#And if your judgement doesn't matter then why are you putting it on the internet? Desperate for attention?

[faultsofyouth]

it's your God given right to judge everybody but passing judgement onto strangers based on preconceived notions you have about them is probably not effective political practice

[divinecomedyproductions]

"Disengage the fandom and curate your interaction!" - It's not that simple.

One thing I've told about my woes about fandom is "disengage from the fandom" and not to "hyperbolize" or not "open floodgates", and be "rational" and just accept not being "serious storytelling" or else it comes of as "fragility" or I guess would be "breaking from fragility"and being "defensive" and "not touching grass"

And I know this comes from a good place and I know these people mean well...

The problem is that advice doesn't work when it comes to certain fandoms who use these labels and also hyperbolize and "floodgate", the escalation of interaction, and the "consequences" of that. At least in my past experience

The problem is when you try to "disengage with the fandom" requires you to drop social media entirely. And when it comes to pop culture and creativity and start with projects, most of that stuff now requires social media and the internet.

If you "disengage" your often just left with people you know at work who might have no idea what you're talking about and can't help you in any way.

Michael of RetroBlasting of YouTube his Unplugged Video about " 'Ignoring it' and doing nothing"

It isn't the analogue world anymore, you don't just leave a comic book shop full of jackasses and go to another one and continue your business. And toxic fandoms know this too.

In fact this video explains this kind of stuff best

And what toxic fandoms do, is they set you up into a conundrum.

In the game of The Toxic Fandom, if whatever your doing that takes elements of what you liked of safe franchise, especially out of disagreement and disappointment gets big enough, they invade your space and harass you and often resort to their own brand hyperbolizing and "floodgating" first and assume the worst reasons of what makes you happy and what you want.

If you stay composed and rational and use milder words like "disheartened" and "bummed out", accept your ideas being labeled as "not seriously storytelling", and "disengage" from where if your you put stuff out and find another platform.

They see you as a wimp and keep pushing you back because "oh he's just disheartened guys, he'll get over it, so we can keep pushing him around. What's he gonna do? Be Mildly annoyed? LOL!"

and use the fact stayed "this label" instead of changing to "that label" to screw you over because "we need to make room for real storytelling, thats the consequences sorry!" for whatever reason

And if you do anything aggressive or assertive back;

which might involve hyperbolizing and flooding gates, or at the very least get more aggressive with your tone

If you defend yourself from labels and explain why you wanted what you wanted and why it makes you happy, which is not necessarily being 'defensive'

If you do anything that isn't passive...

You "Broke" from "fragility" your being "defensive", your "not being the bigger person" and "not accepting reality"

and you need to "touch grass"

So the fandoms won't let you win

So in this context, you keep being passive and keep on "disengaging" and keep accepting these labels, the fandom will become more bold and invasive and even actively sabotage you by slandering you such as LilithFairen, KnightOfBalance, or Canonseeker does with AUs and ReWrites of RWBY and they might even falsely report too.

So instead of things getting hypothetically better in the long run, the damage gets exponentially worse

Now of course the argument can be made "well there's always gonna be haters no matter what." Of course there will be, so you might as well fight back to stop the unnecessary bleeding.

Now of course there's cases where it is the case where the person is overreacting and need to step back, but the problem is in my experience there's outsiders who don't bother to take the time time and figure out what's going on before making their judgement call because they think they can just assess the situation by just looking at it and make an assumption because they know so much.

Because the think they’re doing this

when in reality their doing this is getting in the way

Another example I can think off is the success of Kamen America which is an active disagreement with what was done with the idea of Captain Marvel, combined with other elements of course so its not a blatant rip off.

Once it got big enough, Captain Marvel fanatics began shrieking its nothing but a "Porn Captain Marvel Rip-Off" and try to reputation assassinate it, which ComicsGate tried to jump in because the "leader" has a personal beef with the creators

And these are the same people who cheer on evil superman clones like Omni-Man and Homelander or cheer on "His Dark Materials Trilogy" which was made by an author who had a big beef with The Chronicles of Narnia and CS Lewis

Because supervision/inversion is awesome when it subverts/inverts things they don't like I guess

So once again, the fans like myself had to step in and say something and fight back so those out of the loop knew what was actually going on.

Once Fandoms become invasive and are policing social media and creativity to a certain magnitude and try to throw what makes us happy to the dogs when the opportunity hits, being passive and rational might not be an option.

Sometimes it is. But sometimes it's not.

[britcision]

this is not in regards to any laws being introduced and i say this as a queer person who was a victim of csa - do you earnestly believe websites putting their foot down when it comes to child pornography and content fetishizing horrifying abuse like rape and incest will lead to "censorship" of innocent queer content? do you believe that with your entire chest? do you not see how you are inherently correlating fetishization of abuse with content of gay people existing? and mind you, i am not talking about content that merely explores these themes, but if you jump to try and include exploration of the effects of abuse in graphic detail with content pedophiles make to get off at the thought of a child being molested and then share so other pedophiles can do the same, what does that say about you? why do you feel the need to mock victims and make straw man arguments no adult actually makes about fiction, and then thusly you are targeting the poorly formed opinions of children who are clearly hurt and terrified to mock them for not fully understanding how to properly articulate what they wish to express? do you not see how none of this helps anyone. you are probably a victim yourself, i know, don't get me wrong. i am just trying to make a point. even if you don't understand, or look within yourself, it doesn't really matter to me. i'm gonna block you and move on because i have better things to do than try to genuinely convince a person with their ao3 username in bio about how they have malformed opinions over the internet lmao.

Because the people who are pushing this law to “protect children” are literally the same ones who are getting gay books banned from schools and getting teachers fired for talking about their home lives should they dare to be queer

Because back when FOSTA/SESTA was passed with almost identical hype about “protecting children”, the only thing that happened was porn bans and queer content being deleted or buried. Including images of two men/women holding hands

Because studies have been done for decades, and these kinds of laws have never, ever, made anyone even remotely more safe; all they do is make tagging a legal liability for companies, meaning you cannot meaningfully filter out fan content that might trigger you

Because putting the onus on internet providers or hosts does not catch, slow, or even hinder the people actually abusing children - it just means that anyone who wants a queer content creator removed can just spam report all their work as csa

Because I actually care about children, and have done the research rather than just believing every single cry I hear of “for the children” - the tagline of every racist and queerphobic piece of legislation since before anyone alive today was born

Because pointing out that “queer content is all pedophilia” is an argument these people will immediately use to destroy queer content is not corroborating that opinion; it’s basic pattern recognition, and pretending that it is anything else is a suppression tactic to stop people from calling out that bullshit

If you actually care about children and want them to be safe, stop knee jerk reacting and start actually thinking. The data’s all a Google away, the studies have been done, and anyone who was even remotely engaged when SESTA/FOSTA passed should have noticed just what that legislation actually did

We have seen these kinds of bills before. We saw what happened immediately after. Criminologists around the world have studied the results: children are not safer. And I care more about that than buzzwords and temper tantrums online

But go off about “poorly formed opinions” defending the exact same game plan that happened literally a decade ago like no one has ever heard of history. Makes you look real noble, totally disguises your judgemental hissy fit as Brave Justice Warrior

[bylertruther]

ewww serious (and long) post incoming, but for future reference: just because this is the internet... that doesn't mean that real-world etiquette doesn't apply.

if you go up to a random stranger and assume that they're talking about you, they're unlikely to take kindly to that. they're especially unlikely to take kindly to you then accusing them of lying, waving your hands in the air to get other strangers in on this conversation, badmouthing them, and walking away before they can even get a word in.

if you wouldn't do that or accept that behavior yourself in real life, why would it suddenly be acceptable online?

wouldn't you feel confused and offended if you were the one getting accused of something you didn't do? if you were thrust into a no-win game where it doesn't matter how or if you do or don't respond, because the outcome is still going to be the same? if you were trying to mind your business and someone else decided to warp that, create a spectacle of it, and broadcast it to thousands of people? if the person accusing you of something then went on to do that very same thing in an effort to garner support as if this is a battle of some sort?

isn't that just... rude? to go up to a stranger and assume that whatever they're doing is about you? to go up to a stranger and assume that you've preoccupied their mind and time? to pick a fight that you won't see through and slander them to thousands of people?

like. yes, this is the internet. no, i don't actually feel personally hurt or anything over what happened—because i know who i am, and you can go back through my blog and a) see the fifty posts i've made on the sword debate, and b) a post from the night before where i literally predicted what ended up happening—but i do take issue with the behavior that we do and don't allow in this e-space.

i don't have to respond to someone's presumptuousness with my usual chummy, fluffy tone that i reserve for my followers and friends. i don't have to take care not to sound "defensive" when i've literally been thrust into an argument where i'm now forced to defend myself against someone that was already being defensive, hypocritical, and that doesn't actually care to hear my answer because they've already made their judgement anyway. i don't have to take someone trying to speak over me or talk someone down sweetly when they're making an attack on my character, and neither does anyone else that's ever been put in a similar position. i'm not jesus—i'm not going to turn the other cheek.

personal issues can explain why a person behaves the way they do, but they don't excuse that behavior or make it okay. none of us should ever make our personal problems someone else's problem—that's a mark of poor emotional control, and it's just not fair to anyone else.

not all of us are adults here, i know, but most of us should know better. if you want this to be a true community, then you need to behave appropriately and maturely.

there's a person behind the pixels that are on your screen, and they're every bit as real as you are. if you wouldn't do something in person, then you shouldn't do it online either.

that's just my two cents, though.

