#Historical Twitter Data

[trackmyhashtagsblog]

Now you can know the tweets of every week starting from June. Trackmyhashtag is an AI-based hashtag analytical tool that provides a historical Twitter dataset with ease. Trackmyhashtag started a blog series in which we will get 35+ tweets every week, which helps in getting lots of insights and knowing a lot of facts. The tweets span various topics, including pop culture, technology, workplace humor, and everyday observations. Each tweet is presented with a brief description or commentary, offering readers a lighthearted break and a glimpse into trending conversations on Twitter.

The compilation serves as both entertainment and a reflection of current social media trends, showcasing the diverse voices and humor that characterize the Twitter community.

[alatariel-galadriel]

google’s generative ai search results have started showing up in Firefox and I hate it I hate it I hate it i hate it I hate it I HATE IT

[fatburdo]

Below this line, reblogs from 2014 and under, please disregard. Username used to be trincheiradatalt

Linha divisória, abaixo daqui só reblogs de 2014 para trás, favor desconsiderar.

[astra-ravana]

Technomancy: The Fusion Of Magick And Technology

Technomancy is a modern magickal practice that blends traditional occultism with technology, treating digital and electronic tools as conduits for energy, intent, and manifestation. It views computers, networks, and even AI as extensions of magickal workings, enabling practitioners to weave spells, conduct divination, and manipulate digital reality through intention and programming.

Core Principles of Technomancy

• Energy in Technology – Just as crystals and herbs carry energy, so do electronic devices, circuits, and digital spaces.

• Code as Sigils – Programming languages can function as modern sigils, embedding intent into digital systems.

• Information as Magick – Data, algorithms, and network manipulation serve as powerful tools for shaping reality.

• Cyber-Spiritual Connection – The internet can act as an astral realm, a collective unconscious where digital entities, egregores, and thought-forms exist.

Technomantic Tools & Practices

Here are some methods commonly utilized in technomancy. Keep in mind, however, that like the internet itself, technomancy is full of untapped potential and mystery. Take the time to really explore the possibilities.

Digital Sigil Crafting

• Instead of drawing sigils on paper, create them using design software or ASCII art.

• Hide them in code, encrypt them in images, or upload them onto decentralized networks for long-term energy storage.

• Activate them by sharing online, embedding them in file metadata, or charging them with intention.

Algorithmic Spellcasting

• Use hashtags and search engine manipulation to spread energy and intent.

• Program bots or scripts that perform repetitive, symbolic tasks in alignment with your goals.

• Employ AI as a magickal assistant to generate sigils, divine meaning, or create thought-forms.

Digital Divination

• Utilize random number generators, AI chatbots, or procedural algorithms for prophecy and guidance.

• Perform digital bibliomancy by using search engines, shuffle functions, or Wikipedia’s “random article” feature.

• Use tarot or rune apps, but enhance them with personal energy by consecrating your device.

Technomantic Servitors & Egregores

• Create digital spirits, also called cyber servitors, to automate tasks, offer guidance, or serve as protectors.

• House them in AI chatbots, coded programs, or persistent internet entities like Twitter bots.

• Feed them with interactions, data input, or periodic updates to keep them strong.

The Internet as an Astral Plane

• Consider forums, wikis, and hidden parts of the web as realms where thought-forms and entities reside.

• Use VR and AR to create sacred spaces, temples, or digital altars.

• Engage in online rituals with other practitioners, synchronizing intent across the world.

Video-game Mechanics & Design

• Use in-game spells, rituals, and sigils that reflect real-world magickal practices.

• Implement a lunar cycle or planetary influences that affect gameplay (e.g., stronger spells during a Full Moon).

• Include divination tools like tarot cards, runes, or pendulums that give randomized yet meaningful responses.

Narrative & World-Building

• Create lore based on historical and modern magickal traditions, including witches, covens, and spirits.

• Include moral and ethical decisions related to magic use, reinforcing themes of balance and intent.

• Introduce NPCs or AI-guided entities that act as guides, mentors, or deities.

Virtual Rituals & Online Covens

• Design multiplayer or single-player rituals where players can collaborate in spellcasting.

• Implement altars or digital sacred spaces where users can meditate, leave offerings, or interact with spirits.

• Create augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR) experiences that mimic real-world magickal practices.

Advanced Technomancy

The fusion of technology and magick is inevitable because both are fundamentally about shaping reality through will and intent. As humanity advances, our tools evolve alongside our spiritual practices, creating new ways to harness energy, manifest desires, and interact with unseen forces. Technology expands the reach and power of magick, while magick brings intention and meaning to the rapidly evolving digital landscape. As virtual reality, AI, and quantum computing continue to develop, the boundaries between the mystical and the technological will blur even further, proving that magick is not antiquated—it is adaptive, limitless, and inherently woven into human progress.

Cybersecurity & Warding

• Protect your digital presence as you would your home: use firewalls, encryption, and protective sigils in file metadata.

• Employ mirror spells in code to reflect negative energy or hacking attempts.

• Set up automated alerts as magickal wards, detecting and warning against digital threats.

Quantum & Chaos Magic in Technomancy

• Use quantum randomness (like random.org) in divination for pure chance-based outcomes.

• Implement chaos magick principles by using memes, viral content, or trend manipulation to manifest desired changes.

AI & Machine Learning as Oracles

• Use AI chatbots (eg GPT-based tools) as divination tools, asking for symbolic or metaphorical insights.

• Train AI models on occult texts to create personalized grimoires or channeled knowledge.

• Invoke "digital deities" formed from collective online energies, memes, or data streams.

Ethical Considerations in Technomancy

• Be mindful of digital karma—what you send out into the internet has a way of coming back.

• Respect privacy and ethical hacking principles; manipulation should align with your moral code.

• Use technomancy responsibly, balancing technological integration with real-world spiritual grounding.

As technology evolves, so will technomancy. With AI, VR, and blockchain shaping new realities, magick continues to find expression in digital spaces. Whether you are coding spells, summoning cyber servitors, or using algorithms to divine the future, technomancy offers limitless possibilities for modern witches, occultists, and digital mystics alike.

"Magick is technology we have yet to fully understand—why not merge the two?"

[silver-soul00]

I want to ask the same question to you as well inherent in why the Wenclair ship has become so famous.

How did it get so much popularity?

I ask this apolitically so don't worry ahahah

Hey hello!

Don't worry!

I'll be happy to answer you and I also want to take this opportunity to deny a couple of things.

Let's start with your question.

One of the most obvious indicators of Wenclair's popularity is the number of dedicated fan fiction on platforms like AO3. 

Let's remember that even before the series premiered on Netflix, on November 23, 2022, there were already 250 stories with the Wenclair tag, signaling early interest from fans.

(https://fanlore.org/wiki/Wenclair)

As of 2023, the Wenclair ship has become the most written about ship for both the Wednesday and Enid characters, with over 5,800 works published on AO3.

(https://shipping.fandom.com/wiki/Wenclair)

This exponential growth has shown how much the couple has created enthusiasm and creative investment from the fandom community.

But there is also another factor that should not be forgotten.

The production of fanart is another key indicator of the popularity of a ship.

The massive presence of these fanarts on platforms such as Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram testifies to the artistic interest of fans.

The aesthetic combination of the two characters, with their contrasting personalities and styles, offers fertile ground for creativity, making the couple particularly attractive to artists.

Just look at the fanarts that come out every week on X, Tumblr, Instagram etc.

Unfortunately some Wenclair artists have either retired or stopped temporarily but this has not stopped the wave and even today the largest number of fanarts related to the Netflix series are Wenclair-themed.

Wenclair’s popularity is also reflected in social media trends. 

On Tumblr, the ship has achieved notable positions in the weekly charts, ranking #2 on January 9, 2023, #3 on January 16 and February 13, and maintaining a steady presence in the following weeks.

[https://shipping.fandom.com/wiki/Wenclair]

Finally, let's not forget that, after a long sleep lasting a year, the fandom woke up thanks to the Novelisation of the first season which, for better or for worse, offered a lot of material for us fans of the couple.

But now that we have the data, we still ask ourselves, why was it so successful?

• First and foremost, the "Opposites Attract" Trope

The dynamic between Wednesday and Enid embodies the opposites attract trope, with Wednesday's dark and introverted nature contrasting with Enid's vivacious and extroverted nature.

This contrast has historically fascinated audiences, making their interaction intriguing and worthy of narrative exploration.

