#back to our regularly scheduled memes

[corrodeheavenn]

[neteyamsyawntu]

I feel like the crotch goblins have been getting exceptionally ballsy as of late, so incase it wasn’t clear before:

My blog is not a space for minors in the slightest- idc if you are a sneeze away from being 18, do not follow me or interact with my posts unless you are 18 years old or older.

Please and thank you🫶🏻

[aru-art]

hunter toh in D8? orr the collector in A2?

both is good

[shitpostingkats]

[volucerrubidus]

"Where's your youthful cynicism?"

Nancy Drew Starters II Accepting

"It died when my friends were revived. If even the universe gives us second chances, can't we give them out, too?"

[mxldito]

Your Muse's greeting methods; insp.

Hostile: They say nothing. They just stare at you with knowing in their eyes, if you try to talk to them, they just smile, if not outright laugh, and continue to stare at you. If you pester them enough to get a response: "If you're looking for help, you're not getting it from me."

Neutral: "Hey! What's good?" If you're trying to get their attention. They'd definitely refer to you with your first name and show overall casual body language. Even if they're lukewarm on or mildly suspicious of you, they're trying to leave you with the impression that they're a CHILL and COOL vampire.

Friendly: Usually playful teasing or raunchy jokes. If you tell them that you have something you want to tell them, they'll say some shit like "Yeah, man. Shoot your goo, my dude." They're also more inclined to make physical contact with you; lightly hip checking you, pats on the back, or maybe even a handshake-hug if that's something you're cool with.

Romanced: They will want to play with or play-bite your hands immediately or will skip everything and go in for a kiss. Maybe they'll just attach themselves to you by clasping their arms around your waist and refusing to let go until you actually have to get going. They'll say stuff along the lines of "There you are!" or "Get that cute ass over here!"

Tagged by: @gnarledbite (This one is super cute and fun! Thank yooou!) Tagging: @yunalai @r3dblccd @zealctry @helllords @fangmother @playedbetter and whoever else feels like it!!

[laurieshibiscus]

[rpmemes-galore]

do y’all ever wanna just... 

                   *SCREAMS*

[dismightyman]

I hear often I have my fathers chin

His smile, his eyes

That I have my mothers hair

Her nose, her height

His attitude

Her anger

Dads sadness

Moms pride

All of it a reprint of my creators

Something old, Nothing new

The mirror showing a reflection of copied parts

Everything borrowed, all of it blue

When does it all get to be mine

MINE

I’ve grown this god forsaken body

All that blood, the sweat, the tears

That was MINE

How long do I have to pay this debt

Before the house I live in is my own

Mine

[goldshadows]

tag recovery (hopefully)

[ad-astra-per-aspera-1389]

you know, we're taught about the horrors of war in school, but sometimes those lessons aren't when it sinks in. sometimes it's watching your friend sitting on the floor of your dorm remember he legally has to sign up for the draft. and he gives up and calls his mom instead, but then it hits you that if the government snaps and pushes the metaphorical big red button, it's your friend that's getting sent out there. your friend that doesn't like to be alone in social situations. your friend with the space themed bedspread and mickey mouse jacket and stuffed tiger and fluffy fold-up chair. and it hits you that these people that get sent out there if the government changes their mind one day aren't names without faces or vice versa. they're the kids you went to elementary school with. they're not just the boys that made fun of you; they're the kids that sat with you when no one else would; the kid that made you laugh because he wanted to. my english teacher senior year told us about this, when the military branches set up tables in the cafeteria the same month we read The Things They Carried. but in high school we were only focused on what came next. the military was just one of those options, and we were barely eighteen, and no one really talked about the draft. but now that we're adults, I'm sticking a poster to my dorm wall while my best friend drops his name into the world's deadliest raffle.

[marialagidyne]

drawn 04272020

another oc meme LMAO

[vintagenahbi]

Finding Out You’re Pregnant

Ot7 x Reader- BTS Reactions Pt. 2

V, Jin, RM, Jungkook

Summary: How each member reacts to finding out you are pregnant.