[jellicle-chants]

hey girly! i saw your reblog about writing fanfic and quitting because you aren’t getting comments and attention, and if that’s the reason you’re writing fanfic, you may need to take a step back and think about why you’re writing. you’re bound to hate the act of writing fanfic and feel burnt out way faster than those who write for the joy of it by writing in this fashion (speaking as someone who also writes fanfic, and has amassed a bit of a following) and writing for praise misses the point of fanfic entirely. fanfic is fun!! you should be writing for your own enjoyment, not to get the attention of others. also, readers don’t owe you anything, they’re just there to love your work and interact with you (and sometimes they’re not! and that’s okay too). peace and love <3

Hello anon!

Before I start to deconstruct your statement, I'd just like to state the obvious: this ask is very condescending and inappropriate to send to someone you're not willing to reveal yourself to. Don't presume you know anything about me, or why I write, or how much experience I have. If this came from someone I knew, I would have serious concerns about how they felt about me -- this does not read like genuine advice, but more a putdown disguised as such.

First: I'm not quitting writing in any capacity, fanfic or otherwise. Actually, I was considering sitting down over the next few days and putting down on paper (or in various Word docs, actually) every fic idea I have, for as long as I'm interested in each one, just to start them all.

This is because, secondly, my reason for writing isn't to garner attention; it's something I actually really enjoy and want to improve however I can. I literally minored in English in college because I knew I would fill up all of my electives with creative writing classes anyway and wanted that to reflect in my degree. I love writing fanfic especially because it lets me practice writing in different voices, which is something I absolutely love to do (and I hope that comes across in my writing as well). I also have literally dozens of stories, letters, poems, etc. about my D&D characters sitting in my Google drive that maybe one or two other people have ever read. I wrote those for myself, because I love those characters and I love putting them down on paper.

But another thing -- if there is someone out there who only writes fanfiction for praise, then I'm happy for them! At the end of the day, the fics written by writers with "good intentions" will be indistinguishable from those who you would say don't. (We don't ignore the artistry of the Sistine Chapel paintings because Michelangelo did it as a paid job!) Obviously, having an unhealthy relationship with the internet isn't a good thing, and burning yourself out is never desired, but you can burn yourself out just as easily doing something you like as something you don't. The "point of fanfic" is to write fiction of other people's characters/worlds, simple as. No need to bring moral judgements into it.

Also, I'm not really that disappointed in my reach/feedback at all: of the two works I've posted on AO3, my Cats fic has 9 kudos and my Star Wars fic has 20(!!!). There's also plenty of people who reblog my stuff on Tumblr and leave very nice comments and tags, which I also love (y'all know who you are 💕). I write so that someone will enjoy what I've written -- whether that's me, or one of my friends, or someone I'll never meet, it doesn't matter to me.

What does matter, in my opinion, is just knowing that that someone exists. Most of my writing I've read over and over again, so I know that I enjoy it, but if I send out a piece, it's because I want people to see it. Maybe because I think they'll like it, maybe because I think I did a good job and am showing it off, maybe because I want feedback, whatever. But there's something about seeing that other people liked what I did, that it made them feel something, that I do like. And I don't think it's wrong to hope for that, as long as you're doing it healthily.

Of course readers don't "owe" me reactions, but I don't owe them writing either -- I'm perfectly happy to write what I like and just keep it on my computer for posterity. So if you like what I write, and you want me to keep bringing you more, I am going to ask for something back from that exchange. I don't think it's too much to ask for reblogs, when what that small gesture really says is, "I liked this, and I think the people who follow me will like it too." Leaving a comment is even better, but even stuff like people's queue or bookmark tags make me smile, because it still shows interest.

I'm sure all creatives know the feeling of having a work bomb. It sucks. You put a lot of time and effort into something to make it presentable, and then nobody even really pays attention. Obviously, kudos doesn't pay the bills, but you never know whose day you'll make by leaving a nice comment on someone's fic. Maybe they were considering quitting. Maybe they got told they should be grateful for people reading their stuff at all and that they weren't owed anything for their hard work. Maybe they just had a bad day. You can make it just a little bit better.

[xxbig-shotxx]

It's me again, "Judgemental Anon" I do not need to "touch grass" like your White Knights say but YOU need to learn how to take criticism. Because so far all you e done is just laugh in my face, it's extremely immature you know. I was going to wait to share my complaints and critique with you but I don't think I should because now you've introduced a character with Autism and considering how you quote on quote "handle" other mental illnesses, thats a problem.

I'm not even mad about the genders anymore since you clearly just gendered them for fetish reasons just like how you put mental illness in your fanfiction I don't even think you've been met an actual mentally ill person considering you write stuff like " ho ho ho she hasn't showered in a week" THATS NOT OKAY OR FUNNY people actually struggle with hygiene and you just treat it like it's a quirky little gag that you only add to infantilise this female character of yours. On top of that you ruined the pink addison for me because your version literally kills people "because trauma lol" but that's okay to YOU because YOU have the privilege of being mentally well enough to just do these disgusting things in your comic and now you're going to find a way to demonize mental illnesses like Autism because you can.

But all of that would still be terrible if it wasn't for the fact that you obviously don't do research or talk to actually mentally ill people but also STILL none of it is relevant!! NOTHING about ANY of THIS is actually in the comics you just confirm it through asks which is exactly like how JK R****ng confirms her characters are gay on Twitter. CLEARLY you just do these things through asks so you can collect the internet brownie points instead of putting in any of the work to actually include it. No I don't count sexualizing again, only intersex character as "including" it.

Did you think that was cute? Did you think that was funny? Because it wasn't, perhaps I would let it slide if you actually did your research and have pages where the characters actually state these things about themselves instead of pulling a J.K. and just saying things in asks with no proofs or substances. But just like Her you're a lazy hack and everyone praises you for it! Just like they're going to praise you AGAIN after you take none of this criticism and just post this for people to point and laugh at.

I don't even know why I bother with this, maybe I see a potentially good story under all this disgusting perversion. Either way, maybe you can prove me wrong and actually accept the criticism for once, whatever, see you soon, hope you improve~

-Judgemental Anon

But let's talk

People say I should block you

And I probably should

But I think we both know you're not the kind of person who will quit if I block you

Are you ?

You're certainly not the kind of person who stops reading something when you don't like it

And I'm not going to tell you to stop even though I think you should

Even though I don't know where you get most of your points from

Even though I don't understand why you're mad about this

I could tell you there's plenty of AUs you would enjoy a lot more and are more pleasant than mine

I could tell you that it's probably better for you to stop reading this

Because it'll never be the thing you want it to be

Hell

Write your own AU

It doesn't matter if you don't think you can write or draw

Do it anyway

Do it for yourself

At the end of the day this is an argument about a fan comic about extremely minor NPCs in an indie videogame

And that's just sillie

[stellocchia]

Honestly, I'm a lot harder on and a lot harsher at characters that are in a position of authority.

Like, I'm aware that they're still a person with faults and shit. But I will also be more aggressive about them just because their mistakes have much more severe consequences

It's why I love dragging techno and exile era tubbo.

Tubbo because, yes. He was a child president and was manipulated by dream. Believe me I'm aware and thats a big factor in how I judge them anyways. But he was still the president. He tried to do what was right for his country but most of his decisions were still shit. Still. Great guy. The second that role as president was obliterated all my loathing evaporated.

Techno because.... Holy shit... Holy shit...

Like, you know how much I adored pogtopian techno (please come back. I miss you. Please-) but honestly. Maybe it wasn't just that. Maybe he became so much less likeable when it became clear that nothing was keeping him in check. That his "mistakes" and bad judgement will always go unchecked because he is at the very top.

It's also the reason I've been ready to deck Sam since Tommy was locked in with dream all those months back. I understand that he's still a person. But man. That's so much less of an argument when his incompetence keeps getting my faves killed.

Like. That'd kinda why I have a love hate relationship with cPhil? Because. I think it's hilarious how... Pathetic he is. This man is a tool. It's hilarious how an ancient angel of the goddess of death has no clue what's going on like a senile old man finding out that mobile phones are more than just small portable telephones. "Wait, you can write to people with this?" "What do you mean there's more games than candy crush?" "Internet? I've heard of that on the news! They say people become victims of crime on there!"

Like. Holy fuck. I'd say that I've never seen a more ignorant character in my life but he lives with technoblade so theres the actually most ignorant character right there.... Maybe... Then again, techno DOES know about the pogtopia stuff... Then again... He does gaslight himself so he might as well not have been there at all...

I've gotten sidetracked.

Anyways. Phil is hilariously flawed, incompetent and has never made a good decision since he's joined the server. I'd say inviting in ranboo is a neutral decision... Just because that's too complicated.

So Phil is pretty fun to think about! Until I remember that he's the servers biggest fan of assisted suicide, keeps helping out the tyrants and destroyed most of the servers lifes. Is a fucking asshole to Fundy.... He's just.... Yeah...

And Phil doesn't even have authority the way the others I mentioned had! He just hangs with that one fucker all the time!