It is extremely inspiring to draw this pairing even on an artistic level, with plenty of fan art depicting a bright and cheerful Enid alongside a darker and stoic Wednesday (the most obvious example being the black cat energy x golden retriever energy dynamic).

[artist: https://x.com/sarishtks/status/1597683048094760960?t=P3kTp27IWnyUt77L-nXnpw&s=19]

[artist: https://x.com/fulvarrr/status/1605453010465062913?t=LEnrOMnIAqvAKs_GbkjPNA&s=19]

[artist: DSInsectes]

• Then there is of course the LGBTQ representation.

I have already touched on why Wenclair makes sense and I refer you to that post.

But without going into too much detail, the lack of explicit queer representation in the series has led fans to seek out and create narratives that reflect their experiences and desires, finding in Wenclair a possibility for meaningful representation.

But above all, another factor was fundamental, which was the failure of the Wednesday love triangle that was in the middle between Tyler and Xavier.

Many of us found this subplot so atrocious that we came to the final thought that, if Wednesday were ever going to have a romantic partner, it would absolutely be Enid.

Above all, let's not forget how very queer core the two girls are.

(Enid in particular and the subplot with her mother is a clear example of this)

Where on one hand we had a Tyler who, through deception and gaslighting, tried to get closer to the protagonist, then there was Xavier who was really a guy who perhaps tried to seem like a good guy but was just a pretty slimy guy (the phone scene is really senseless).

{not only for this but also for what I will write later, if you are a fan of Weyler or Wavier, this is nothing personal, peace and love, I'm just looking at the data and the reasons why Wenclair has grown}

Then there are the promotional events, such as the "WednesGAY" organized by Netflix, and statements by the actors have fueled speculation and enthusiasm around the ship, contributing to its spread.

Let's say that this is more of a sore point for some because there has actually been some queerbaiting by Netflix.

But anyway, even through interviews of the actors and actresses who worked on the series, the Wenclair ship has managed to become more and more popular even if some of those statements were even joking ("They were roomates". by Emma Myers).

• Finally their relationship in concrete in the series.

Let's be clear, the best scenes of the series have the 2 of them as protagonists (at least for me).

They argue, they compare, they help each other and when Wednesday makes a mistake, Enid feels betrayed and Wednesday feels bad for it.

Let's remember that Enid first went to ""die"" for Wednesday in the final episode.

For Sinclair there were no plans other than finding Wednesday, there was no possibility of transforming in her head.

Every time an exchange of dialogue occurs between the 2 of them there is always a significant stimulus.

But most of all, Enid is one of the reasons why Wednesday is growing both emotionally and mentally.

Wednesday has learned so much thanks in large part to her roomate.

It is no coincidence that, recently that pic of Wednesday and Enid shown on a card was also released, or simply that many fan art on Wednesday also feature Enid.

Emma Myers and Jenna Ortega were so close on that set that you could feel how committed they were to their roles and how they interacted.

Before concluding, I would like to be able to add further information, denying a very specific piece of information.

"Wenclair are not so numerous, but they are justw noisy".

Here, let's debunk this falsehood once and for all.

It's true that we are noisy, but we are ALSO NUMEROUS.

The popularity of the Wenclair ship is not the result of simple redundancy across multiple platforms, but is supported by real numbers that demonstrate a higher level of engagement and diffusion than other ships in the series.

• AO3 (Archive of our own)

In the most famous fanfiction site we have the first proof that we are not "just noisy".

In fact, at least until today, the number of fanfictions is equal to about 7605.

On the contrary, the Weyler ones are just under 1200, even worse that Wavier is under 1000 (811 to be exact).

• Wattpad 

Here it is extremely more difficult to understand, but it is noteworthy how Wenclair fanfiction have extremely gigantic numbers.

With truly enormous views, even more than you might think.

• Reddit

The subreddits dedicated to the Wednesday series are 2, r/Wednesday (with about 790 thousand members) & r/WednesdayTVseries (with about 40 thousand members).

Now that we know the number of fans of the series, we must think that we are a minority (?)

Well, almost.

The subreddit dedicated to the Wenclair ship has reached a significant number of members, that is, just over 10 thousand members (I read 12 thousand but I don't trust it because sometimes it changes very little).

And there are many intentions in there.

AT LEAST 4/5 posts per day, with additional comments.

With positive votes that reach at least 30/50 up to 800 even (but also 1000) in the space of a few days or weeks.

On the contrary, the Weyler one, with just over 1000 members, you can see the most voted posts that tend to get around 50 or a little less (maybe this is where we can talk about noisy fans at the expense of the low number?).

The Wavier one lmao let's not even talk about it, it's a dead horse.

In the r/wholesomeyuri subreddit, I'm not the only one who posted Wenclair stuff and the results have proven to be extremely positive with posts that had between 109 up to 2 thousand positive votes.

16 hours ago I reached about 950 positive votes, so here too the feeds are not few.

X, Instagram and Tumblr

X, Instagram Tumblr

Well, here we have perhaps the biggest evidence to deny the accusation.

The hashtags related to the Wenclair ship (or Wednesday X Enid) are huge.

Let's start with Tumblr, here the number is around 68,962 with a much more active fan presence than you might think.

Wednesday X Enid has 4743, while the #Wenclair fanart (remembering that it is very often linked to that #Wenclair) has 1293.

The Tumblr community has 578 members (and it's a lot considering that Tumblr communities are a bit of a niche), with at least 2 posts per day.

While some posts?

Wenclair themed posts (mostly fanart) reach a number that reaches from 20 notes up to 3/4 thousand).

A recent one, that of Leodraws3 dated October 31, 2024 reached 3822 notes.

So even on Tumblr we are not just ""noisy"".

• X (or Twitter)

Here things get really funny.

We don't have a precise number, but looking at the likes and shares, the numbers go really high.

The community is increasingly alive, the fanarts reach between 50 likes up to a figure like 5 thousand likes.

Without even excluding the reposts that reach an average of between 100/120 reposts up to even 500 reposts.

They are not few.

• Instagram

Instagram, similarly to X, has fanart or pics in general that revolve around very satisfying results.

From 80 likes up to 2 thousand likes.

One of the arguments often used to belittle Wenclair is that the fandom is mostly made up of extremely young users and therefore "not representative" of the entire Wednesday audience. 

However, this claim is not supported by the data. (Besides being pretty bad as a thing to say as if, only adults can appreciate nice but ok things.)

Research shows that LGBTQ+ ships in mainstream media tend to generate the most engagement among 18-34 year olds, who are also the most active age group on fan content platforms like AO3 and Tumblr. 

Additionally, TikTok, one of Wenclair’s biggest outlets, has a user base that extends well beyond the underage audience.

TikTok has amassed a slew of video edits and especially fan art videos about Wenclair, garnering hundreds to thousands of likes and shares.

According to data shown by Fandom.com, over 70% of users who interact with LGBTQ+ content in Wednesday’s fandom are between the ages of 18 and 30.

(https://www.flowjournal.org/2023/02/fan-demographics-on-ao3/)

AO3 and Tumblr, the main platforms for fanfiction and fandom discourse, have an average user age of 25 to 40.

(https://ao3demographicssurvey2024.tumblr.com/post/743125699288842240/in-the-ao3-demographics-survey-2024-an)

The Wenclair phenomenon is not just a passing trend: the ship has been the most discussed on Twitter for several consecutive months after the release of the series, maintaining a constant engagement even in 2024 (especially thanks to the Novelisation)

And when the 2nd season comes out, get ready because fan art and fanfic will return to their prime.

[hannie-dul-set]

STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE [3].

SYNOPSIS. the saying “never meet your idols” exists for a reason. you just didn’t expect the reason to be because said idols would end up declaring that you’re their alleged lover from a past life (past lives, rather). now you have three big celebrities vying for your attention, and it’s not as dreamlike as you imagined it to be.

PAIRINGS. choi yeonjun, choi soobin, choi beomgyu x female! reader. GENRES. reincarnation! au, celebrity! au (soloist! yeonjun, actor! soobin, rock band member! beomgyu), slight college! au, slight historical! au, rom-com, angst, reverse harem woohoo. WARNINGS. swearing, talks about stalking, talks about death, data privacy violations, so much emotional whiplash yummy, a very long conversation, google dependent historical information. WORD COUNT. 6.3k.

NOTE. this chapter finally made its way out hell 😭😭😭 per usual, please let me know your thoughts on the chapter! a single comment on ao3 inspired me to finish this, so ur feedback really means a lot! enjoy<3

MASTERLIST | NEXT >

CHAPTER 3 — can we go back to being parasocial?