Warnings: mentions of miscarriage, feeling overwhelmed

Authors Note: I honestly did not think I would get anyone liking the first part. I feel bad if I don’t post part 2. Thanks, you all! :)

V

Taehyung had been sad for some time and hasn’t been the same. I felt so distant from him. Every night I turned over to see him staring off in the distance. He would give me a small smirk and turn over.

I miss the nights we would stay up all night talking or showing each other funny memes that only we understood, but in a moment it suddenly stopped. I tried asking him what was bothering him; however, after a while it felt like I was adding on to the stress.

Bringing me to tonight. Earlier in the day I had my regularly scheduled doctor’s appointment and I found out that I’m pregnant. I have to admit I was excited. I couldn’t wait to be a mother- it was the timing that was not good. Tae and I had been trying for a while with no luck. Now I am pregnant. Some of it felt so surreal, but dreadful at the same time.

Click. Tae trying to open the door brought me back to reality. I had a task at hand that had to be accomplished today. I couldn’t procrastinate on this. It was important to me. It was important, right?

Taehyung walked straight past me and into our bedroom. I watched his every move from the couch. I knew if I did not speak now I would not see him for the rest of the night or at least for a couple more hours.

“Tae? Can you come here?” Without saying a word he walked into the kitchen and started to shuffle through the fridge. “I’ve got some news. I think you might want to hear it.” He continued to look through the fridge until he found the last bottle of his favorite drink.

“Okay? What is it you have to tell me Y/N?” For a second I felt small. As if what I was about to say was going to lead to a downhill battle. One I might not be ready for.

“Never mind.” I took a deep sigh. Tae began to walk back into our bedroom.

“I’m pregnant.” Tae stopped in his tracks. I turned to look at him. I could see his eyes widen. My breath kept picking up as he just stood there. I was nervous. I should have waited. I should have not said anything. I should have-

“Are you serious? Are we having a baby?” I saw tears start to form in his eyes. He rushed over to me. I saw the tears stream down his cheeks. He held me in his arms tightly. “Thank you.” He kissed my forehead and pulled away from me flashing that boxy smile. I wiped his tears away and started to smile.

“You’re not mad?” Tae looked at me puzzled.

“Why would I be mad?” I continue to whip his tears away.

“You’ve been so distant and I was scared that you wouldn’t be happy. We’ve tried so long, but we hadn’t been speaking much and I didn’t know what to do.”

“I’m sorry it’s been that way for you. I was under so much stress that I brought it home. I swear to you I am excited and ready for this. All I’ve wanted is to be a dad and a good husband. I can promise you, you will never feel that way again.” He hugged me once more. “I can’t wait to meet our baby.”

Jin

The cameras kept flashing. Bright yellow lights nearly blinding me. Jin changed poses with every click. I stood off to the side, watching him get into his serious mode. I enjoyed watching him get this way. Once he was done, he went back to the funniest guy I know. He walked over to me with the most loving eyes. I could almost see my reflection in his deep brown eyes.

“How do you think it went?” He looked back at all the props. This was the first time I had seen him a little worried after a shoot.

“I think you did-“ I felt the bile start to move up my throat. I covered my mouth and ran over to the trash can near the exit. I lunged my body to the ground and started to throw up. By far, this had to be the most embarrassing thing that has happened to me. Jin rushed over to me and helped me up. I wiped my mouth as the sweat beads started to form across my hairline.

“Are you okay?” I could barely stand up before I jolted back down to the ground. I could feel everyone staring at me. I didn’t care at this point because throwing up was the only thing that made me feel better. “Let’s get you home.” Jin helped me back on my feet.

Once we got home I was starting to feel better. I sat down on the couch thinking about what I could have possibly eaten to cause this. Then it hit me. I grabbed my phone off the coffee table and opened my period tracker app. 27 days late. How could I have possibly missed this. I got up and grabbed my last spare pregnancy test. Jin followed my every move almost as if he knew the routine.

“Y/N do you really think it’s possible?”

“Maybe.”

Jin and I waited in the bathroom as the timer began to countdown. The phone went off and we both looked at each other. I motioned for him to flip it over. A smirk slowly crept across his face.

