#between twitter and reddit and discord

[godbirdart]

damn, what a shit year for social media platforms

[steelthroat]

*me putting my Transformers figures on a shelf after tidying up* "Optimus and Megatron go together obviously"

My dad jokingly: "Heh, are they friends?"

Me: "In the Ancient-Greek sense of the word yes"

[swizzlemynizzle]

Underneath the Noise - George Clarke

———————————————

Masterlist

Chapter Ten: Off the Grid

———————————————

ATV cornered her in the kitchen with a packet of Jaffa Cakes and a suspiciously innocent grin.

“Okay,” he said, “hear me out before you say no.”

Y/N blinked over her cup of tea. “Already nervous.”

“Bach and I want you on the podcast.”

She nearly choked. “What?”

“Just as a guest! Nothing terrifying. We’ll talk about gaming, the football video, maybe the fountain thing if you let us—” He cut off at her expression. “Okay, no fountain thing.”

Y/N tried to play it cool, but her heart dropped straight to her stomach.

“It’s low pressure,” he added quickly. “Just us chatting. You’re one of us now—it makes sense.”

She forced a smile. “I’ll think about it.”

“Take your time,” ATV said, all casual as he opened the Jaffa Cakes like he hadn’t just detonated a minor panic attack in her brain. “But we’d love to have you.”

—

That night, the spiral came quietly.

She hadn’t meant to look. But one scroll led to another, and suddenly she was two Reddit threads deep and knee-deep in comment sections under the football video.

“She’s so desperate to be one of them it’s actually painful.”


“I’d watch George’s streams more if she wasn’t always there.”


“Only reason they keep her around is for views. And maybe the ‘George tension.’ Pathetic.”


“Chris needs to stop inviting every girl he meets.”

The words blurred together. It didn’t matter if some were upvoted and some weren’t. The tone was all the same.

You don’t belong.

She closed the laptop. Then turned off her phone. Then didn’t turn it back on.

—

No one saw her for three days.

Chris messaged. ATV checked in. George sent three increasingly worried voice notes, the last of which ended with, “Just… let us know you’re okay, yeah?”

She didn’t answer. Not because she didn’t care.

But because answering meant existing again, and she wasn’t sure she had it in her yet.

—-

Arthur Hill’s gig was already halfway through by the time Y/N showed up.

She slipped into the back of the venue unnoticed, hood up, hands stuffed deep into her jacket pockets. The air inside buzzed with bass and sweat and euphoria, lights flickering off the high ceiling like heat lightning. Bodies moved like a tide to Arthur’s voice—raw, steady, alive.

She hovered by the wall, letting the sound seep in through her skin.

It had been three days since she’d last replied to anyone. Since the spiral.

ATV’s podcast invite had been kind—excited, even. But somewhere between accepting it and actually prepping for it, she’d made the mistake of opening the comments under Chris’s football video. Then Reddit. Then Twitter. Then her own notifications.

And it all just hit—too much, too loud. One comment louder than the others:

“Why is she even there?”

That was the tipping point. She’d shut off her phone and gone radio silent. No streams. No Discord. No messages.

And yet here she was. Drawn in by Hilly’s name in bold print on the venue marquee. Pulled by something softer than guilt but heavier than loneliness.

When the set ended, she slipped backstage, nerves jangled from too much overthinking. The greenroom was dimly lit, half full, everyone buzzing from the show.

It was George who spotted her first.

He blinked, like he wasn’t sure she was real. Then, without a word, he crossed the room and wrapped her in a hug.

“You’re here,” he said, low and steady into her hair.

She couldn’t speak—just nodded, clinging to the warmth of his hoodie and the quiet understanding in his arms.

“Thought I was gonna have to call a search party,” he murmured, not letting go.

“Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t be. Just…” He finally pulled back, eyes searching hers. “Next time, let someone know you’re breathing, yeah?”

She managed a wobbly smile. “I’m breathing.”

He nodded, relief flickering across his face.

—

Later, they all spilled into a club down the street—Arthur’s post-show ritual.

The place was packed, the music decent, the lighting soft enough to hide in. Bach ordered tequila for everyone. ATV dragged her into a group photo. Chris yelled something about a dance battle. And for the first time in days, she didn’t feel like she was watching herself from far away.

George stayed close. Always nearby, always within reach.