IF SOMEONE HEARS YOUR SUMMARY OF THE EVENTS THAT UNFOLDED WITHIN THE PAST FEW DAYS, they may accuse you of lying. Delusional, even. You’d think the same had you not been the center of it all— yet the proof is in your pockets. Your phone. In the album Choi Yeonjun failed to sign, stuffed inside your bag at the last minute before you left your apartment earlier.

The summary. Right. Yes.

“Can they stop sharing that video of Yeonjun excessively flirting with a fan?! I’m going to kill myself if I see it one more time.”

You were lucky enough to nab a fansign slot. But instead of getting Choi Yeonjun’s signature, you ended up getting a kiss of a hand instead, along with a scrawl of numbers on your album that you’re far too terrified to try to dial.

“Hey, send me our photo with Soobin the other day,” nudges Huening from beside you. “I’m gonna print it out and put it in a locket and use it as a family heirloom.”

You bumped into one of your favorite actors, Choi Soobin, in the middle of a late night convenience store run with your friends to fuel your group all nighter, stained his shirt with your ice cream, and got a photo with him in the process.

“By the way, have you called the business card yet? What are you gonna do with your broken phone screen?”

And Choi Beomgyu may or may not have professed his undying love for you, asked for your hand in marriage, and started crying in front of you in less than ten fucking minutes.

“She’s zoned out.”

The problem is, you can’t even bask in the delightful absurdity of it all because one common thread from all those three separate instances has been keeping you up for nights. It’s clawing at your brain, lingering in the back of your mind like an incessant stalker— which, mind you, is not a pleasant feeling when the very causes of such disturbance were once the bringers of joy and all things good in your otherwise meaningless life as a cog in the capitalist machinery that is society.

“Hello? Are you awake?”

Said problem being the fact that you’re pretty sure they all called you by your name at one point.

How the fuck do they know your name?

“I deleted Twitter. I Airdropped it to you. No, I have not called it yet. Now please let me think in peace.”

Crazy. This is all too crazy. In the first place, what are the odds that you bump into three celebrities within one week’s time? Is this some sort of prank, or something? Are those three filming a hidden camera show together? No, no. That couldn’t be because there’s no fucking way a company is sane enough to stage a risky hidden camera prank during a fansign knowing full well how obsessive and insane fans can get. You’re lucky your face wasn’t caught in any of the videos circulating online— video of you and Choi Yeonjun, mostly him, acting out a fucking sageuk. You’re lucky you haven’t been doxxed yet.

“Finish your sandwich,” Taehyun clicks his tongue, nudging your food closer to you, and you sigh heavily. Maybe you’re just wrong, you think, taking a bite from the bread. Maybe this is just a misunderstanding. Maybe you’re just overthinking.

You eat your lunch and steal some wet wipes from Gaeul in between. Right. It’s not like you’re ever gonna bump into them again. You live in, as cliche as it sounds, two different worlds after all. You’re just gonna watch their dramas, listen to their music, enjoy their performances, and that’s it that’s it that’s it.

“Prof Jang sent a message. Class is canceled.”

But still—

“Woohoo! Let’s go to the new dessert shop that opened downtown.”

Choi Beomgyu’s voice saying I love you, Choi Soobin’s cologne wafting in the air you were breathing in, and Choi Yeonjun’s lips pressed against your skin.

How can a sane person just forget about all of that?!

“Why do you look like you’re fantasizing about perverted shit?” Woohyun slaps you in the face with a reality check. This is fucking stupid.

“I’m not fantasizing,” you grunt, because they were events that actually fucking happened— they weren’t birthed from your brain’s insanity. “Anyway, dessert? Where is it?” You ignore your burning face, hoping that your friends decide to ignore it too, but Gaeul has her eyes narrowed at you. Crap. She didn’t recognize that it’s you in the videos right? Holy fucking hell, you’d rather die.

“Aren’t you gonna answer that?”

Oh. Well. That’s— that’s something. A good something because she hasn’t suspected you yet, moitioning instead to your cracked phone that has been buzzing under your notice because you’ve been thinking way too fucking much.

You check the caller ID, but it’s an unknown number, and it doesn’t match the business card you got from your run in with the alleged Choi Beomgyu. “Hello?” you answer, and a voice you don’t recognize says your name and asks if it’s you. “Yes, this is her. Who’s this?”

Another item added to the weird as fuck things that happened to your this week. You excuse yourself from your friends, and with knitted brows, you listen to the stranger at the other end of the line. “You met Choi Soobin the other day at a 7-Eleven in Gangnam, right?” The fuck? Did someone see you that day? Is this a stalker? “This is his manager. Lee Byeongho. I would like to speak with you regarding a certain matter.”

Now, hold the fucking phone.

“Is everything alright?”

You respond to Huening’s concern with a stiff smile before turning away from them. “Did I do something wrong?” you fuss into the call. “I didn’t post any of the photos from that day. I never talked about it online either, and I’m pretty sure my friends haven’t either. Wait. Wait a minute. How did you get my number?”

“Yes, it was difficult to obtain knowing only your first name and university.” That doesn’t answer your question. That just gave you more questions. “But, no. You aren’t in trouble. Actually...I called because you’re the only one who can help us— help Soobin— get out of trouble.”

Your face scrunches up.

“I’m at your campus right now. Parking lot. Do you mind meeting me for a moment?”

Just what did you get yourself into?

“You haven’t finished your food. Where are you going?”

“Somewhere,” you reply, quickly snatching your half-eaten sandwich from the table as your friends follow your swift movements with matching looks of confusion. “I’ll be right back. It’s nothing, don’t worry.” However, you are quite worried. You’re pretty sure Lee Manager, or whatever, is committing some data privacy crimes against you, but the one thing you want at the moment is answers. Your brain is about to explode from all the fucking questions and confusion. There’s a sliver of hope that meeting up with this sketchy guy can answer a few of them. You’d take that chance to air out your head.

There’s a black van in the parking lot. It’s the first thing you noticed because one of its doors are open, and there’s a familiar looking guy waiting just in front of the exposed seats. 

He notices you approaching. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” he says. What’s with men you’re meeting for the first time treating you with familiarity? You’re going to rip your hair out and throw yourself into moving traffic.

“Sure, but can you get to the point?” you stiffly say. “I’m a little busy. I still have classes in a bit.”

“Of course, I’m sorry. This whole situation must’ve come off as a shock to you.” Great, now you’re feeling bad. Soobin’s manager (allegedly) looks like he’s been through a whole lot as well. “Anyway. You are a fan of Choi Soobin, correct?”

“Well,” you blink. “Yes.”

“How about the dramas Kang Jaehee has written and directed?” he follows up. “Are you a fan of those as well?”

Your brows furrow. “I guess?” Peach Tree. That Summer. Mogi. Those are the titles that come right at the top of your head. “What does that have to do anything with me?” Manager Lee spares you a look of pity. You feel like this meet-up is just set out to making you even more fucking confused.

“I sincerely apologize. I didn’t want to drag you into this either, but I’m afraid you’re the only option I have,” says Manager Lee despondently. “Since...since you are a fan of Soobin, and I assume that means you also care about his career, so—”

He pauses. Like he’s practicing the next set of words he’s about to say inside his head.

“—do you mind meeting up with him to convince him to take the lead role for Kang Jaehee’s upcoming drama?”

But nothing could’ve prepared you for that.

What.

What the fuck?

“Mr Manager. Sir,” you start, appalled beyond comprehension. “I’d appreciate it if you start making a bit more sense.” 

“Trust me, I can’t believe I’m doing this either.”

You’re speechless. Your mouth is hanging open with no words coming out because, again, what the fuck? Manager Lee looks just as defeated as you, as if he weren’t the one who had just presented that ridiculous proposal. You are, quite frankly, at a discernible loss. 

Manager Lee lets out a sigh and digs a hand into his pocket. “I’m afraid this is all the time I have today. But please contact me once you’ve made a decision.” Another business card acquired. This is just dandy. “I am really hoping for your cooperation, miss. I’m sure you’re aware of Soobin’s inactivity lately, and my intention of approaching you today is simply in order to help my star’s career. Please consider the favor positively, and we will compensate you as much as my authority can allow.”

With that, you’re left with another laminated piece of paper in your hands. Gosh. This is a headache. When you get back to your friends, they notice the distress you’re in, further justifying a visit to the new dessert store, and seeing how your soul has completely left your body, you’re dragged along with them with ease.