“It’s positive? I’m pregnant?” Jin shook his head yes. I got up and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a kiss. We were so excited, not to mention we both wanted to be parents.

“I am going to be a dad.” Jin got so excited. “We are going to eat so much food. Any craving you have I’ll get it. I can’t wait for you to get a belly. This is amazing.”

I was about to speak when the sickness started to start up again. Jin noticed.

“Need some privacy?” He asked. I shook my head yes and closed the door behind him. “I’m gonna be a dad.” I heard him yell. Although I was sick I couldn’t help but to try to smile.

RM

I had not been back in this room for months. The yellow and light grey wallpaper, the wooden crib, and stuffed animals all in front of me. I looked at Namjoon and took a deep breath. I stepped in the room. I tried to keep my breathing under control. I kept watching Namjoon as he began to pack up the knickknacks here and there. We were so excited to have this baby until we lost it. Everything- waiting for their arrival and in a second it was gone.

After this we had stopped trying. The miscarriage hit us hard and we gave up hope honestly. Nothing was the same. It had been about a year and we were finally getting ready to face the pain.

Namjoon held up a teddy bear and smirked. I got overwhelmed with the thought of him being a dad. Him holding our baby and sharing memories we would tell them once they got older. I quietly walked out of the room. I had something to tell Namjoon, but all of this was becoming too much. I found out three months ago that I was pregnant and had been hiding it until now. I reached the three month mark and felt like it was safe, but I was scared. I knew this was our rainbow baby, however, I was still haunted with what happened last time.

I sat on our bed, waiting for Namjoon to come find me. I had to tell him regardless of how hard it was. Namjoon leaned against the doorway.

“Y/N?” I looked up at him. “I know this is a lot, but it will be good for us. We will try again. Have a fresh start.”

“It’s not that Joon. I’m pregnant and I am scared it will happen again. I can’t lose our baby again.” I didn’t even realize I had said the news to him.

“You’re pregnant?”

“Three months. I am so scared Joon.” I broke down uncontrollably. He sat next to me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I buried my head in his chest and let it out. He tried his best to calm me down. He sat there with me and that was enough. Once I was able to collect myself I told him everything.

“So, you are three months pregnant, but you hide it. Then why are we cleaning out the babies room. I don’t understand. We are going to use it, we can use it.”

“It’s a reminder of what could have been.”

“Y/N, it’s what is now. Yes, we could have been parents earlier, but we are going to be parents now. We have everything here so our baby will know they are loved even before we see them. It was a rough year for both of us, but we have something beautiful, we created to look forward to. I know you are scared and I am too honestly. You, me, and this baby are going to okay.”

I looked at him and knew he was right. We were going to be parents and that was the greatest gift for us.

Jung Kook

Jung Kook and I had open, honest communication in our relationship, but this time I was quiet as a mouse. I never kept secrets from him and I was starting to look suspicious. I had to be; in this case, I was pregnant with our first child and didn’t want to add to the stress while he was on his solo tour.

I knew I was being weird towards him and he was starting to notice too. The phone calls getting shorter and me never having much to say. However, all of that was about to change because he was coming home today. All of his suspicions would be laid to rest the moment he walked through those doors.

I heard the door unlock and darted towards it. I must have startled him because he jumped back surprised to see me on the other side. He squeezed past me and put his bags down.

“You gonna tell me why you were acting weird or…?” He looked back at me.

“You’re gonna be dad.” I flashed my best awkward smile and waited for his reaction.

“I knew it! I had a feeling you were. After that last time we you know, I knew there was no way you couldn’t be. Why didn’t you say anything?” He started smiling with his hands perched on his hips.

“You were on tour. I didn’t want to add to that kind of stress.”

“You come first, especially in a case like this. I’m gonna be a dad! We’ve got so much to plan.” He said excitedly.

“You aren’t upset?”

“No. I do wish you told me sooner, but I am happy. Next is you becoming my wife.” He kissed my cheek and headed towards the living room.