So imagine my frustration with the characters who actually do have authority!

Like. Yknow how society's kinda based on the principle of: I limit my freedom (like. Not killing and not stealing. Yes. That's limiting your freedom.) And in exchange I am protected and cared for (people that kill and steal aka harm people like me are persecuted (this is not about how well this gets executed irl. This is a base principle))

With authority it's kinda similar

When you get a position of authority you get freedom and control over something and people have to listen to you. Sam has total control over the prison, people have to respect his authority as the warden. And in exchange you get the responsibility for the things that go wrong. No matter what explanation. No matter how out of control the situation was for you. It's on you.

With great power comes great responsibility and shit.

Idk where I was going with this but in short: I will always be way more critical of the mistakes and faults and flaws of people in powerful positions. So fuck you Technoblade. Go suck a dick.

Yeah, I get your point. I also don't really have anything to add, but I'm the same way honestly. Just, characters that are in positions of power and put up a pretense about being somewhat righteous (like Techno and Phil saying they were destroying a nation and traumatizing everyone involved to "free the people" as if they hadn't just destroyed the lives of the people they were supposed to be freeing...) frustrates me often. Like, I'm fine with someone like Dream because I can openly call him a dick for abusing his power to ruin other people's lives and normally I don't get harassed for it. Same with Quackity actually. Just... everyone else... not really.

So yeah, I guess I'm less harsh with authority figures who aren't depicted as "morally gray" just because talking about their canon actions is generally not considered criticism worthy of harassment... (with the exception of Twitter).

[mariaiscrafting]

You know, what think I like when you are critical of a content creator is that you know how to separate a fact from especulation, unlike a blog out there that took especulation as facts.

Example, that night when we were critical of Karl, or any instance you have discussed about him, a lot of anons were saying that he gave them clout chaser vibes to them, and despite your opinion, you expressed that those were only especulation and not the truth, and to keep that in mind. That's good critical thinking.

But this blog had some similar anons, saying that he only is friends with the Feral Boys gro clout- In fact, they said the Feral Boys were only in it to benefit from clout and money. And they took it as a truth. I know you instance on them is neutral, but come one, they are friends. All of them. Karl isn't friends with them for clout. Like today Karl was playing golf with salad gang plus Sapnap and George at first and then Quackity and Dream joined bc they had spared time and it all devolved into typical chaos (Poor Corpse and Tina and Brook, had to endure those children lol/lh /j). Like, the stream wasn't planned with the 5/5 yet they joined, missing Karl and just having fun.

Idk, I guess that blog's superiority (They were a SBI focused blog) just irritated me. It's as if they were putting both groups at each other as if those streamers aren't friends or close. They were singing prayers of one while shunning the other based from especulation. Criticissism is fine, in fact recommended to be critical of your interests, but taking rumors as facts to base your crit is yikes. It's as if I wanted to crit SBI and base it only of "Philza hanging only with people younger than him is kinda weird ngl.." or "Sbi doesn't care about Tommy cuz he joined late" like that dumb Tumblr post did or some fuckers in Twitter imply.

The main reason I take so much care to separate speculation from evidence-backed theories and confirmed truths is because I feel like that separation is what distinguishes us from mcyttwt the most. One of the main reasons for mcyttwt's toxicity, imo - for its relentless cancelling of everyone, for its bandwagon campaigns - is that people oftentimes criticize and defend based on their personal feelings rather than rationale or evidence.

For example, I complain a lot about Dream stans on here, but you know the reason I didn't stop watching Dream directly after the cheating scandal broke loose, even though I thought he cheated? Because of mcytblr Dream stans. Mcytblr Dream stans engaged with me in discussion, both publicly and in DMs, about the cheating scandal, and even those who eventually came to the conclusion that Dream didn't cheat accepted the facts and statistics they were given and kept a healthy skepticism throughout the process. On Twitter, Dream stans were defending him before he even made a video following up to the mods' initial accusations because they felt that Dream wasn't the kind of guy to lie or cheat. They were replying to screenshots of statistical analyses from subreddits and to articles from mathematicians and staticians with extremely reactionary responses because of that feeling, which they believed in so adamantly, they had accepted it as fact. The thing is, to believe that Dream didn't cheat in the face of all the statistical and rhetorical evidence to the contrary is, in itself, speculative. Usually we think of speculation as a baseless theory that something is a positive truth- that is to say, that something did happen. But speculation also applies to those theories of someone not having done something, when the opposite has been nearly proven to be true.

For this same reason, I chose not to ignore the anti-technotwt threads with screenshots of Techno's old tweets in them. For me to have simply ignored these screenshots and continued supposing that Techno never expressed bigoted beliefs and/or currently doesn't would have been speculative on my part, and to boot, blatantly wrong, given the evidence to the contrary.

People in this fandom, and in all RPF/RPF-adjacent fandoms need to understand that almost everything they believe about the CCs they watch is speculative, at least to some extent, because of the nature of the content they make. Even if someone, in your opinion, displays evidence of some aspect of their personality - whether that be some form of bigoted, sweet, rude, clout-chasing, or anything else - because of the extremely one-sided nature of sharing one's life through a screen, that theory of ours will almost alwyas only ever be speculation, not a solid conclusion that can be drawn. We will never know these people's true intentions behind something shared to us via the Internet.

That vagueness leads to virtually every viewer creating a different theory in our heads about the CCs we watch, and we can't treat those theories as facts, especially not when sharing them with the rest of a fandom. I'm not a very big blog, but I consider even over 50 followers to be way too many people to spread a theory too, without at least clarifying that what I'm posting is speculation. If I have evidence, I like to list it or, if I can, provide sources; but otherwise, I take care to qualify most things with phrases or disclaimers that will clue followers into the speculative nature of whatever it is I'm saying. This is because theories and "feelings" can blaze through a fandom like wildfire, especially somewhere like Twitter, where so many things are word-of-mouth or based on summary due to character limitation.

You know why mcyttwt was cancelling Andi? Only a handful of original Tweeters under the cancel Andi hashtags actually knew what clips or tweets to criticize her for, or tried to elaborate on that criticism. But because every other mcyttwt user was getting bombarded by their mutuals hate-posting about Andi on their TLs, the "negative feeling" towards Andi grew and grew, even if most people didn't even know what they were supposed to feel negative about, exactly. Our judgement works on a quick trigger on the Internet because of the amount of information we're receiving, and so, even a single bad word against someone you don't have too strong of an opinion on can fundamentally alter your perception of them, usually subconsciously. If the first thing you see about Andi, who you've only seen on a couple LOH's or a couple Punz streams before then, is a tweet along the lines of, "disappointed in Andi for her homophobia and joking about suicide," despite you having no context, you will most likely be pushed to the negative side of her. Thus begins the cycle of hatred, building up and up, leading to you searching for more and more criticism about Andi, whether speculative or not, until you solidly and genuinely believe she is a Horrible Person. It all starts with the vaguest fucking feeling, because that's all speculation has to go off of, and it snowballs into a fucking wildfire across an entire fandom. I'm not about to be another person to let feelings snowball and spread like that.

Now, I don't know what exact blog you're referring to, but as an adamant SBI enthusiast, let me flip the argument many SBI stans have for their speculation upon the genuity of Karl's friendship with the Feral Bois, onto SBI. What do we have to go off of for the genuity of SBI's friendship, anyways? Our perceived brother dynamic between Tommy and Wilbur could very well just be Tommy capitalizing on Wilbur's brand and continuing the charade until now because it's been profitable. Maybe Techno only continues to associate with SBI because he knows how much his fanbase likes headcanon'ing about SBI, so he puts up with streams with them so he can continue to feed his fanbase with dynamics he knows they're obsessed with. Maybe Phil would rather play MC with people his age, and actually dislikes that he's friends with a teenager, but sticks around because he profitted so much off of Dream SMP and SBI-related content. And what could any SBI stan have to argue with me on any of these theories? Just because SBI laughs around each other and seems fond of each other doesn't mean they're actually like that behind the cameras. They so seldomly stream or make videos together anymore, anyways, so maybe they've grown tired of keeping up the dynamic.

Everything I said could be interpreted as utter bullshit, and that's because it fucking is. I don't actually know what Techno wants to do with his life, or how Wilbur and Tommy actually feel about each other, or who Phil wants to fucking befriend. The same goes for Feral Boys. There's nothing wrong with stating your theories or speculation, but to treat them as fact or not at least qualify such posts with the fact that this is all based on your bias and opinion, and no substantive evidence, is irresponsible. Just because you feel like one or more of the Feral Boys is "clout-chasing" doesn't mean you have the right to tout that feeling as truth. I feel a lot of things about a lot of CCs, both negative and positive, but no matter how strong my feelings, unless they have substantive evidence backing them up, I have no right to treat them as facts with my followers.

[hermitcraftheadcanons]

Hello Internet, welcome to GAME THEORY, where instead of putting a joke here I want to ask you a question. It's time to talk UNDERTALE.

Now I don't think I've ever gotten this many requests to cover a theory, (no requests times no requests is still no requests.) Anyway, across my tumblr dashboard, NO ONE has asked for this. And honestly, I'm disappointed. True loyal theorists will know that Undertale is my favorite game of all time.

