journey is just beginning.

Whether you're a long-time enthusiast or just discovering the digital landscape for the first time, there’s never been a better moment to get involved. This season, players aren't just participating they're thriving.

[ayonitax107]

The Best Online Dating Sites in 2025: Finding Love in a Digital World

In a world where digital connections shape much of our daily interactions, online dating has become one of the most powerful tools for meeting new people and building meaningful relationships. Whether you’re looking for casual chats, long-term love, or something in between, the internet offers a wealth of options for singles everywhere.

Among the vast array of choices, finding the best online dating sites can feel overwhelming—especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community. That’s where Gays4Gays.au comes in, creating a space where real people connect authentically and safely.

In this blog post, we’ll explore the rise of online dating, the essential features of top dating sites, and why Gays4Gays.au is quickly earning its place among the best online dating platforms in 2025.

The Evolution of Online Dating

Online dating has evolved dramatically over the past two decades. What started as basic chatrooms and awkward matchmaking websites has now grown into a high-tech industry with niche platforms tailored to every preference, orientation, and lifestyle.

From swiping apps to algorithm-driven matchmakers, the digital dating world has something for everyone. And for gay singles, the options have never been more diverse—or more inclusive.

As users have become more selective and privacy-aware, the best online dating sites have adapted by offering:

Verified profiles and identity checks

AI-driven matching systems

LGBTQ+ friendly interfaces and filters

Secure communication features

Supportive, respectful communities

Why Choosing the Right Platform Matters

The right dating site can make a world of difference. It’s not just about finding someone attractive; it’s about finding someone who shares your values, understands your lifestyle, and respects your identity.

If you're a gay single looking for authentic connections, not every platform will meet your needs. Many mainstream apps are flooded with spam, fake profiles, or simply don’t offer tailored options for LGBTQ+ users.

This is why choosing from among the best online dating sites is essential—not only for your success in dating but also for your safety and well-being.

What Makes a Dating Site "The Best"?

Here are some key features that separate the best online dating sites from the rest:

1. Inclusivity and Representation

Top platforms must support users of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Gays4Gays.au, for example, is built specifically for the gay community, making it a safe space to be yourself.

2. User Verification

Nobody wants to waste time on bots or fake profiles. The best dating sites implement identity verification to ensure real users and genuine connections.

3. Smart Matching Algorithms

You shouldn’t have to scroll through hundreds of irrelevant profiles. Leading sites use AI and behavioral analysis to suggest compatible partners based on your interests, habits, and preferences.

4. Privacy and Safety

From end-to-end encrypted messaging to moderation tools, the best online dating sites take your safety seriously.

5. Mobile-Friendly Design

We live in a mobile-first world. A clean, responsive interface—like that on Gays4Gays.au—makes it easy to browse, chat, and match on the go.

Gays4Gays.au: A Game-Changer for Gay Dating in 2025

With so many dating platforms out there, what sets Gays4Gays.au apart?

✓ LGBTQ+ Focused

Unlike general dating sites, Gays4Gays.au is made by and for the gay community. It understands the unique needs, challenges, and experiences of gay singles and offers a judgment-free space for true connection.

✓ High-Quality User Base

Instead of chasing quantity, the platform focuses on quality profiles, encouraging users to build detailed, authentic bios and upload genuine photos.

✓ Advanced Search Filters

Want to date someone with similar hobbies, values, or career goals? Gays4Gays.au lets you filter by interests, personality types, and more—making your matches more meaningful.

✓ Event Integration & Community Features

The site also features virtual events, discussion forums, and support channels where users can build friendships, not just romantic connections.

✓ Committed to Safety

From photo verification to strict content moderation, Gays4Gays.au is dedicated to providing a secure and respectful environment.

All of these factors contribute to why Gays4Gays.au is rapidly being recognized among the best online dating sites in the LGBTQ+ space.

Top Tips for Success on Online Dating Sites

Whether you’re new to online dating or a seasoned swiper, these tips can help you get the most out of your experience:

1. Be Honest

Authenticity is attractive. Be clear about what you’re looking for—whether that’s dating, friendship, or something casual.

2. Complete Your Profile

Profiles with bios and multiple photos are more likely to receive messages and matches. Take a few extra minutes to showcase your personality!

3. Stay Safe

Never share personal or financial information too early. Meet in public places and use in-app messaging before giving out your number.

4. Be Respectful

Kindness goes a long way. Treat others as you’d like to be treated, and remember that behind every profile is a real person.

5. Have Fun!

Dating should be exciting, not stressful. Don’t be afraid to message first, attend events, or take a break if needed.

Why the Future of Dating is Online

If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that digital connection isn’t just a convenience—it’s a lifeline. Especially for LGBTQ+ individuals who may not always find supportive spaces offline, the internet provides a powerful way to explore identity and build relationships.

As technology continues to evolve, the best online dating sites will offer more personalized, intuitive, and inclusive experiences. With its community-driven mission, advanced features, and user-first design, Gays4Gays.au is at the forefront of this evolution.

Whether you’re seeking love, companionship, or meaningful conversation, it’s time to join a platform that sees and supports the real you.

Final Thoughts

Choosing the right dating site is more than just a swipe decision—it’s about finding a community that aligns with your goals and values. If you're tired of the noise and ready for something real, Gays4Gays.au offers a refreshing alternative among the best online dating sites in 2025.

So why wait? Create your profile today and start your journey toward meaningful connection.