“Wife?” Jung Kook turned back around and smiled. I started to blush.

“Yes, my wife. I couldn’t imagine anyone else to spend my days with other than you.” I walked over to him and hugged him tightly. I started to squeal.

“I’m going to be a mom and a wife.” I couldn’t wait for our little family to begin. I could picture how great it was going to be. A new beginning for us.

[ I know it’s short :( , but I wanted to make sure I had both parts out]

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

04/01/2024 Daily Ricky Recap

TLDR; Cast&Crew; ErrollShand; KristianNairn; Rhys Darby; Fan Spotlight; Crew Cards; Stede Bonnet as Faberge Eggs; Ricky Roll'd; Ricky's Reels;

== Cast & Crew Sightings ==

= Erroll Shand =

Today's main man is out here loving all the Ricky memes yall have been busy with!

= Rhys Darby =

I've run out of videos I can add so I'm going to link to @mon-ster-chen here on tumblr for the Rhysie video for today! Thanks hon!

= Kristian Nairn =

Just a selfie of our lovely Kristian on Wonday. No news yet on when WJW will be back, but at least we get to see our favorite dj! Source: Kristian's IG

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Tonight's cast card is Stede and Pete's guard, from episode 2 of season 1, Jamie Nations-- as well as the man who Gut Stabbed Stede, Carlos Arellano! Thank you @melvisik, you really are finding everybody!!

== Stede Bonnet as Fabergé Eggs ==

One of our delightful crewmates over on twitter @ofmdframes put together quite an assortment of Stede Bonnet comparisons to a variety of Fabergé Eggs for Easter yesterday! Please check out their twitter thread if you have access!

== In Soup Now ==

InSoupNow: In Aid of Team HAVEN for WeeJohnWonday has now closed! Thank you to @ForceMonument on Twitter for organizing this, and thank you so much to every person who donated or shared! You helped raise £3,298.75 for people in need!

= Ricky Rolled =

First up is our darling @blueberreads and their contribution to today's fun! Tumblr / IG

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by blueberreads (@blueberreads_)

Next is our friend @ofmdframes again on twitter really giving us a heart attack. Src: Twitter, they have so many more please check them out if you have twitter.

More from @ofmdframes

And the lovely @emcolbs made a an amazing animation of their Ricky art as well. Please visit Em's post here

I know there's more! Been working my way through, but I'm running out of image space! Happy April Fool's day all!

== Love Notes ==

Y'all are wild, you know that? I saw the Ricky stuff this morning and everyone kinda just rolled with it and doubled down everywhere. It was a lovely beam of sunlight today.

Add to that, the boops? My goodness Tumblr knows how to induce dopamine a little bit at a time. It was so fun booping people today! I hope folks got a chance to-- sounds like there was some goofy glitches throughout the day.

I hope you all had a wonderful day. The love notes are shorter tonight because finishing off 2 recaps in one night was fun but I'm a bit sleepy. I hope you all had such an amazing time today, and if not, I hope tomorrow goes better. So much love your way m'dears <3 A little love note from @thelatestkate tonight. If I've already posted this I apologize, but it's always applicable!

== Ricky's Reels ==

Tonight's regularly scheduled gifs have been replaced by a one night only special! Gif courtesy of @samuelroukin

[nighted-doors-au]

[I am unfortunately still on hiatus. I'm afraid this damn audit is going to take the rest of the year or something...

But just to prove I'm not dead, here are some stupid memes I threw together this morning for your entertainment. Plus one that only peeps in the discord server will probably understand.

Sorry about the lack of updates, I genuinely have had basically no time to do any art. I've decided to keep ND on hiatus until this audit is over; worrying about trying to update it was starting to stress me out and make me miserable. Once my work stuff is done and out of the way, we can get back to our regularly scheduled suffering.

In the meantime! Please enjoy these memes!

I appreciate you all very much and thank you for sticking around! I am honored by every comment and reblog! This blog wouldn't be anything without you guys!

Hopefully see you soon!