Undertale is a game where every character, from goat mom to grind fodder has a sympathetic design and a unique personality, motivations, goals, fears. Whether you're saving or slaughtering them, the game makes you feel something every time you enter an encounter. But to me, one character stood out amongst all the rest. SANS. A skeleton named after the font, Comic Sans. ANYWAYS, Sans is, well, there's a lot of mystery around this guy. And before we get into it, let me put up a very special spoiler warning: UNDERTALE is a game best experienced blind. So if you haven't played it, pause your reading of this and come back after you've finished. I PROMISE YOU, I PROMISE you won't regret it. Alright, so everyone out of the pool and ready for the adult swim? Good. Because I'm feeling pretty determined to get to the bottom of Sans' mystery. So just to recap for those of you who haven't played the game and ignored the SPOILER WARNING, or just need a refresher, Sans is one of the two skeletal brothers who appears in the game. His partner is Papyrus, a loud, goofy trap lover also named after a font. But in the world of Undertale their origins are a big question mark. All you really know is what's given to us by a shopkeeper in Snowdin, who explains that Sans and Papyrus, quote, “just showed up one day and asserted themselves.” Weird, right? What's more is that, well, Papyrus is just kinda the goofy sidekick. Sans is much more complex.

He likes fart jokes, but he's also incredibly powerful and deadly serious. Not only is his boss battle the hardest in the game, he's one of the only characters who has knowledge and power over space and time. He can take shortcuts around the world through ridiculous routes. Even is walking through walls. He also acknowledges that he's only one of infinite versions of himself, making self-aware commentary of the various timelines that you've played through in the game. He can even count the number of times he's killed you. He acts like an arbiter of this world, passing out judgements on the player's actions in the game, even explaining the secrets of EXP and LOVE, or EXECUTION POINTS and LEVELS OF VIOLENCE, just to clarify. In short, he just doesn't quite fit in with the rest of the world of monsters. But then, what, or who, is he? Well, the idea that he doesn't belong in the underworld seems to be correct.

The evidence seems to point to the fact that he WAS, in fact, formerly a surface dweller. In the true pacifist ending of the game, as the group looks out onto the horizon, Papyrus asks Sans about the giant ball in the sky. Sans says, quote, “we call that the sun.” This is important because A, the usage of the word WE, and knowledge of the sun shows that Sans has a kinship or knowledge with other humans, and B, that despite he and Papyrus both being skeletons, or, supposedly, brothers, and apparently appeared in underworld at the same time, they CLEARLY have two very different histories. Why would Papyrus not know the name of the sun but Sans would?

We get further clues to Sans' origins as we hear him say multiple times he wants to "go home" or "go back." He says as much during his dinner date scene at the Mettaton hotel. He notices that the player wants to go home and says, quote, "I know the feeling." He then continues, "maybe sometimes it's better to take what's given to you." As though he ended up in the underworld by accident. AND in a genocide run during his boss fight he says, quote, "look, I gave up trying to go back a long time ago." End quote. And before you say he means going back to the surface world, that's clearly not the full story. His very next line of dialogue is, "and getting to the surface doesn't really appeal anymore either." Key word here is “EITHER.” Yes, he seems to hail from the surface and wants to go back, but based on his dialogue he no longer considers it his home. It's as though the surface world he once knew is gone, as though he's from a different time. It's pretty intriguing. So we're left with a being that appeared out of nowhere, presumably from being from the human surface, but from a different time period, who seemingly has the power to teleport. That's a lot of questions and not a lot of answers.

But here's where things get REALLY interesting. Sans has a hidden workshop that takes a fair amount of searching to find. You could say it takes a lot of DETERMINATION to unlock. Anyways, obligatory determination references aside, as you start to look for this easter egg Sans gives you a key to his room and says "it's time you learn the truth." After some searching you find the workshop which contains items that leave even more questions. A photo album featuring Sans and a bunch of smiling people you don't recognize, a badge, blueprints with illegible handwriting, and a broken machine hidden behind a curtain. In the latest update, one more detail was added. A hand-drawn picture of 3 smiling faces with the words “don't forget.”

So, what does it all mean? Well a lot of Undertale theorists have been linking these details to a feature to a character named W.D Gaster. A ghostly character who never truly appears in the game. Honestly, covering him is a theory all unto itself, and probably one best saved for another day. Even still, none of the Gaster theories I've seen have been able to explain all the details. In particular, the photo album, and the badge. And that's what kept nagging me as I researched Undertale. A badge? That one in particular really stuck out to me. Why would such an oddly specific item to be hidden in the huge easter egg of a room? Something that supposedly reveals the truth about Sans? Badges just aren't important in Undertale. Then it hit me. What if this badge isn't from Undertale? What if this badge is from a completely different series? And was, in fact, the most important badge in the history of gaming? One of the Iskall patreon badges.

Now, for those of you wondering what I'm talking about, the Iskall Patreon Badges are a pivotal item from Iskall’s patreon. You know, the one on Hermitcraft. Anyway, the Iskall Patreon Badges are a really important part of Iskall’s character. So I asked myself; what if the badge in Sans' drawer was ONE OF THOSE EXACT badges? Well first off, it made Undertale connected to my favorite youtuber, thereby making it even COOLER, but that's still a pretty big logical leap. I needed more. Let me tell you, as I started looking, more and more pieces started to fit into place.

In Hermitcraft Season 6, there are three Architechs. (This was before Stress joined in season 7.) These 3 were Iskall, Grian and MumboJumbo. And what does Sans happen to have in his other drawer? A photo album with pictures of Sans with people you don't recognize. Of course you don't know them, they're not characters present in Undertale. And note the word that's used here, PEOPLE you don't recognize. Not underworld monsters. So that's 2 items oddly linked to the Hermitcraft series.

But then, how do the blueprints and broken machine fit in? Well, in the final stretch of Hermitcraft, Iskall is the only one who hasn’t died since the Demise game, so he sells his own body to the highest bidder. Except, it comes with a cost. Everyone is poor. As a result, and with the help of ImpulseSV, the Architechs (minus Mumbo,) are forced to finally kill Iskall, ending his streak since the beginning of demise. I watched this episode in 2020 and I'm not ashamed to admit that when I first saw this scene, I cried. It's DEVASTATING.

Iskall says goodbye to his friends, his co-workers, this character you've grown to love and care about is suddenly promising to sacrifice his life. For all he knows, there is no possibility of him being able to come back after his Demise. It's this incredibly dark departure in the final moments of what was otherwise a fun, quirky, and colorful Season 6.

So what does all of this have to do with Undertale? A LOT, actually. But the first thing you need to know is that the hermits are known for their, let's say, unique written linguistic style.

That would explain the illegible handwriting on the blueprints. And the machine? I think a broken infinity portal is behind that curtain. Now that may seem like a stretch, but it actually explains a lot.

If Sans wound up in Undertale via whacky infinity portal hyjinx, it could provide a reason for why he's a skeleton. He used the machine as organic matter and suffered the consequences. Not killing him, but turning at least a part of him into a pile of bones. That could also explain why Sans has given up hope for going home. Remember the infinity portal is a time machine. By being in the underworld, he's not only in a different place, but based on how he talks, he's also in a different time, with no hope of travelling back to the time he came from. This could theoretically happen. It turned Scar into a wizard and completely disintegrated Welsknight, so the rules are… Flimsy at best.

But the crossovers between Hermitcraft and Undertale continue. In Grian’s episode, (EDIT IN TIMESTAMP) he mentions he’s amazed that Iskall only escaped his demise with a lost arm. He says Iskall had “a lot of determination to not die for real,” and that he’s going to continue to study this. Seems awfully similar to the same experiments happening in Undertale around the trait of determination, no? Especially since so much has shown that Sans was a key player in those experiments.

But I'm sure you also want physical evidence right? Well don't worry, because I have plenty. Take a look at Iskall and Sans side by side. Iskall’s left eye is replaced with a diamond loupe. Sans’ left eye glows blue when he’s mad. Both have extremely chill yet are known for their jokes and, dare I say, laugh.

In short, we have some incredibly strong proof that the Hermitcraft Cinematic Universe, (HCU) is somehow connected to the Undertale world, which brings us back to our initial question, WHO IS SANS?

Well, what if we took it one final step and said that Sans happened to be Iskall from Hermitcraft? Sent through the Infinity Portal at the end of season 6 to go to Season 7, carrying an Iskall Patreon Badge and his photo album. Not only do all the items in the workshop suddenly fit, but so does Sans’ behavior.

Remember, Sans can seemingly travel extremely quickly. And Iskall just happens to have an elytra, a device that allows people to travel hundreds of metres extremely quickly. This even explains why Sans bleeds when you finally hit him. He is, or at least, WAS, a human.

Oh and finally, Sans shares two out of five letters with the name Iskall. That's just a fun one. I thought it was worth mentioning.

But if there was any doubt, we have to look no further than the creator's previous work. Toby Fox, the man behind Undertale is actually DocM77, the creator of every hermit (besides Scar.) Now, if Toby Fox, the creator of Undertale, is also DocM77, creator of Iskall, we know they will most definitely share a universe. Which brings us back to Undertale. 2 faces, with “don't forget” written on it? It's Iskall, trying to remember his 2 friends. In short, Undertale is a continuation of Toby’s version of Hermitcraft Season 6, with Iskall never being able to get home, adopting the name Sans. The pieces all just seem to fit. Now all we need is an appearance from Ethoslab and we’ve got ourselves a true sequel.