“Hey, pick one. My treat,” says Woohyun. You let out a grunt and point at a random pastry on display. Next thing you know, you’re seated in between Huening and Gaeul at the store you don’t even know the name of. 

Huening is force feeding you an eclair. “Eat.” Your scowl disappears when you allow the eclair entry into your mouth. “Seriously, what’s going on with you? Who did you meet earlier?” 

Seeing as you show absolutely no intentions of telling them, they refuse to question you about it further. Good on them, because there’s no way in hell you’re spilling your predicament. Not until you find out exactly what kind of situation you’re in, at the very least. The two business cards feel like they’re weighing your pockets down, a constant reminder of their existence along with the scrawl Yeonjun left behind.  

“I know exactly how to make you feel better.”

The declaration comes from Gaeul, who slides her phone over to you, and when you look down to see what exactly her miracle medicine is to make you feel less manic, you hack out a cough upon seeing Choi Yeonjun’s face on her phone screen. “The hell is wrong with you?” asks Taehyun from across, giving you some water to push down the eclair lodged in your throat. “I know you like him, but even that is an overreaction.”

Jesus, you’re close to losing it. When you’ve avoided choking to death, Gaeul puts an airpod into your ear, and you hear Yeonjun reading out some comments. “Choi Yeonjun, you look really happy lately, did something good happen? someone asked,” he says while having snacks of his own. “First of all, why are you calling me Choi Yeonjun? It’s like you’re putting a wall between us. I don’t like it.”

Gaeul makes a noise of some sort and had you not been subjected to this week’s insanities, you might have reacted the same way too. Instead, you simply listen to his live in caution, feigning disinterest as you watch him nibble on some pretzels and churros through the screen, continuing to answer the slew of questions in the comments.

“Anyway, you’re right! Something good did happen.” Yeonjun hums while picking out a pretzel from the paper bag, rustling noise and a lively tune filling the audio for a moment— a short moment, right before he continues speaking. “That’s because I finally met the love of my life.”

Taehyun has to give you his water again.

“Oh? Oho, what’s with the exclamation points?” he laughs. “Did I meet them the other day? Hmm...that’s a secret. You’re curious? You think it might be you? Well, let’s see. Should I describe her?”

“God, he’s so fucking messy,” says Gaeul from beside you. “This is why I like him. How many calls is he getting for his manager and company this time?”

“What’s going on? Why is she so startled?”

“Yeonjun’s talking about his apparent soulmate, I don’t know. Wanna listen?”

“Didn’t he get in trouble for doing the same thing last time too?”

Now, you’re not one to give a shit about his love life, and you like to stay out of that side of celebrity gossip as much as you can, but Choi Yeonjun himself is droning on about the love of his life right now. You can’t not hear about it even if you want to. However, as much as you want to let things come into one ear and out through the other, you can’t. Because— wait. Wait. His description is eerily familiar. His description is making you double take and second guess what you’re fucking hearing.

“Sounds a lot like you,” Taehyun remarks without much thought, right after Choi Yeonjun says that the girl he likes has a bit of an attitude, but he likes that about her.

Huening lets out a snort. “Yeah, that’s definitely you. Why don’t you go in a wedding dress the next time you attend a fansign? Who knows, you might have a shot.”

You snap them a dirty look. Fuck. This is making your head spin. For the second time, Choi Yeonjun’s tendency of putting himself into headlines and the trending searches for doing something insane is giving you nothing but stress.

“I did give her my number, but she hasn’t messaged me yet, so I’m quite hurt.”

Number. Hold on a fucking second.

“The comments are going crazy.”

You grab your bag from underneath you, dropping it down to your lap.

“Hey, if you’re watching this, pl—eeeeease contact me. Kim Noona thinks I have a phone addiction now because I’ve been dying waiting for your call.”

You quickly get up from your seat.

“Yo, where are you going this time?”

“I need a minute,” you announce, eyes scanning the store for a quiet place alone while hugging your bag to your chest. There’s nowhere. Looks like you have to get out. 

“Damn, we were just joking. As if you have a chance with a celebrity like him.”

Huening’s joke is ignored and you quickly leave outside the doors, making a sharp turn around the corner, slipping through the passersby downtown until you find an empty alley. Your heart is racing. Your heart is racing like crazy and you may be reaching right now. You may be acting crazy, but what Choi Beomgyu said during the interview with Yeong-Il the other day is echoing in your mind, and— in conjunction with everything else that had happened— you’re starting to think that maybe he wasn’t joking.

Your cracked phone screen greets you when you take it out of your pocket. On your other hand is the first business card you got this week.

“Who’s this?”

“Hello. Good day.” You tell them your name, the events that led up to you receiving this number, with the hope that maybe you’re finally on to something. “I’d like to talk about the compensation for my broken phone.”

Whatever that something is, you’re gonna get to the bottom of it.

*

It’s already beyond closing time at Kwiyeomdongmoim Cafe (a mouthful, you know), yet your pink apron is still neatly tied around your waist as you pace back and forth, to and fro, in circles inside the breakroom. The time is half-past nine in the evening. You should’ve clocked out thirty minutes ago, but you’re still waiting. 

The knock on the door signified the end of your wait. You turn to see your boss’s head popping in through the half-open crack. 

“Three guys are waiting for you,” informs Seokmin. “They all seem handsome. Are they your suitors?”

When you ditched your friends at the still unnamed dessert store the other day, you did it to make a few calls. Three, to be exact. Today is the culmination of those calls, which is why you’ve been erratically nervous the entire freaking day. Choi Soobin, Choi Beomyu, and Choi Yeonjun’s managers all answered respectively when you called all the sketchy numbers you got and made some negotiations (apparently, the mess on your album is Yeonjun’s number, but he got his phone confiscated after that livestream). 

“As if,” you say, walking up to the door leading back into the cafe. Suitors, more like stalkers. Fans stalking their idols is common, but the other way around is a pretty fresh idea. “Anyway, thanks, Kyeom. Thank you for letting me use the store for a while.” Because this is the only private place you can think of outside of your own home— and there’s no way in hell you’re letting them in there when you don’t even know how they managed to get hold of your personal information.

“We’re closed anyway.” Seokmin smiles and makes way for you to pass by. “Go ahead and do your thing. Do you want me to stay inside or keep watch?” 

“You can stay inside, it’s alright.” 

He nods. “Call me when you’re done. Scream if you need backup. I can handle all of them.”

You laugh and thank him once more, a pat on his arm before you decide to peek out the door first as a precautionary measure. From your spot, you can see three thoroughly covered men in windbreakers, caps, and masks sitting on three separate tables in the store. The blinds have already been rolled down, so you can’t see anything outside, but there doesn’t appear to be any cameras around, so you take it as a safe sign to finally leave your hiding spot.

The moment you do, the break room door creaks, and all three pairs of eyes immediately fall on you. 

They stand up. They call out your name in unison.

Holy shit.

And when they do, they all look at each other with a sudden flash of hostility in the air.

Um. Well. How are you supposed to do this? “H—hello,” you manage to squeak out, prompting their attention once more. Soobin takes off his cap and removes his mask, the other two following suit, and oh my god. Oh my god. You suck in a deep breath. Today, you are not a fan. You are an interrogator. This is not a fansign. This is an interrogation. 

“I— uh, I asked your managers if I can meet you all to—today for a specific reason.” Wow. Good job. Your hands are shaking and you can’t look up from the floor or else you’d start losing your mind. “But—but, before that— would...would you like some drinks…?”

Interrogation paused. You need to get your shit together first.

“Please enjoy.”

With the help of your boss (because your hands wouldn’t stop shaking and you dropped the first one you made), you managed to whip up four iced teas and settle all three of them into one table at the very back of the store. You send a stiff smile at Seokmin after he placed all the drinks on the table.

God, you owe him so much— especially when he’s being unreasonably glared at by the three men sitting with you right now. Choi Beomgyu to your left, Choi Soobin to your right, Choi Yeonjun directly across from you and holy fuck, you have yet to look at them properly yet for your own safety. They haven’t been talking to each other either, simply sitting and waiting for you to speak. You’re pretty sure they know each other though, at least by name, being in the same industry and all. 

To say that the tension in the air is suffocation would be an understatement. How...how do you start this? The fuck should you say first?

“You know, I was really happy when Kim Noona told me you called.”

Apparently you don’t have to start it. Choi Yeonjun does it for you.

“But why are these two crashing our date?”

And that’s when things also start to get messy.