-Sage]

[triflesandparsnips]

(eta 10/10/23: Having just realized that this is now a very easy to google explainer, please also see the full end-of-game roundup here: "when something is definitely not a game, but most definitely a gift" or my related #definitely not a game tag. We now return you to your regularly scheduled nonsense, currently in progress.)

So... so.

So this just dropped.

And listen. LISTEN. For people who haven't been following this Our Flag Means Death-related alternate-reality-shenanigan fest, the following will make no sense to you-- or, wait, fuck it--

A Brief History of the Javid Denkins Alternate-Reality Game

(I didn't intend "overly long essays about in-depth fandom-related shenanigans" to be my brand, but by god I'm here now and I will make us all suffer through it.)

Reality (As We Know It)

Established and verified gay pirate showrunner David Jenkins is a regular shenanigineer on twitter: retweets fanart, retweets cosplays, calls fans sluts (endearment), has ongoing fight with medieval cats.

Back in 2022, David Jenkins implied heavily that he had joined tumblr, but did not cough up his account name.

This is the sum total of real and actual events and identities.

Through the Looking Glass

Fans started looking for David Jenkins's tumblr. What fans found is the tumblr of one Javid Denkins, who appeared to be new, had a variant of Jenkins's twitter icon, and seemed to be cheekily maintaining an incognito by steadfastly asserting that he is definitely not David Jenkins.

Fans got weird about it, because that is the nature of fandom. I said something about it here, because I have Feelings about the Rules of Incognito and also about Not Being Weird About People Who Make the Content We Like. I put it as a reblog to the post, as per regular tumblring, no response requested/required because babes, if I'm going to be perceived, I want it to be organic. (ahem... FOOTNOTE 1)

I kept a cursory eye on things, because it can be Really Lonely to be a famous person who just wants to have a regular online experience, and if that's what whoever was on the other end wanted, then that's what they should get to have imo. Unlike a regular tumblr that I might reply to directly or engage with on a same-level kinda way, I let them set the rules of engagement because unless/until they came clean, they would always be Schrodinger's Showrunner to me, and therefore subject to my internal Don't Be Creepy ruleset.

My second Javid reblog was pretty much what I would do to any other newbie tumblr person (as they professed to be): adding on to a gag by referencing the "color of the sky" meme and also a seagull, for OFMD-related reasons (which fit within the ruleset, because Javid was actively connecting himself with OFMD type things). And Javid reblogged it, so hey, I was winning at tumblr interactions, a thing that is normal to want and possible to achieve.

Time passed. Javid dropped (what will be revealed to be the first of many) photo manipulations. (FOOTNOTE 2)

On the same day, Javid posted what looked like an accidental smashkey. I reblogged with a seagull, because again, established rules of engagement and me winning at tumblr interactions. He reblogged himself, though, with what looked like another smashkey, but was actually a goddamn Caesar cipher-- and started using the tag #definitely not a game.

From there, Javid started up a stream of fairly fun puzzles. I didn't keep up with it fully, but since it looked like Javid wanted people to interact, I interacted (while trying to ensure that other people could keep having fun too). He also started subtly changing his icon, his tumblr header, etc., expanding the bounds of the puzzle space, as it were. (And if you want a complete rundown of the puzzle history and the associated answers, this twitter thread is enormous and thorough, thank you @eefaevie.)

The seagull made an appearance every once in a while; I threw together various season 2 bingo cards in response to these potential spoilers; I spent my time largely keeping back so I could eat popcorn and Not Be Creepy. But... but.

The thing was, Javid's method of posting (in a "heeeere fishy fishy fishy" manner) seemed, to me, to be the actions of someone trying to play with the audience and/or provide enrichment for the enclosure. So after some thought and, again, remembering the loneliness of being a Creative Person but trying to be mindful that this person was still incognito and could be the actual dude, I started using the seagull to reblog extra content, links, whathaveyou, with the tag #enrichment can go in BOTH enclosures-- with the idea that, if Javid wanted to look, he had the option to do so-- and if he did, he'd be rewarded with, again, no demands on him or his attention, but just: some content. Some enrichment. Some fun. A "picking up what you're putting down" kind of vibe from one person to another, both of whom are, at the very least, interested in communicating with an audience.