But hey, that's just a theory. A GAME THEORY! THANKS FOR WATCHING!

[thefloatingstone]

speaking of fandom favourites why do so many people get angry at me when I tell them Sans doesn't remember resets .3. I know it's just my own theory but if he could really remember then I don't think he'd be so chummy around the human after a geno run, I dunno maybe I am all alone in that one. I assume he can only remember as much as everyone else since he gets flashes of deja vu like all the other main monsters

Actually you’re not alone at all! I am absolutely behind the idea that Sans CANNOT remember the resets any more than anyone else can. I actually answered an ask about this a while ago on the Time Scar blog, so I hope you’ll forgive me if I copy past my input on this here.

This is something I’ve been convinced of since the very beginning (and many of my earliest one shot comics will show you my opinion on this) and a big part of how I shape most stories using him and Frisk as characters.

I will say people getting angry with you over it is really stupid tho :/ that seems INCREDIBLY petty and immature.

Anyway, here’s what I said originally;

(Please be patient while I try and upload the images that accompany this post with my flaky broken internet)

Ask:

Hey I read somewhere on your blog that you believe that Sans doesn't remember the resets and just figures out that it happens. Since I'm on the side of Sans remembering resets can you show me what evidence or argument you have for your opinion. I want to find out which is more likely to be cannon (cause I don't think Toby said anything about that). 

My answer:

I haven’t finished my Pacifist run through yet so I don’t know if he says anything in that playthrough, but considering most of the direct contact you have with Sans is in the Genocide run through it may not matter (Please don’t correct me if I’m wrong. I’ll get to Pacifist when I’m ready myself)

At the end of Genocide, (If you’ve played the game before obviously) Sans reveals a lot of info about how much he knows regarding the resets, and it’s very telling as to HOW he got the information.

When he confronts the human in the Hall of Judgement at the end, it’s because he’s reached the conclusion that the human will not stop and nothing can change that based on him just watching the Genocide run from a distance. He’s also come to the conclusion that the human is impossible to stop, THIS he mentions based not on what he remembers, but by what he’s discovered himself.

He mentions talks a lot about “our Reports” and stuff. (forgive me if my exact wording isn’t correct) as well as “their analysis”. He mentions how “they” have been monitoring the situation and have “noticed a lot of flux in the timespace continuum” and how timelines keep changing and altering, and through analysis “they’ve” come to the conclusion that he human is the one responsible for the changes in events, always in the human’s favour.

(That seems like a very strange question to ask if he knew for a fact, isn’t it?)

If Sans simply remembered the timelines and knew the human could reset things then why the hell would he need data and analysis to know all that?

He has residual memories, but then so does everyone else. He mentions that “He can’t help but feel that we were once friends”. He mentions this not as a memory, but as a lingering feeling (much like Toriel remembers which kind of pie you like although she’s not sure HOW she remembers or even knows that). Sans has a feeling that there was perhaps a friendship between the human and himself, but he cannot really remember it. Which is PART of the reason the whole thing has him so despondent. He realised that a reset doesn’t just take away what could have been a happy ending; it doesn’t even have the decency to let you REMEMBER the happy ending.

So he uses that residual memory as a weapon to literally backstab you. It’s another ploy to cut you down because at this point Sans is pulling out every trick he has the longer you’re able to keep up with him because he’s just fucking done with you. Later on if you KEEP coming back and fighting him he says “if we ever WERE friends, don’t come back.”

People seem to forget that Sans is a LIAR. He lies throughout most of the game. And a LOT of the things he does are deliberate ploys to misdirect or hide the truth. Most of the time it’s not malicious, most of the time it’s legit just a survival strategy, sometimes it’s just to be a bit of a jerk because Sans is a practical joker by nature, but if you start becoming a problem in a genocide run, he doesn’t magically start telling the truth all the time. He only starts mentioning a memory of being friends with the human after he starts sweating and getting tired in the fight. He realises you’re not as easy to put down. and only THEN does he even bother mentioning the possibility of being friends before. It’s another ploy using what little info he has. Even Sans’ info says he’s “the easiest enemy” which is an obvious lie. People forget that Sans is all about misdirection and blatant lying in various degrees which is part of the reason his fight is insanely frustrating. He keeps telling you things about his attacks or what’s about to do which are either misleading or just outright untrue.

So Sans has residual memories, but that doesn’t mean he remembers anything with clarity. He’s no different from the other monsters. He just happens to be insanely smart, and he’s extremely scientifically minded. I’m not sure who the “They” are that he talks about. My first instinct would be he’s talking about Alphys but he never mentions her by name so I’m unsure about that one.

But again, the point is, why the hell would Sans talk about reports and data to “figure out what’s going on” if he remembered and could just say “oh shit! The human’s resetting to get the odds in their favour!” you don’t need all this science hoo-ha for THAT! If Sans remembers the resets and decided he needed to do a bunch of science to figure out what’s going on… he’d be kinda stupid wouldn’t he? And Sans has shown through VARIOUS other situations in the game that he is ANYTHING but stupid.

People mistake Sans’ deductive reasoning for “oh he remembers!” and for the life of me I cannot understand why. If people actually listened to what he says instead of memeing about bad times maybe this wouldn’t be such a problem. But honestly, if you’re somebody who actually played Genocide (unlike me who watched it on youtube I guess) I can kinda understand missing some of this, since you’re so stressed out by the fight and trying to survive you may not be absorbing Sans’ conversation. (Much like I had people tell me they actually completely missed Papyrus leaving the Royal Guard when he calls you in Waterfall because the person playing is so busy trying to survive Undyne’s attacks that that little bit of info often goes unnoticed)

Why would Sans be such a special snowflake to remember things when literally NOBODY ELSE (besides Flowey but he’s a special case) remembers anything but residual stuff? It just doesn’t make sense.

Long story short; Sans is smart and figured it out using the tools he had available to him. He didn’t need a “special circumstance” (ie memory) to get the answers. He had exactly the same info as everyone else, but was intelligent (and distrusting) enough to look into the situation a little deeper since he had the resources to do so.

Give Sans a little credit, would ya?

[jestbee]

Ships that pass in the night (Chapter Eleven)

Title: Ships that pass in the night (Chapter Eleven) Tags: Alternate Timeline, AU, Slow burn, strangers to friends, friends to lovers Words: 4480 Summary: Dan and Phil are YouTubers. The catch? They’ve never met, and Phil doesn’t want them to.

Author’s Note: After a short break, this is back! Thanks for sticking with me, I’ve really missed this :D

[AO3 Link]

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three] [Chapter Four] [Chapter Five] [Chapter Six] [Chapter Seven] [Chapter Eight] [Chapter Nine] [Chapter Ten]

The videos come out over the next four weeks. Dan visits often. When one is uploaded they’ve developed a sort of ritual of waiting for each other to watch them and Dan will text Phil sometime in the evening, or he won’t, either way he’ll show up. Phil ends up giving him the code for the downstairs door because it’s easier to just let him in when he knocks than it is to buzz him up since he knows he’s coming anyway.

There are a few times, after the video has finished and they are plunged into the quiet darkness of Phil’s flat, that they move on to other videos, or a DVD, or video games. Prolonging the moment when Dan has to leave as though neither wants it to come. Dan sleeps on his couch a few times, and he’s always there in the morning.

It’s cosy and warm and Phil is getting to used to it, which is dangerous, especially when he knows it has a shelf life. Their video will be uploaded soon, and then there’s the wrap party for the whole group, and then they will have run out of excuses and Phil will have to deal with these feelings he has once and for all. To get over them, or to burn away with them, he hasn’t really decided.

PJ, at least, is the same as he always is. He drops round too, complaining he hasn’t seen Phil in ages and carting with him some weird card game that Phil can’t really get his head around but is trying his best at.

He’s just lost another hand, sat cross-legged on his living room carpet opposite PJ at the coffee table when there is that ever-familiar knock at his door. Phil gets up immediately.

“Expecting company?” PJ asks, his face surprised at how unsurprised Phil’s is.

“It’ll be Dan,” Phil explains with a shrug

“Dan?” PJ repeats. “Dan Howell?”

“Yeah.” Phil forgets that this is strange and unusual behaviour for Phil Lester.

“Since when does Dan Howell drop by your flat?”

“Um… since… you know, we worked together on the project. It’s just for that community thing, we watch the videos together when they’re uploaded. He’s probably here to watch tonight’s I forgot to tell him you were over. Should I have asked him to cancel?”

“No,” PJ smiles, his eyes twinkling with something that might be pride, but Phil has no idea what he has to be proud of, “the more the merrier.”

With a short nod, more to himself than to PJ, Phil goes to answer the door.

Dan doesn’t wait for an invitation inside, simply barrels in, chatting non-stop as he drops off a carrier bag in the kitchen.

“I think you’re rubbing off on me,” he says, disappearing around the doorframe and out of Phil’s view.

Phil has no choice but to follow, just to keep up with whatever the heck it is Dan is going on about.

“Some guy on the tube on the way over here was quacking. Actually quacking, like a duck. I thought it was just you that attracted strange people but honestly…”

He keeps it up, the constant drivel of commentary, drifting from the kitchen once he’s deposited his bag, and heading to the living room.