“Date?” Choi Soobin interjects. He sounds offended. Why does he sound offended. “What are you talking about?”

Choi Yeonjun doesn’t get a chance to make his case. Because Choi Beomgyu from your left suddenly snatches one of your hands from the table, prompting you to look at one of them for the first time tonight, and your eyes fly wide open. “I’d...like to apologize for the other day. I was just overtaken by my emotions. I hope you weren’t too freaked out.”

You are quite freaked out because holy shit, this is too much maybe. Not maybe. Yes. This is too much. Too. Much.“Hey, why are you holding her hand?!” you hear Choi Soobin exclaim from your other side. Choi Beomgyu’s soft expression suddenly disappears into a glare and a sneer the moment he shifts his gaze.

“You’re holding her hand too!”

“Why can’t I?!”

“Hey, this isn’t fair! One of you switch with me—”

Dizzy. You’re feeling dizzy. Your head is spinning and you’re suffocating from the heat emanating from your very face. Whatever they’re arguing about isn’t even reaching your ears anymore. You’re getting lightheaded and your sweaty hands start slipping out from the two’s weirdly tender hold on your hands because your body is physically breaking down.

“Shut up! Oh my god, my head—”

Your vision actually starts spinning for a second so you quickly bring the bottom of your palms to your temples, elbows on the table to balance yourself, only to be wobbled and shaken because the three suddenly jolted off their seats in panic.

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine, just please—for the love of god— sit down and shut up.”

They sit down and shut up. You massage your temples in silence. You remove your hands from your face and, after sucking in a deep breath and releasing it thereafter, feel your heartbeat settling into a normal rate. As normal as it can get in this situation.

“Whew. Okay. I think I’m ready. Let’s get down to business.” Finally, you’re the one steering the conversation. You give each of them a once over as quickly as possible because now you know that prolonged eye contact will only hurt you. You settle with looking at the gaps between each of them. That’s fine. You’re fine. “Choi Soobin, Choi Yeonjun, Choi Beomgyu.”

It’s like three bulbs just lit up in succession. Your brain is starting to hurt.

“A—as I was saying, you three are some of South Korea’s biggest celebrities and although I am, in fact, a big fan of all three of you—” Why is Choi Soobin growing pink. Why the fuck is he blushing. “—that— that does not make me fail to recognize the amount of weird shit that’s been happening lately, and I think I need answers.”

They are still sitting down and shutting up. They listen to instructions well, at the very least.

“First, how the fuck did all three of you know my name without any prior introduction. Second—”

The words get clamped in your throat. It’s lodged in there very tightly because you make the mistake of looking one of them in the eye, only to notice that all three of them are looking at you with the same expression. An expression you can only describe as longing.

And your face starts burning.

“Se— second, why…why do you all keep looking at me like I’m an ex you want to get back together with…?”

Maybe you asked the wrong question.

Because for some reason they all look sad now. Really sad. Really fucking sad and it’s making your stomach clench and nerves all numb and funky because making three big celebrities all sad simultaneously is a bragging right at one end of the spectrum, and a national crime at the other.

It’s Choi Soobin who cracks the silence. “I…I had a feeling when I saw you again for the first time at the store.” Again? “Do you not remember me?”

Your face furrows. “No…? Did we ever meet before you became an actor?”

Hurt. The look of sadness has now spiraled into hurt and one might think you just stabbed and twisted a knife into his fucking gut.  “How—how about me?” Your attention turns to Choi Yeonjun who isn’t looking any better. It’s like his entire world view was just proven to be wrong and why does it feel like you’re the one to blame. 

What else can you do but shake your head in denial? Now he looks like he’d just been told he’s adopted!

“You’re…you’re joking,” he tries to laugh it off, but it only comes off as strained and shaky, then, in one fell swoop— desperate. “R—right…?”

“Great!”

Before you start feeling even shittier, Choi Beomgyu finally decides to join in. 

“And here I thought her forgetting about me was the worst case scenario.” His tone is bitter. There’s a snap in his words. “I didn’t think there’d be other bastards in the same situation as me. God fucking damn it.”

There’s a moment of silence. You watch as realization hits the other while you’re still left in the dark. Choi Yeonjun juts his seat closer. Choi Soobin tries to reach a hesitant arm to your direction, but you’re  tugged to the other side by Choi Beomgyu, who��s suddenly a little too, too close.

“Hey.”

Your hands are clamped together. 

“I meant it when I said I love you. I do. I have loved you four hundred years ago and I still love you now, and if whatever god or deity decides to make you meet you for the third time, I’ll still love you then.”

Beomgyu’s holding both of them in between his in a firm grip.

“Second life is about you. Blue Spring is about you. You’re the person I’ve been waiting for from the beginning of this life until the last.”

Now, if this situation wasn’t crazy, your heart would be skipping a beat right now.

But it is crazy. This is fucking insane. And you look around to see that there’s a weird look of sympathy and understanding in the other Choi’s eyes, clearly not recognizing the visceral insanity of this situation, which fills you with a swallowing lump of existential dread. You pry your hands out of Beomgyu’s grasp (you swear you can hear glass breaking), and slowly turn to Choi Yeonjun and say, with a very hesitant, very cautious, “Y...you too…?”

The look on his face says it all. And then you swivel over to Choi Soobin.

“And you?” 

“I’ve lo—”

“No!” you snap. “Don’t finish that sentence. Please. Oh my god.”

You see Seokmin popping his head out from the corner, mouthing an are you okay? and you shakily bring up a weak thumbs up. “Well, isn’t this interesting,” you hear Choi Yeonjun say, which feels like a slap in the face because what exactly is interesting about this. “Here I thought I was special.”

“Get off your high horse,” retorts Choi Soobin, a sneer in his voice. You double take. Choi Soobin is supposed to be sweet and gentle and kind. Who is this man? “Whatever kind of past you had with her doesn’t mean anything. I met her first. I met her at the end of King Danjong’s rule.”

“Ha!” Choi Yeonjun starts. “We got married under King Taejong. I’ve loved her before any of you did.”

Now, what the fuck?

Choi Soobin’s face pales and he chokes over his words. “M—married?”

There’s a smug grin on Choi Yeonjun’s face. He leans back against the chair with his arms crossed in victory. “You heard that correctly. Married. Pack up your bags. Unless you want me to tell you everything we did on our we—”

“Shut up, shut up, I don’t want to hear it!”

Marriage. King Danjong. King Taejong. Second life. The gears are churning inside your head. You don’t like the direction where the gears are pointing.

“What about you?”

Choi Yeonjun raises the question and the attention is now on Choi Beomgyu. He’s been quiet. The other two wait for him to say his piece— a feigned air of disdain and arrogance but there’s an unconcealable undertone of nervousness underneath it all. Your iced teas have been left untouched. Choi Beomgyu simply scoffs and presses his crossed arms against his chest.

“I have no reason to tell you any of that. This is between me and her.”

And at your mention, you receive the undivided attention of three pairs of eyes once more. Your heart rattles. God fucking damn it. Listen, you’re an avid consumer of the entertainment industry. You’ve watched a good amount of dramas and have read a good amount of manhwas to surmise a conclusion with the bits and pieces of stray information being tossed back and forth between the three. And it’s all ridiculous. But you have nothing else to work with unless they come spilling their guts themselves.

“So,” you clear your throat. “Are you three, like…a couple…hundred years old…?”

They all look offended. 

“No!”

Well, maybe you’re wrong about that part. But after a very long, convoluted discussion, the “facts” (if you can even call it that), are finally laid down on your feet.

They say you’ve all met before. Separately, in three separate lifetimes, with this one allegedly being your fourth unless there were lives in between that they can’t remember. One thing for certain is that the three of them remember the life they had while loving you— and they loved you very much apparently because those feelings and memories got carried over even after they got reborn into the present day.

The problem is, you don’t have the same symptoms. You don’t remember anything about your past lives. Hell, you can’t even remember anything in this life before you hit two years old. 

You slump in your seat. The table rattles. They get up from their chairs and come circling around you in concern.

“Are— are you okay, do you need to lie down? You could rest in my van for a while and—”

You swat Choi Yeonjun’s hand away before it could land on your shoulder. You’ve now got your hands on your face in stress, and peeking through you see Choi Soobin on your right, crouching down and looking up at you with furrowed brows and big, sad eyes. On your left is Choi Beomgyu, half-seated on the chair. You let out a very long, very anguished and muffled groan. This is too much. “If— if what you guys are saying is true,” you say. “What does it matter?”