To be clear: For me, at the end of the day, it had to be a choice. I needed to provide room for Javid to choose to enter the magic circle of my additional game play-- but I also wasn't going to hold my breath about it. This was Javid's space, with intentions and purposes I had no way of knowing (nor should I)-- I was just, metaphorically, bringing another set of dice and maybe some graph paper with an extra room drawn on it that he could easily enter if he wanted, to play in a space intended to complement his. He was putting in a shitton of labor for what was essentially just a gift; I wanted to show appreciation for that labor, while putting in some of my own to gift back.

So when the first round of puzzles ended, and a new one began, I linked the answers to one of his anagram puzzles inside some seagull gifs-- but I figured, why not add something extra? I used his pigpen cipher to dare him to use a book code next. To even see the dare he'd have to want to decode the gifs-- and if he ultimately didn't want to engage, no skin off my nose. (That's why there's a border around the magic circle with clear entrances and exits.) Either way, I was having a nice time.

The next puzzle type was a stereogram. (Neat.) The puzzle after that, though? I get tagged and informed that Javid has, in fact, posted a motherfucking book code. (FOOTNOTE 3)

Enter the Thunder Parasocial Dome

This is the point where I first have to be pulled down from the curtains by rational people who have only my best interests at heart.

(Having a whole Thesis Statement about why I was engaging with Schrodinger's Showrunner is one thing. Having possible evidence that my engagement was, like, actually engaged with is quite another.)

By sweet and loving friends and family I was reminded that:

Other people are, in fact, allowed to be clever about things too.

That all sorts of pre-planning may have gone into all this, and that therefore the timing was a coincidence.

That there are a limited number of easily accessible ciphers out there, so the code type could also be a coincidence.

And that either way I still have my important Don't Be Creepy code of ethics.

So. I took a deep breath. Cool. I was totally and absolutely cool about this.

...And in a totally normal manner I proceeded to lay an elaborate trap.

AHAHAHA JUST JOKING what I mean is: I replied to the tagged post, acknowledging that the sphere of potential puzzling had now expanded beyond tumblr. I used Javid's own fake-link trick to link to a seagull laugh. And in the tags I threw in a lot of potential internet-related alternate reality stuff.

But also, crucially... some more ideas for Javid to use. (FOOTNOTE 4) If he wanted them. If he was actually looking.

Since I was now playing In Earnest, I spent some time putting together a youtube channel, an alternate tumblr, a neocities account -- a whole new field of play, if Javid wanted to engage there. I pulled out the dusty memories of a Yuletide fic I wrote several years ago that used similar shenanigans to tell an interactive fiction story about Monty Python. (Hilariously enough, my first RPF.) I continued to play with all these new and fascinating toys.

A Strange Ship on the Horizon

What with one thing and another three years pass, a Javid puzzle eventually lead to an AO3 account-- which to me definitively opened Schrodinger's box: maybe this was a member of the production playing with fire, more likely it was a clever fan whose brain is fucking fascinating, but it most definitely was not David Jenkins.

But. Javid was still in incognito. And I still don't know if I had been perceived.

I read the fic the Javid account is writing (which is still a work in progress and pretty great ngl)-- it's a fandom AU, where Ed and Stede are fans of a gay pirate romcom called Blow the Man Down, featuring Sam Bellamy and Olivier Levasseur. The showrunner is named Javid, who doesn't have social media but gets cornered into agreeing to join twitter (rather than our universe's tumblr). And Ed decides, on a lark, to start a fake twitter account, tag it #definitelynotjaviddenkins... and then freak out because a large contingent of fandom shows up on his metaphorical doorstep saying HELLO, JAVID.

As if this weren't enough: beyond the fic itself, suddenly a whole multimedia alternate universe suddenly appeared, with multiple twitter and AO3 accounts beyond just Stede and Ed, forming an entire fucking fandom, Goncharov-style, around Blow the Man Down. It was and continues to be fucking wild. It's also amazing. And the porn is surprisingly approachable. (BUT SEE AGAIN FOOTNOTE 1)

Grappling Hooks Breaching the Parasocial Divide

The thing is, though. The thing. That is.