“Is it catching do you think? The attracting strange people thing– oh. Hi. You’re PJ.”

Dan is in the doorway and turns his head back over his shoulder to look at Phil.

“Wow. I'm… such a dick. I totally didn’t know you had company. Because I just presumed didn’t I? Wow. Sorry. I'll… leave you to it.” He takes a few steps backwards but Phil moves up behind him and places a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t be silly,” he insists, “We were just playing this weird game, you should join us.”

“That okay with you?” Dan asks PJ.

“Sure mate, the more the merrier,” PJ repeats, looking around Dan at Phil with an amused expression.

Dan gives Phil a last look of apology and then crosses the room to sit down opposite PJ on the carpet.

“What are we playing?”

Phil smiles at the two, they make a good picture, like a dream sequence of what his life might be like if he socialised more. Friends gathered and comfortable in his flat. But it’s like he’s watching it from the outside, too stuck in his own head to really immerse himself in it.

PJ begins to explain the rules of the game and while Dan’s brow furrows slightly, he nods as if he understands. Phil hesitates only briefly before taking a seat next to Dan, crossing his legs so that their knees brush, even though there is really no need for them to. PJ crooks and eyebrow over Dan’s head as looks down at the cards, Phil pretends he doesn’t see.

They play a few hands and Phil still doesn’t really understand the game, but he has an excuse for not really paying attention this time. PJ and Dan get along famously, laughing and fondly chiding each other in a free and easy way Phil envies with every fibre of his being. They haven’t socialised much before tonight, Phil knows, but he thinks they’ll leave as friends. It warms something in him to think of the two closest people to him getting along. Which says something about him if he includes Dan stand-in-friend-for-the-sake-of-the-internet Howell as one of the people closest to him.

“I brought beer,” Dan says suddenly, as if just remembering, which is a new development, because he doesn’t usually.

Were they meant to drink it alone? Did Dan bring beer for him and Phil to drink while watching the latest youtube community video? It wouldn’t be entirely strange, he supposes, but still, it’s a novelty and for some reason it sends Phil’s mind wandering to imaginative places. So much so that he doesn’t catch himself as he watches Dan leave the room, a small sigh escaping him as he disappears.

“Phil,” PJ says, knocking him from his trance.

“Um, yeah? Sorry, what?”

“Phil…” PJ looks kind of mad, the space between his brows shrunk into a dipped line, harsh and judgemental, “I said you should make friends with him not fall for the guy.”

“Wha-what?” Phil stammers, “What the hell are you… talking about?”

It’s a token protest at best, because PJ doesn’t look like he’s believing it and Phil isn’t putting much emotion behind it.

“Oh god,” he says instead, dropping his forehead into his hand. Their voices are low, dipped so that Dan can’t hear them.

“On the one hand,” PJ is saying, “I mean… it’s great that you're… you know, getting out there. But… Phil, come on, is it wise? After everything that–”

“No, no, no” Phil says, his hands waving wildly in front of PJ’s face as if trying to push the words back into his mouth, “No no no. We’re not… He doesn't…. No.”

“Okay,” PJ says finally, patting ineffectually at Phil’s hands to get them to stop, “Like I said, I’m glad you’re getting out there. You know, not that long ago you wouldn’t have been able to… you found it difficult. But… I mean Phil, another YouTuber? Really?”

“I know,” Phil says, shaking his head and dipping his eyes, not even wanting to see how pathetic he is reflected in PJ’s expression. “I’m dealing with it. It’s all over soon anyway and then it won’t matter. Like you said, maybe it’s just the start of me like getting out there a little bit… yeah. After this… I can… you know… move on to something… better.”

PJ only gets as far as nodding in reply before Dan is back in the room carrying three glass bottles of beer. It isn’t the horrible kind that Phil usually hates, the ones he gets stuck holding at parties, it’s the light Mexican kind, laced with tequila or similar. He’s jammed a wedge of lime into the rim of the bottle and Phil knows the sour will mix with the taste of the beer and tequila and end up tasting quite nice.

They play a few more hands of the game while they sip, and Dan fills the awkward silence with his large, brash personality and Phil is thankful for it because he has no idea what he would say to either of them right now. His head is full of PJ’s disapproval, because of course this is all a stupid idea, given his history, and he’d honestly turn it off if he could but one look at Dan, sweeping the fringe from his eyes with the back of his index finger while staring down at his cards and Phil knows it’s hopeless. Just the sweet curve of his mouth twisted into a slight frown at a bad hand is enough to flip Phil’s stomach over.

PJ leaves soon after, needing to get home to Sophie, and Phil walks him to the door.

“He’s a cool guy,” PJ is saying, “Just… be careful.”

“You know I always am,” Phil sighs, “Too careful. Isn’t that my problem? You’re always saying that is my problem.”

PJ nods, “I know. Maybe some of that caution has rubbed off on me. Mostly I just don’t really understand because … well, Dan is very out-there isn’t it? Social media wise. I thought that’d be the last thing you wanted.”

“It is,” Phil insists, “I don’t actually… look, I’m not going to do anything. It’s an infatuation, he’s cute or whatever and I’m dipping my toe in.”

“If you say so Phil, looks a little more than a physical crush to me though mate, you’re fairly gone on him.” “I can’t be,” Phil shrugs, “can I? Another Youtuber? Please… there are so so many reasons why that is the most insane thing I could possibly do. And anyway, Dan would never… it’s not like that.”

“I’m not arguing with you on any but that last point,” PJ says, “He’d be a fool not to. Just…”

“Be careful,” Phil repeats, “I know.”

PJ nods, hugs him very very briefly, staying out of Phil’s space in a way he appreciates when he’s feeling this prickly, like his skin might erupt into flame, and then he leaves.

He returns to the living room and to Dan who immediately begins expounding on how much fun the game had been and how good it was to get to know PJ a little more and–

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine.”

“…okay.” Dan says, his eyes narrowing briefly, “If you say so. You want to watch the community video now?”

“Yes.”

They watch the video, and then a few more. Dan slides closer to him on the couch, their legs pressed together from hip to knee even though there is more than enough room for them to sit with space between them.

Eventually they end up with animal videos and autoplay taking over their choosing of them and Dan is wavering between awake and asleep and Phil silently pulls the blanket from the back of the couch like he always does.

“I should go,” Dan whispers into the darkness that has fallen over Phil’s living room.

“If you want to,” Phil replies, moving to put the blanket back again.

“I said I should” Dan clarifies, “not that I wanted to. I’m not good at making wise decisions when I want something. I’m trying to get better at that.”

Phil doesn’t try to make sense out of Dan’s tired babbling, instead just passes the blanket to him and Dan does nothing but hug it to his chest. He can make out Dan’s profile in the light of the laptop, the curve of his nose, the dip of his dimple thrown into stark relief in the harsh glow.

“Me too.” Phil says finally. Knowing that Dan is not a wise decision, but he keeps making it, over and over.

“You’re always careful,” Dan insists, sleepily.

“Maybe I’m trying not to be,” Phil breathes, the words only barely there on his exhale. “Or I’m not as good at is as I used to be.”

There is a beat of silence, thick, heavy and loaded with suggestion. Dan turns his head to look Pil square in the face, his eyes soft, and Phil thinks if there was ever a moment that something could happen it would be now. Something rises in his chest, dangerous and reckless, like the pull to the edge of a building, making him want to tip forward just to try something for once, to put himself out there. But it passes, and he tries not to feel too disappointed when Dan lays backwards, stretches out on his couch, kicking out at him lightly.

“Go on then, get out. Let me sleep.”

Phil laughs, letting the lightness of it ease the dull throb of pain in his heart and stands. He closes the laptop lid, tucking it under his arm and leaves Dan to sleep. PJ is right, he needs to be more careful, this is starting to get out of hand.

–

He’s more restrained after that. Heeding PJ’s advice and his own nagging conscience telling him how stupid he’s being and he begins to school himself back into the realms of AmazingPhil. Perhaps, he argues with himself, if he can just be the person he’s supposed to be, the one that Dan likes from the internet, the one that can give him all the things he wants, the follow count and the recognition, Dan might stay.

He’s aware how crazy that sounds, how close it is to falling into a repeat of behaviours that have gotten him in trouble before, and how he’s prolonging the thud thud thud of painful longing in his chest by wishing Dan will stay close by, but that pain is the only reminder he has that he’s still capable of feelings at all. He’s scared that without it he’ll go back to how he was before, friendless and isolated, and now he’s had a taste of what it could be, easy and carefree, he wants more of it.

It’s easy to slip into the persona and if Dan notices, it is only in the small glance of a frown every now and again when Phil makes a particularly off-kilter comment more suited to his channel than how they’ve been recently. He doesn’t offer comment though, simply gazes at him or else flicks his eyes to the side to avoid it. Phil watches it happen but doesn’t do anything to correct himself because at least Dan is staying, for now.

Phil is tweeting, too. Giving little glimpses into their times hanging out and Dan replies regularly. The fans are going crazy over the ‘domestic’ nature of them and speculation is rife. It’s pretty accepted in their corner of the internet that the 'surprise’ video at the end of the month is going to be theirs, so by the time the day arrives the hype online is intense.