There’s a tense pause in the air. 

“What do you mean…?”

You spring up from your seat and turn around, Choi Yeonjun in front of you. 

“I mean what does it all matter? King Sejeong, Joseon era, or whatever— I don’t care about all of that. We’re in the twenty-first century right now. I’m neither your lover nor your wife. I’m just a fan of your dramas and music and performances and that's it.”

You squeeze your eyes shut. You don’t really want to see their faces right now. You let a huff of air slip past your lips, turning back around to collect the untouched glasses of drinks on the table.

“Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet me and explain. I hope it’s all settled. Thanks for clearing everything up today. You can now all leave.”

It’s Choi Yeonjun who races after you when you make your firm and quick strides to the counter. He cuts off your path. “I—I don’t understand,” he chokes out. You make the mistake of meeting his gaze and see the threat of tears glazing his eyes. “What—what do you mean?”

Admittedly, that hurled a giant pang against your ribcage, knocking the air out of your chest, but you move forward. You brush past him, setting the glasses back on the counter, and— after a moment’s pause— you turn around, a heavy weight on your shoulders. It’s like gravity is trying to suck you deep into the mantle. “What I’m trying to say is we should all just get over what happened all those hundreds of years ago and live our lives in the present. I mean, I don’t know any of you. Don’t you think it’s unhealthy to keep clinging onto the past, especially when you guys are nothing but strangers to me in this life?”

Dead silence. You don’t dare look at any of them in the face. You try and retreat to the break room as quickly as you can, hands fumbling to untie your apron along the way, but you stumble over your steps, screeching to a halt the moment you hear someone say—

“Do you think it’s that easy?”

You could hear your heart in your eardrums. 

It takes all the strength in your body for you to look back, to see the pained expression on Choi Beomgyu’s face standing the farthest away from you out of the three. “Do you think I put my name out there so that it’d be easier for you to find me, wrote all those songs about you in the hopes that I could see you again if you’re someone I can just easily forget?”

Your throat tightens. It’s like you’re swallowing a boulder.

“If you wanted me to forget about you, you shouldn’t have died right in front of me then. You shouldn’t have told me you loved me right before you went cold in my arms if you wanted me to fucking forget.”

Oh.

Oh, god.

Choi Yeonjun and Choi Soobin don’t look any better. It hits you that you might have been more than a little bit unfair.

“I’m sorry.”

You don’t know your history. You don’t know what the fuck happened between you and them throughout those years that made them feel so strongly about you. But it must be harder for those who remember than for those who forgot.

It’s not like they chose to live in the present with half of their souls stuck in the past, either. You’ve been acting awfully unfair.

“I was being insensitive. I’m so sorry,” you exhale. Your knees feel like they’re about to buckle. Your head is spinning in circles. “But to be honest, this is all still very overwhelming, and I’m having a hard time comprehending and making sense of everything. It doesn’t feel real.” You try to take a step closer, but your legs give in. Choi Yeonjun quickly rushes to balance you back on your feet.

“Don’t push yourself,” he says, softly. You can’t look at him. God, these guys really know how to bring your guilt all the way home.

“Thanks, um, anyway—” You breathe in. Shit, you can’t believe you’re considering this. “Again, I really can’t and won’t be able to understand the magnitude of your— well, uh— feelings, since I really don’t remember anything. But how about…I spend some time with each of you individually, and maybe…maybe it can help in jogging back my memories?”

The atmosphere shifts. Ah. This feels like a fucking trap.

“You— you mean it?”

To be honest, you’d much rather just not deal with any of this, just stay at home and continue living your life with these three men as persons you only know behind the screen. But those looks in their eyes— hopeful and melancholic— make you feel your organs are being rearranged every five seconds, and you’d feel bad leaving them with the pain of this conversation especially after they poured out their hearts to you.

You can’t deny the joy and escape they’ve given you for the past couple of years you’ve spent as their fan. Maybe entertaining this unreality is the least you can do.

“I mean, well,” you start, clearing your throat. “Choi Beomgyu, you still need to pay for my phone. Choi Soobin, your manager wanted me to talk to you about something, and Choi Yeonjun—”

You look at the guy who still has one arm pressed against your back, two hands in a firm grip on your shoulders. He’s looking at you and batting his eyes expectantly. You let out a sigh and set yourself loose.

“I need to discuss something with you soon, too.” As in, please stop vaguely mentioning me in your live streams because I fear I might find an angry mob in front of my house. “I think I have all your contact information anyway.”

There aren’t any more reactions coming from them. This seems like the best possible solution for all of you. You sigh again. This has been an emotionally draining evening. You can’t wait to get some fucking rest.

“I’ll be in touch with you or your managers soon. For now, let’s call it a day.”

STAR STUDDED BAGGAGE. © hannie-dul-set, 2024.

[capsfriendly]

with the caps at home vs the panthers tonight, i wanted to come on here and say a couple things about the panthers’ visit to the white house.

i’ve seen some people on here and on twitter pointing out the hypocrisy of certain players who have vocally supported diversity initiatives in hockey turning around and doing a photo op with a man who is nakedly trying to strip marginalized people of their rights. the sense of betrayal those fans are feeling is completely justified. despite appearances, conservative politics are incredibly popular among nhl players. i’m not writing to defend any of these men (my views lean pretty far left), but to share my understanding of the ways north american hockey as an institution perpetuates conservatism.

1) barrier of entry

ice hockey requires a lot of equipment to play. to be able to put a child through the decade or more of club dues and equipment fees required to begin seeing returns on investment—in men’s hockey, this begins with stipend pay at the major junior level in north america—requires an amount of money that many families simply cannot pay (though there are a bevy of charities trying to combat this). sports like soccer and basketball, which require comparably little equipment, are far more popular among both players of color and players from low-income families, especially in countries where hockey isn’t a national pastime.

because of this economic disparity between those who can play hockey and those who can’t, locker rooms can turn into echo chambers of privilege.

2) lack of higher education

i’m not sure of the data for other countries, but in the united states, there is a high positive correlation between holding a college degree and voting for democratic candidates. north american players are drafted to the nhl from major junior and collegiate teams, and entrance to professional leagues cuts their education short.

nhl players drafted from collegiate teams often enter the league without completing a bachelor’s degree, getting a year or two of higher education. during those years, many pick classes that they already have a strong knowledge base in, aware they’ll need to keep their grades up to maintain their university’s gpa requirement for athletes. because of this, many miss out on subjects that would teach them about systems of inequality like statistics, sociology, and studies of groups of historically marginalized people.

major juniors players, who move away from home in their mid teens, are even worse off. they leave school, usually completing the bare minimum requirements of a high school diploma to focus on their development as players and travel for games. and up until a recent vote, athletes from the canadian major junior hockey leagues were ineligible from playing ncaa hockey.

3) body economics

like all athletes, hockey players’ bodies are their jobs. the natural decline of their bodies over time limits their playing careers to the years of their lives when they can physically compete with both opposing players (to win games) and their own teammates (for roster spots).

the mean nhl career is 7 years. many hockey players don’t learn another trade and have no guarantee of making a successful career transition after retirement from playing (though some go on to coaching and media positions).

this creates a pressure to make as much money as possible while they still can, knowing that every time the take to the ice to do their jobs, they risk the very things they use to earn money: their bodies.

the physical nature of hockey means that a career-ending injury could come at any point. holding onto their earnings, knowing they’ll likely make up the bulk of income over their entire life, is essential to ensuring the comfort and health of themselves and their families.

earning high paychecks for an inherently limited number of years, it becomes attractive to these players to support candidates who promise to cut taxes for the rich, something popular among conservative politicians. while players may bear no ill will to members of historically marginalized groups and may even support their rights and freedoms, their personal economic situations lead them to vote for politicians who perpetuate that marginalization.

there are plenty of straight-up bigots playing major league sports. the panthers shouldn’t be singled out for visiting 1600 pennsylvania avenue. not because supporting the current administration isn’t reprehensible, but because it isn’t unique among hockey players—or even among athletes.

[mariacallous]

Earlier this week, journalists at WIRED and The Washington Post reported that a “Russian-aligned propaganda network notorious for creating deepfake whistleblower videos” appears to be behind a coordinated effort to promote false sexual misconduct allegations against vice presidential candidate Tim Walz.