I have officially reached Level 2 Curtain Clawing.

As I read the fic and the accompanying universe, I started to. Notice things.

References to soap (but... but surely that's normal. Many people talk about soap, not just amateur history enthusiasts like myself).

References to obscure scents (LABDANUM. Someone referenced labda-motherfucking-num. But surely. Surely it is not an entirely unheard of thing; I am not the first person to discover it or the fact that it gets combed from goats jesus christ the goat thing I forgot about that--)

References to the drilled coin from the wreck of Sam Bellamy's ship, which appeared as a random bit of possible future lore for Javid in this bit of enrichment (but I put in lots of possible lore! I had a whole thing going about figureheads! Bad luck to kill a seabird! I had a whole thing for a while where I thought maybe the digraph code Javid was hinting at was actually a Playfair cipher! I have been wrong many times before and added lots of random possible narratives. SO SURELY THE COIN IS A COINCIDENCE).

References to... okay not really references, and I've never articulated it quite like this (though this is definitely my vibe), but references to the idea of these puzzles and enrichment being a conversation in and of themselves, held at a remove and existing entirely in call (Javid) and response (the audience).

Finally... I started to notice that Stede decodes/interprets Ed-as-Javid's puzzles in a long twitter thread (like... like the one linked above) but also... sends back puzzles. Like, well, me.

"But STILL," I screech from the top of the curtain rail. "This could ALL BE COINCIDENCE," I yowl as friends and family try to bat me down with a broom. Even, by god, today's drop... which uses a password-protected url shortener. The exact same one I used in an earlier enrichment. But! It's not like there are a lot of those! Maybe this was just the first one that cropped up for Javid, just as it was the first that cropped up for me! (BUT THEN AGAIN, MAY I REFER YOU BACK TO FOOTNOTE 4)

The fic is at chapter 14. There are, if AO3 is to be believed, 7 more chapters to go, plus who knows how much additional extra-universe material. There is so. much. here.

...And so many more opportunities to climb all the curtains.

“It's a great huge game of chess that's being played—all over the world—if this is the world at all, you know.”

So at this point... what, in fact, is happening?

I'm inside a Schrodinger's box whose sides are entirely composed of parasocial uncertainty.

Maybe Javid is here. (HELLO, JAVID.)

Maybe he isn't! (HELLO, THE MIRROR IN MY ENCLOSURE.)

Maybe I'm not actually being referenced at all, but the writer of that twitter thead, @eefaevie, is (HI EEFAEVIE WHAT'S UP HOW'S THE PARASOCIAL AIR IN YOUR ENCLOSURE DOIN')

I don't know. I can't know. Unless someone opens the box.

and my god, what if they never do?

tl;dr. This is the most enriching fun I've had in months, and if the magic circle is going to widen to include me, then friend, I intend to BRING MY A-GAME.

---

FOOTNOTES

1. During the course of that mini-essay, I say the following:

"If it's someone who is not the dude but just a tumblrite who managed to catch on really quick? Well goddamn, good for them, and also A+ Wink-Nudge acrobatics. Real dude can have a peaceful time reading critical analyses of Goncharov, Javid here can quietly start introducing strange lore and running gags and other fun-with-plausible-deniability shenanigans".

One day later Javid starts answering questions about characters with enigmatic season 2 spoilery things; a little less than ten days later, we get the first fake link (which, imo, is the real start of the game).

2. This is now only 24 days after my "strange lore and fun with plausible deniability" post.

3. My dare: January 26. Javid's book code: February 4.

4. My tags on the post wherein I acknowledge that the dare has, possibly, been taken up, read: #you know what's cool? besides how #enrichment can go in BOTH enclosures #is how much you can do with html #like sure sure we've all seen the embedded links #but I remember the days of hidden source code messages #websites with delayed redirects #passwords hidden on one site to open the locked contents of another #you know #~normal things~ #I'm certain none of this will become relevant #because this is #definitely not a game