“This is going to change things for us,” Dan is saying excitedly.

He’s in Phil’s flat again, on the side of the couch that is slowly becoming his and Phil has even bothered to buy snacks his time, something Dan had teased him about because as far as hosting goes Phil hasn’t been great up to this point.

They’re not on the laptop this time, instead Phil has hooked up YouTube on his TV for the occasion, wanting to bring a little bit of something special to the proceedings seeing how he’s convinced this is the last time Dan is going to be in his flat, the project is over, they don’t need to hang out anymore.

“You think one collab is going to have that much of an effect?” he asks, fishing a Dorito from the bowl on the table and crunching on it happily.

“I think the amazing video you made is going to showcase your talent and increase your subscriber count, yeah.”

He says it so casually, as if bestowing the praise is easy for him, effusing from his being like water, drenching over Phil, cooling him.

“The video we made,” Phil corrects, shaking his head, trying not to allow the compliment to take root there, “the concept was your idea, really.”

“But I couldn’t have done it without your amazing filming and editing skills, Phil. You’re truly talented, you could direct big movies one day.”

Phil feels his face colour and he shoves at Dan’s arm to distract himself, “Shut up.”

“I’m serious,” Dan insists, laughing so that his whole face lights up and Phil wants to take it in his hands and swallow it down.

“But your story telling was what made it great, you have a real knack for the way you put words together… maybe you should write the movie script. Or star in it. You’re great at acting. I’d let you have creative input on the cinematography too.”

“Cheers,” Dan says, eyes dancing through the sarcasm. “I’ll just do all the work and you tell them where to point the camera? Seems like a fair split!”

Phil imagines then what it might be like to work with Dan on something bigger, a larger project that combines their talents into something their audiences could enjoy. He thinks about how that would mean getting more of Dan’s attention, more of his time, more of those smiles aimed directly at him, so wonderful and bright he could go blind from it.

He tries to remind himself not to get too attached to them, because this is ending tonight. This is the last time.

They refresh the page once more and the video is there, their phones chiming in perfect sync as they each receive a notification.

“Here we go,” Dan says.

Phil just nods and clicks play.

Watching the video in this space is strange. They’ve seen it before, countless times, played back on Phil’s computer while they edit, but this is different. They aren’t perched on separate chairs for one, but are as close together on his couch as they always are. And they can’t make changes, if they see anything they don’t like this time, it’s out there for the world to see.

“I’m glad we didn’t change anything,” Dan says in a hushed tone, doing that thing where he reads Phil’s mind a little bit. “I’m glad you talked me down from my crazy neuroses about it.”

Phil huffs a laugh, because the thought that he can help anyone with their issues is astounding, because he can’t sort his own out so he’s no idea how to do it for anyone else.

“The video is great,” Phil assures him again, doing the impossible and reaching out to pat at Dan, meaning to go for his arm but finding his hand drop on his knee. Dan doesn’t visibly react so he probably gets away with it.

The story on screen is once again tugging at him. He watches as Dan’s character is lit solely by the glow of a laptop screen, head surrounded by a duvet. It’s the perfect depiction of a lonely teen watching YouTube for solace. It will resonate with the viewers in a great way, but Phil too understands that longing to be apart of something.

His own character going about the business of making videos, scrolling through twitter and then, yes, noticing the lonely teen finally. Then a montage, a series of Tweets, Skype Calls, Text Messages before finally… a bustling train platform, Phil stationery by the stairs and Dan making his way across, slow at first and then at a run, almost colliding with him.

“You’re real,” Dan had said, which hadn’t been in the script but had been a better line than the one that they’d planned. Phil grins, wide and happy and they turn, heading off for whatever adventures await them.

There’s a final shot, a video Dan’s character has made finally being uploaded, Phil looking on supportively, so the cycle can start again. This doubles out to screen after screen, thumbnail after thumbnail, depicting the growth of the community if everyone encourages each other, reaches out, works together. It doubles and doubles until the screen is impossibly covered in screencaps, Dan’s lost amongst the crowd, the colours of them forming the YouTube logo which sits for a second before the screen fades to black.

“God,” Dan says when it ends, Phil reaching to stop the next video from playing.

“Yeah.”

“I sort of wish…” Dan starts before trailing off.

Phil pokes at him, a pointed finger sinking into the flesh of his upper arm. “What? You seeing editing mistakes?”

“No,” Dan clarifies, turning his full body, hitching one leg up onto the couch so that he is leaned in towards Phil. “I just sort of wish that something like that had actually happened sometimes. Like, I was that guy, watching YouTube by myself in my room. It would have been nice to meet someone back then, a good friend.”

Phil nods, because at the time Dan is talking about he could probably have done with a good friend too. Something a little more honest, innocent, something not tearing him up from the inside.

“I do too,” he agrees, “I wish things were different. But hey, you got into YouTube anyway!”

“I did,” Dan nods, “I procrastinated the hell out of it, and I probably could have done with something as encouraging as that but… I got there eventually.”

“I’m glad,” Phil says, honestly. “Twitter time?”

Dan nods and pulls out his phone.

They spend some time replying to fans on Twitter who have seen the video, answering questions about it and saying that no, short films isn’t something they’ve done before but yes they’d enjoyed it. Someone asks if they’d ever work together again and Dan is diplomatic in his answer that he loves collaborating and is always open to people with great ideas. It doesn’t really answer whether he’d work with Phil again specifically, but Phil doesn’t press the issue because Dan is a master at saying only exactly what he wants to on social media, and nothing more.

They give up after about forty five minutes because they can’t possible answer everyone, as much as phil would like to, and it’s beginning to descend into the 'phan’ side of things and Phil knows those interactions are best left well alone. They don’t even need to discuss it.

When they’re done Phil reaches for the remote to put something else on, it’s the same gesture he’s done a bunch of times so he’s mildly surprised when Dan begins to stand.

“I should go,” Dan says.

“Should?” Phil asks, bravely, “Or are?

Dan’s face relaxes into a kind of smile, it is one for all intents and purposes but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes in the way that Phil is used to. Instead, they look flat and sad.

"I am.”

“O-Okay.” Phil says, standing as well, “I'll… show you out.” Which is stupid because Dan knows where the door is, he knows all the corners of Phil’s tiny flat by now, he’s spent time here enough.

The walk to the door is like a funeral march, a slow plod to the end of all of this, there are no statements of 'see you tomorrow’ and no promises of anything else nestled between them. It’s done, and as much as Phil might have longed for this moment a month or so ago he finds that it’s sitting heavy on him, like a stone.

“This is it,” Dan says, redundant because Phil knows what his own front door looks like.

“This is it.” Phil repeats.

Dan shrugs into the jacket over his arm, running a hand distractedly through his hair, shuffling and fidgeting, doing everything not to meet Phil’s gaze until finally, he takes a breath, looks like he’s decided, and looks up.

“Thanks for… everything,” he says, “I had a really good time on this project.”

“Yeah…” Phil hates the sound of his voice, it’s wispy and pathetic, all tangled around those pesky feelings churning in his chest so that it can’t come out the way he intends, “me too.”

There is still no suggestion of anything more, and Phil wants to say 'let’s do it again’ or even something as flimsy and intangible as 'see you soon’, he wants to say these because he can’t say 'stay’ or 'don’t go’.

Instead he says nothing more, because on top of the thin way his voice is stretched, he can’t trust what words would come out were he to attempt anything at all.

Dan slips into the silence, leans forward, arms extended. They wrap around Phil’s shoulders unexpectedly and pull him close. He doesn’t keep himself bent away this time, presses against Phil’s body tightly, toes nudging at the tips of Phil’s own and Phil can hear the rush of breath escaping him in his ear.

He doesn’t know what to do, simply goes with his instinct, with his want, and curls his arms around Dan’s waist, holding him tighter, trying to communicate something, anything at all, just with the touch.

“Take care,” Dan says as they part, and this is worse than goodbye. Goodbye could mean 'later’ it could have anything bundled into it. 'Take care’ is final, and it stabs into Phil’s chest, the warmth of Dan’s body long gone, and takes root.

“You too.”

Phil feels himself drift as Dan takes hold of the door handle, sparing him another little glance as he slips into the hallway and then a small, casual wave, as if nothing is wrong even though it feels like Phil’s world is crumbling away.

He watches as Dan rounds the corner at the end of the hall, memorising the soft curve of his shoulders, the broad expanse of his back. He lets the image sit for a while, closing the door to his flat and wandering back to his living room to gaze at the space Dan has left on his couch, wondering how long it will take before he stops thinking of it as belonging to him, before he stops expecting him to show up of an evening.

It’s done, he tells himself, it was great while it lasted but it’s time to start the business of getting over it. Like PJ said, it was just a way for him to get out there a little bit, he’s proved he can do it, it’s time to move on to something a little wiser, something that doesn’t scare him beyond belief… something that doesn’t make his heart beat wildly and his palms sweaty and his head float. Something that doesn’t make him as happy as Dan might have. It’s time to just let it go.