At WIRED, David Gilbert wrote that researchers have linked a group they’re calling “Storm-1516” to the campaign against Walz. “Storm-1516 has a long history of posting fake whistleblower videos, and often deepfake videos, to push Kremlin talking points to the West,” Gilbert explained. A few days earlier, NBC News also reported on Storm-1516, citing its work as demonstrative of Russian propaganda’s growing utilization of artificial intelligence and more sophisticated bot networks.

Two days after the WIRED report, Washington Post journalist and Russia expert Catherine Belton reported on another bad actor implicated in spreading the allegations against Walz: John Mark Dougan, a former Florida cop with a long and winding record that includes internal affairs investigations, early discharge from the Marines, and a penchant for posting confidential data about thousands of police officers, federal agents, and judges on his blog, which led to 21 state charges of extortion and wiretapping. To escape that indictment, Dougan fled to Moscow, where he soon put his conspiratorial blogging skills to work, effectively enlisting in the Russian intelligence community’s “Internet war” against America.

Records show and disinformation researchers argue that Dougan is responsible for content on dozens of fake news sites with deliberately misleading names like DC Weekly, Chicago Chronicle, and Atlanta Observer. Lately, he’s reportedly started using a GRU-facilitated server and AI generator to create phony videos like the deepfake video showing one of Walz’s former students accusing him of sexual abuse.

With a little more than a week until the U.S. presidential election, Meduza spoke to Renée DiResta — the author of Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality and an associate research professor at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy — about Russian propaganda, how it’s evolved over the years, and how American social networks are responding (and not responding) ahead of the November 2024 vote.

Timestamps for this episode:

(5:00) The Role of Social Networks in Identifying Fake Accounts

(9:35) Government and Platform Collaboration on Inauthentic Behavior

(16:46) A Case Study: Maxim Shugaley and Russian Influence in Libya

(21:45) Twitter’s Public Data Dilemma

(24:25) Bespoke Realities and Content Moderation

(25:57) The Tenet Media Case

(27:28) The Role of Influencers in Propaganda

(35:26) Marketing and Propaganda: A Historical Perspective

(38:27) The Democratization of Propaganda

(39:36) Name Your Poison: Tyranny or Chaos

[newswindow1]

The Loneliest Hundred Days

At the 100-day mark—a milestone presidents usually meet with parades of approval—Donald Trump stands almost alone. His approval rating has dropped to 42%, the lowest of any modern president at this point in office, eclipsing even post-crisis presidencies.

Where others found "honeymoon" periods, Trump finds hollowed fields.

Republican loyalty, once ironclad, is softening: only 67% of GOP voters "strongly approve" of his performance, down sharply from the euphoric highs of Inauguration Day. Fractures show most in healthcare, immigration, and economic policies—areas once promised to be the bedrock of his "winning."

Beyond party lines, the American public cites a cocktail of missteps: a failed healthcare repeal, volatile foreign policy decisions, and an unprecedented breach of presidential decorum via Twitter storms.

Political historians warn that early-term impressions often become permanent records. Without a pivot—or a crisis to reset the narrative—Trump risks becoming the first president in decades to lose the country before he ever truly had it.

"The loneliest kind of power," someone once wrote, "is the kind no one believes in."

politics #trump #americanpolitics #100days #politicalanalysis

🎥 For more context : I put together a longer clip on YouTube that dives deeper into the polling data, historical comparisons, and what this could mean for the next election cycles. 👉 Watch it here

Would love to hear your thoughts after you watch — let’s talk in the notes or replies. 🖋️✨

[transmutationisms]

hi caden i know this is advice but u seemed willing to help anons cheat academia stuff before <3 i am currently fucked in terms of getting into the ivory towers* womp womp. it's fine bc most of what i want from academia isn't really limited to academia, except for one thing which is institutional credentials/library access :(

i know that there's: cold emailing current authors, requesting specific files on online sites, requesting library borrows as an independent researcher (least likely to work :(), and spamming (smartly) the limited digital scan requests that some libraries offer. but other than those options, is there a way to get something close to actual institutional access? do i rlly just need to hunker down and make enough copyright-hating twitter mutuals that happen to also be an academic and beg for their login accounts

*yadda yadda it's bc i have a cruddy online masters and no bachelors <- unfixable i fear. i guess i could grind like. self publishing essays and making industry connections and funding small anthropological or historical research projects on my own and Then applying for a masters (which i think im gonna have to pay for lol) and even then it's probably a low chance of acceptance innit?

piracy? i mean i'm not discounting the value of institutional access but i have it & still get most of my stuff illegally lol. directory of open access journals also has some stuff tho they aren't flagship journals, and a jstor free account gives you two articles a week or something like that. mostly i use anna's archive and stc, most non-academic interlibrary loan won't have the subscription money for journals but you can check if your libraries are funded better. borrowing credentials doesn't always work because the schools typically have a policy against & will flag you based on location data lol. i get caught in that just using a vpn. it's worth trying tho

i would not under any circumstances advise anyone to try being an actually independent scholar it's impoverishing and an incredible amount of work for basically no pay reward or recognition. when academics use that ohrase it typically means someone who has a job paying their bills fulltime, often adjuncting or as university staff but could be something else, it's not that they're actually living off the proceeeds of their scholarship. research is basically not profitable in itself outside the infrastructure of an institution or lab paying you im so sorry. it's not absolutely impossible to get into an ma program with no ba but it is hard and will depend on how old you are and how much career experience you can reasonably put up on your cv. some departments might be willing to just have you audit some core undergrad classes but this is something you would have to meet with them and discuss on a case by case basis. my blanket advice will also always be don't pay for grad school in the 'academic' disciplines (lib arts, sciences, anythig that's not a professional degree with a guaranteed job path you have a clear way of entering) these aren't useful degrees for much else at the entry level and universities will bleed you dry on tuition alone

[trackmyhashtagsblog]

Historical Twitter data helps analyze trends over time and track audience behavior. It enables brands to monitor competitors and measure campaign effectiveness. Crisis communication strategies can be refined using past incident data. Researchers rely on it for social, political, or behavioral studies. Marketers use it to optimize content strategies based on past performance. It also reveals how hashtags performed and evolved during key events.

[olderthannetfic]

The fact that fic deletion wank is going down right now is kinda funny, because I'm here hemming and hawing over deleting my twitter account, because even if I back up all the tweets themselves, I think of the account *itself* as a historical record and I don't want it to go away. I very rarely delete anything I post online (unless it's to repost it ten seconds later with one fewer typo somewhere that doesn't allow editing posts), and Iv'e certainly never deleted an entire account before :|

Right now I'm waiting on the zip file of the entire account data, so by the time this comes out of the queue I'll probably have made a desision. I'll let you know in the comments

--

Oof, yeah. That's a tough one.

[invidiaesc]

🇧🇷 LET US SAVE RIO GRANDE DO SUL - BRASIL 🇧🇷

EVERY SINGLE DRAWING YOU BUY THE MONEY WILL GO 100% TO HELP RIO GRANDE DO SUL. GO GET YOUR DRAWING! Any character,OC,person, anything, bust up face FOR $5 SUCH BIG SALE. BEST DEAL! ⚠️

Paypal: gabi.estrazulas@yahoo.com.br

The Goal? At least 1k to send to my two friends who are in need. It will be used to buy medicine for pets and food for them. The drawing is made by A HUMAN ARTIST (me)

PLEASE HELP ME HELP MY FRIENDS AND MY LAND. 1 Dolar is 5,08 Reais. You're helping A LOT donating.

Who am I? I'm Invidia, I was born in Rio Grande do Sul, I only changed my home state (but I'm still living close there) because my father and grandparents died, they are still buried there. Two of my friends, my dear coralis who I know personally, are suffering due this tragedy.

Coralis is helping as a voluntary to the pets who were hurt due the dirty water or abandoned (or even lost by the owners, who are missing or dead). She needs help with money for pet food and medicine.

Tabata is a victim who lost everything, her entire house is destroyed due the water and she doesn't have anything than being with her family in another place, who are in a risk area of flood too. She is needing money to help with food and with the expenses.

An example of how much Tabata lost is that she lost all her computer, television, freezer and her home, everything is underwater now.

I got some help from an american friend and send entirely the money to Tabata, who is using to buy food. They accepted me to share the transaction (ofc I'm censoring our personal data for safety measure).

Tabata: https://instagram.com/lunari_alune/

Coralis: https://twitter.com/unfragility

What is happening with Brazil? Rio Grande do Sul currently has 497 municipalities, with 345 of these municipalities being affected by the recent rains and floods that are happening in the state.

More than 850,422 people were harmed, 83 dead, 111 missing, 276 injured, 121,957 displaced and 19,368 people in shelters. Today, at 9:15 am, the measurement of Lake Guaíba was 5.27M, with the warning level for flooding being 2.5M and the flood level being 3M

Currently the home state is on alert due to the possible collapse of dikes and walls that prevent all the water from rivers and lakes from going to the city, but during the week the population has been witnessing historic moments.

More information from:

I'll be sharing the screens of the transactions to them with the amount of money I get from it on my twitter:

I will be sharing everything!

If you read everything, THANK YOU!

Please share with everyone, you're literally saving lives.

I'm sorry any english mistake.

[shatcey]

hello irina! so the news about new suitors on ikesen makes me... kinda tempted to start play it... (and does it make ikesen have the most suitors on ikeseries now?)

actually I've been having an interest with ieyasu (because someone on twitter said that he's a bit similiar with licht😭) but I'm trying to hold up because ikepri & ikevil already took my time and mind (and money....), but now I'm considering it again... but ikesen's storyline is about japanese's history right? do you think it'll be hard to understand for someone that didn't know anything about the history? thank you!

Hi, Rayya.

Indeed, the news is awesome.

They are not only adding new guys, but also updating the app. And now it will be very similar to Ikevil and IkePri. And that's great.

Here is the full information about it shared by @.reccyls.

After watching the trailer, I had a question… and how am I supposed to choose one card??? They are so awesome!!! And pretty! It's just a nightmare…

And I would like to know what it will be like… There are three endings and sequels in the current Sengoku. And a lot of guy's route has already been released. Are they really going to make us wait years for baby Ranmaru again? That's cruel! And how to make a third ending? I don't know… But I'm very curious to see it.

And they plan to somehow transfer data from game to game… This is something new. And I'm really curious.

I'm so excited!!!

Calm down...

Considering that the game is already 10 years, it is not surprising that they have the most suitors. They add 2-3 new guys every few years. I think to create at least something new to work with, it can be quite boring to deal with the same characters that you already write so much about… And fresh blood (so to speak) can give a new boost to inspiration. And… spin the wheel of new stories… There's so much new!

I've never heard of such a comparison. But now, after what you've told me, I kind of see it. But I would say that he is combination of Yves and Licht. A very cute combination. I love Ieyasu… He's grumpy, stubborn, and sweet… and smart... Not to mention that he is very handsome and I LOVE his voice. I like the way he interacts with Nobu, and how he hates (read, worries about) Mitsunari, and how he loves spicy food… Damn, I really love this guy. But in Sengoku, all the guys are amazing. It's like a heaven… They're all great, and every story with them just proves it.

Actually, I need to read event with Ieyasu… Thanks for the reminder.

I don't know history. Even the history of my country, not to mention Japan. But Sengoku, like Genjiden, is not really a history. Yes, they have historical figures. Some historical facts. But… It's mostly fiction which have very little to do with reality. Do you remember Vampires? How different these boys are from historical figures. It's the same here. But there is a lot of war. On every route, at least something will happen on the battlefield. But mostly they focused on Mai's emotions or how brave/smart/strong/fearless/cunning the guys are.

I'm really looking forward to the release of this updated version of Sengoku. And if/when it comes out in English, I will definitely download it. I'm so happy… there will be cards. Like… not the ones I got by reading routes, but much more!!! I'm so happy!!!!

But JP… I have no idea how to reduce the number of JP games that I already have, so no… I won't add another one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

New SpaceTime out Friday

SpaceTime 20240823 Series 27 Episode 102

Fairwell to NASA’s NEOWISE spacecraft

NASA’s infrared NEOWISE space telescope has relayed its final data stream to Earth bringing the historic mission to an end.

What time is it on the Moon?

Scientists are developing a plan for precise timekeeping on the Moon. For decades, the Moon's subtle gravitational pull has posed a vexing challenge—atomic clocks on its surface would tick faster than those on Earth by about 56 microseconds per day.

Europe’s Space Rider successfully completes its drop tests

Over the last four months, the European Space Agency’s reusable Space Rider test article has been undertaking a series of drop tests in the skies above the Italian Island of Sardinia.

The Science Report

Droughts, heatwaves, fire and fertilisers causing soils to store less carbon.

A link discovered between heavy cannabis use and increased risk of head and neck cancers.

Giving AI chatbots political bias

Skeptics guide to Werewolf Portals in England

SpaceTime covers the latest news in astronomy & space sciences.

The show is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Apple Podcasts (itunes), Stitcher, Google Podcast, Pocketcasts, SoundCloud, Bitez.com, YouTube, your favourite podcast download provider, and from www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com

SpaceTime is also broadcast through the National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio and on both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

SpaceTime daily news blog: http://spacetimewithstuartgary.tumblr.com/

SpaceTime facebook: www.facebook.com/spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime Instagram @spacetimewithstuartgary

SpaceTime twitter feed @stuartgary

SpaceTime YouTube: @SpaceTimewithStuartGary

SpaceTime -- A brief history

SpaceTime is Australia’s most popular and respected astronomy and space science news program – averaging over two million downloads every year. We’re also number five in the United States.  The show reports on the latest stories and discoveries making news in astronomy, space flight, and science.  SpaceTime features weekly interviews with leading Australian scientists about their research.  The show began life in 1995 as ‘StarStuff’ on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) NewsRadio network.  Award winning investigative reporter Stuart Gary created the program during more than fifteen years as NewsRadio’s evening anchor and Science Editor.  Gary’s always loved science. He studied astronomy at university and was invited to undertake a PHD in astrophysics, but instead focused on his career in journalism and radio broadcasting. Gary’s radio career stretches back some 34 years including 26 at the ABC. He worked as an announcer and music DJ in commercial radio, before becoming a journalist and eventually joining ABC News and Current Affairs. He was part of the team that set up ABC NewsRadio and became one of its first on air presenters. When asked to put his science background to use, Gary developed StarStuff which he wrote, produced and hosted, consistently achieving 9 per cent of the national Australian radio audience based on the ABC’s Nielsen ratings survey figures for the five major Australian metro markets: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth.  The StarStuff podcast was published on line by ABC Science -- achieving over 1.3 million downloads annually.  However, after some 20 years, the show finally wrapped up in December 2015 following ABC funding cuts, and a redirection of available finances to increase sports and horse racing coverage.  Rather than continue with the ABC, Gary resigned so that he could keep the show going independently.  StarStuff was rebranded as “SpaceTime”, with the first episode being broadcast in February 2016.  Over the years, SpaceTime has grown, more than doubling its former ABC audience numbers and expanding to include new segments such as the Science Report -- which provides a wrap of general science news, weekly skeptical science features, special reports looking at the latest computer and technology news, and Skywatch – which provides a monthly guide to the night skies. The show is published three times weekly (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday) and available from the United States National Science Foundation on Science Zone Radio, and through both i-heart Radio and Tune-In Radio.

[fuck-your-chickenstrips-hoe]

Guys.... not to be Ms. negative Nancy, but we are so very screwed. like so-so very screwed rn. because what do you MEAN my silly little dance app is a NATIONAL SECURITY RISk? Granted it's been able to link historically marginalized and systemically oppressed groups, and allowed a relatively safe and self-paced platform for learning and deconstructing personal and cultural biases. Or gave the ability to information about HEALTH CARE and bodily needs. Oh and let's not forget its one of the few places where information was not bought out, canned, or twisted for a third parties benefit. But NO, mY DaTa....SHUT UP!! oh my lord. I feel like we forgot that MILLIONS of United Citizens SOCIAL SECURITIES were leaked? or that META and GOOGLE, and TWITTER are either selling, manipulating, stockpiling our respective data for individuals from GODS NOWS WHERE, FOR GOD KNOWS WHAT. But like i said, my silly little clock app is an issue. So now its gone, and despite my lose of yummy edits, political commentary, hot men, and recipes, the people have lose the right to FREE PRESS and the FREEDOM OF SPEECH. Because what do you mean as long as YoU the UnItEd ( which is laughable) sTaTeS gOvErnMeNt does not enjoy the momentam a foreign platform source is it can under false bases REMOVE ACCESS to it just for fucks? That's actually so very sad, its embarrassing. Im actually so embarrassed being associated with the government. Im even more disappointed in the people that are so HELLBENT on the lose of other's privileges to understand that they have DOOMED not only themselves, but literally everyone else. I hope someone with hot stink breath spits in your mouth, and everytime you swallow with morning breath you get war flashbacks because fuck you. eat a dick and die.