[universallydreamcollectorsb-blog]

CYBERBULLYING

What to do about Cyber bullying

Cyber bullying is one major problems that youn teens and adults have Many people are committing suicide every year because of this. Cyber bullying happens on many of the common places especially online. This includes place like facebook ,but it's also common in chats, and message on boards. The one thing that really important is" Think before you click " or think before you posting a pictures or video in social media, think before you post anything about yourself in online. The one thing you need if you are being bullied on a school campus or somewhere all you have to do is stay away or just stay near on

Your close friend or teacher or someone where safe.

Listen to your friend

Honestly, for me the key to my success was that I had a friend who taught me that being bullied by someone was just a Jealous

Or that they were afraid of anything. I don't care anymore about them. One thing that I promise to myself that they can't bully me anymore.

Online Bullies are Wimp

In my opinion, Online bullies are the most wimp of all bullies because for me they are rarely face any real Development of their actions.

Why is Bullying, and in Particular Online Bullying, so Prevalent?

To be honest maybe it's for two reason :

One Online bullying is so common because its easier to be mean or to do things that's not face- to -face with somebody.

Second Because as we can see our society is considered as to be judgemental tend to give away our power far too easily.

Defining Cyber bullying

Cyber bullying is the use of technology to harass , threaten ,embarass or target another person who.

How to prevent Cyber bullying ?

( Watch the video)

Cyber bullying Limit Law

So this totally why bullying need to have a better law, because lot of innocent people are intend about to kill themselves just because of this kind of problem. That's why it's very important that everyone follows the rules. There is not enough punishment taking place.

Plagiarism

What is Plagiarism ?

Why shouldn't you plagiarize?

In my opinion, why shouldn't we plagiarize it is because plagiarism is the use of idea or words that are not your own. As a students we are invetable not to plagiarize why? It is because we are lazy to do our own words or work we are depending on others work, maybe we are so overwhelmed with other responsibilities that we just can't get everything done?

As a student there are some reasons why we are tempted to cheat. Sometimes the pressure is too great to succeed. Even simple word ,sentence and addition that changes in word order are still plagiarism. Even if it is not your work or idea and if it is not cited properly it considered as a Plagiarized because you are copying someone's work.

How to avoid Plagiarism?

These are the Steps on how to Avoid Plagiarism :

1.Do not share anything personal like photos

2.Do not give out your Passwords

3.Block the person doing the cyber bullying and lastly

4.Turn off you cellphone and take a breath.

These are the some tips on how to avoid plagiarism.

Stop Plagiarism

Stop using others work or idea!

Make it in your own words. How will you learn if you are always using idea on works of the other's or copying in the answer in internet? It doesn't matter if you're grammar is wrong as long as you make your own words.

Consequences of Plagiarism

Put a Citation

Citation is the only one to avoid into plagiarism, if you are trying to copy on someone's idea or word even in the book, in the quotation you've used, you should not forget to put or to write a citation for you to be safe so that it heps you professionals properly credit the information that you use.

THANK YOU!

[matthewtwelveministry-blog]

Jesus says... I wanted to go fishing, but the Nets were torn Words from Jesus  to  Sister Clare du bois The Lord bless you, my sweet Heartdwellers with His healing, His wisdom and His anointing. I'm going to ask your pardon ahead of time, I must put out this message because the Lord is deeply grieved. If you complain that it isn't for you or that you've heard it before, I kindly ask you to take your complaint to the Lord, because I am under the yoke of obedience. And this is something He wants spoken. And while I am writing this for those who live in Brazil, understand that there is not one of us all around the world who are not guilty of the very same crimes and it never hurts to be reminded. So, kindly bear with me, please. And if you know anyone who is doing these kinds of things to the Body of Christ, please pass this message on to them. Also we have new believers on this channel, and they must be informed as well, that to attack other Christians privately in your heart, with or without your mouth (because Heaven hears you loud and clear even when your words are not spoken) or certainly more grievously if you attack people in public, targeting ministers of the gospel who have given their lives for Him, You will be disqualified for the Rapture. You will NOT be raptured. The Lord has told us this over and over again. It is a severe warning: if you want to be taken in the Rapture, you CANNOT be critical of other ministries or other people. This is not an idle threat, these are the words spoken to me by the Lord Jesus Himself. If you are willfully denouncing a brother or sister, then you have taken the Lord's authority and throne into your own hands and blasphemed the work of the Holy Spirit. YOU WILL NOT BE TAKEN IN THE RAPTURE. Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God, to religious or holy persons or sacred things, or toward something considered sacred or inviolable. So, in other words, a brother or sister who has given their lives to the Lord to minister the Gospel, that person is holy. and to insult or attack them is a crime against the Holy Spirit. This is a stern warning. I will not have your blood on my hands because I did not warn you. You will be left behind, crying out in agony while those you denounced are taken into the Lord's arms and you are left to endure the brutal agonies of the Tribulation. Now, it is reported that certain people are putting our messages on the internet along with their own indictments of other Christians. This is what's going on in Brazil. Please cease and desist. Do not continue to grieve the Holy Spirit of God by mixing what is pure and loving with what is bitter and filthy. The Lord has shown us many, many times, judgement on other souls is like a filthy diaper. When you change a baby's diaper you put it in the trash - you don't pull it out, play with its substance, sniff it and put it in other people's faces. Please do not mix the profane with the Holy. Please do not criticize other Christian groups, because you are robbing Jesus of the suffering He endured on the Cross for each and every member. You are scattering the flock, you are pillaging the stores of Heaven by scandalizing other souls who are young in the Lord and don't recognize that what you are doing is wrong. Is it not written in Matthew 7:1-5... Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother. Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. You will be held accountable for souls that are lost because of your slander. Do you understand the seriousness of this? If a soul leaves a Christian group because they heard that group is bad, that soul becomes bait for the wolves. In other words, if that soul is stolen from the Lord because of the words of your mouth, you have become responsible for them going to Hell. You have blood on your hands, the Lord's blood, and the soul's blood. If this sounds harsh, I'm sorry. It IS harsh. Ezekiel and I were both guilty of this for 20 years. The Lord withheld His blessings from us because of this grievous fault. The cry of our heart was to minister, but we disqualified ourselves by judging others. Thats why my real ministry didn't begin until I was 68. It took me THAT LONG to really get it. And now, when Ezekiel and I talk about something, if we begin to see that we're talking about someone, we stop immediately and repent. Ephesians 4 29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. 30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. 3 I want you to also understand that if you refuse to forgive a brother or sister for what they have said or done to you, you too, will not be forgiven by the Lord. He has told us clearly, He cannot forgive you until you forgive others and release them from their sin against you. In the Lord's prayer, He says, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us." The words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 6 verse 12. Let us move on to what the Lord is really calling us you to. For five days the Lord has been giving Ezekiel and I the same Scripture. I had no idea what it was about. The Scripture in John 17:20-23 reads: "I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. "The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. This IS the Christian witness. This is what makes us Christians. This is how we will be recognized. This is how we will know that people are authentic Christians. It doesn't matter how profound your teachings are, if you do not have love for your brother, you are just making noise, your words are not backed by your example in your life. Eventually those who listen to you will either follow your example of bitterness and be disqualified for the Kingdom or turn away from you seeking the Real Jesus. And I want to make this statement, TO ALL YOUTUBE AND HEART DWELLERS, TO ALL OUR LISTENERS, if you hear any criticism of a brother or sister or group, or any denouncement, that person has no part in our ministry, they are in no way representing us. And you are taking your own salvation and qualification for the rapture into your own hands by listening to them. May God have Mercy. Again, if anyone criticizes another Christian person or group, they are in NO WAY associated with us. Even if they broadcast our messages, they have no part in us until they repent and are restored to fellowship and unity with those they have condemned. Those of you who have been following us for months - you know better. Those of you who are young in the Lord, this is one critical qualification for the Rapture and even Heaven. Do not listen to slander or criticism of other groups! It is NOT of God! We are all called to be fishers of men, each of you have your assignment and position in holding the huge net that Jesus has thrown over the whole world. Your job is to gather in the fish, the lost, before it is too late. Be faithful to your post. Do not tear the net, do not drop the net, and do not try to yank it forcefully from the hands of the others who are holding it. Cooperate with them, don't lose one valuable fish, not one! Make sure you work together to bring in the catch. Now, I will tell you what is going on here in Brazil. I will pull back the veil for you. The witches in your country have come together to divide you, to cause jealousy, gossip and division. I have lived in Columbia and Ecuador. I know exactly how they operate - they send demons of jealousy, lying, slander. And those who are weak catch this like a virus and then spread the disease around. When you judge someone, you are cooperating with Satan to bring the Kingdom of God down. It is written in Scripture: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers! Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.Matthew 7:21-27 Or, in modern day terms, the shofar sounded, the skies parted and the Bride of Christ was taken up into Heaven to enjoy the wedding feast with her Groom. But those who had been criticizing others were left crying on the ground and not taken to the Wedding Feast. Please dear Heartdwellers, bring no bitterness into the Lord's heart. Grieve not the Holy Spirit, repent, forgive, and re-unite. Work together - you need each other. Each of you has a role to play. It is very important for your salvation and the salvation of others. Don't ruin the harvest with bitterness. Seek the Lord, let Him heal you and fill you with His glory that you may take the hand of your bother and sister and work together. The Lord bless you, Heartdwellers. May He give you the strength to purge whatever is in your craw, whatever you have against one another. May He give you the strength, the wisdom and the Grace to forgive and work together.