They danced—not pressed together, but orbiting the same space. Her hand brushed his. His fingers grazed her lower back when someone jostled too close. Once, in a flash of bass and laughter, their eyes met, and the world seemed to hold its breath.

That was when the stranger appeared.

He was older. Sharp suit. Confident in a way that felt manufactured.

“Didn’t know angels came to clubs,” he said, voice syrupy, fingers ghosting over the small of her back.

Before she could recoil, George was there. Tense. Focused.

“Mate,” he said, voice flat. “Back off.”

The man turned, eyeing him with a smirk. “Relax. Just being friendly.”

Bach stepped in, arms folded. “Try being friendly over there.”

ATV leaned against the wall, smiling too brightly. “I’ve been politely waiting to get kicked out. Give me a reason.”

The guy held his hands up and backed off, muttering something about “fragile egos” before disappearing into the crowd.

Y/N let out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding.

“Thanks,” she said, voice barely audible.

George didn’t answer—just looked at her, gaze intense.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s get some air.”

—

Outside, the night was cooler than expected. The street was quieter, save for the occasional passing car. She leaned against the wall beside him, head tipped back toward the sky.

“I shouldn’t have disappeared,” she said softly.

George shook his head. “You don’t owe anyone anything. But I wish you’d let someone in.”

“I thought space would help. But it just… spiraled. The comments. The silence. It all got so loud.”

His shoulder brushed hers, grounding. “I get it. I really do.”

She turned to look at him. “Do you?”

He nodded, something unspoken in the tilt of his head. “Yeah. And if you ever feel like that again—like it’s too much—I don’t care if it’s 3AM. Call me. You don’t even have to say anything. I’ll just come sit with you in the dark.”

Her heart caught on the words. On the way his voice dipped, honest and careful. Like he was afraid she might break again.

She reached for his hand. “You already do more than you know.”

The tension between them shifted—deeper, quieter.

She stepped closer. He didn’t move.

Under the streetlight, his face was cast in soft gold. His eyes flicked to her mouth, then back up.

“George…”

His free hand came up, hesitant at first, then firmer—fingertips brushing her jaw. When he leaned in, there was no fanfare, no hesitation left.

Just warmth.

His mouth on hers—gentle, grounding, real.

She kissed him back like she’d been waiting for this to happen since the first night they met. Like something fragile had just been rewired.

When they broke apart, his forehead rested lightly against hers.

“Okay,” she whispered. “That was definitely not an almost.”

He chuckled, breathless. “Finally.”

From down the road, Chris’s voice shattered the quiet.

“Oi! We’re getting chips! You in or what?”

George groaned. “Perfect timing, as always.”

Y/N laughed, cheeks warm. “Let’s go before ATV actually punches someone for no reason.”

George laced their fingers together, thumb brushing hers.

“Only if we walk slow,” he said. “Don’t really feel like letting go yet.”

She didn’t argue.

And as they wandered back toward the chaos and the chips and the boys who had quietly become her family—Y/N felt like maybe, just maybe, she could start trusting the quiet again.

Because someone had come to sit with her in the dark.

And now, she wasn’t alone.

——

Taglist:

@madforgeorge

@wherethezoes-at

@sundarksposts

@clarkey4life

@edgyficuselastica

@whistlef0rthechoir

@kneelforloki

@yeahnahalrightfairenough

—-

Finally!!! Sorry to spoil but smut warning for the next chapter :P please skip or message me for alternate clean version of the scene xx

[etherealfilmstar]

– thunderbolts* headcanons; pt 2 i am not romantically shipping anyone btw !

part 1 - general part 3 - cleaning

theme; social media ════════════════════════════════════════════

JOHN WALKER

advocates that instagram reels is better than tiktok. will trash on you for being on tiktok. but he's also a reddit user. he tries to defend himself saying that he's the 'normal one' when he's really not. he loves those AITA stuff tho. his favorite thing to watch? idk why but i can see him as a dude who loves commentary channels. also he's a twitter/x keyboard warrior. he crashes out at memes making fun of him. probably blocked bucky's number.

════════════════════════════════════════════

BUCKY BARNES

only uses youtube because it's the only thing he can navigate. he tried to get onto twitter/x but gave up because of the UI (me too bucky, me too). he's that parent that gets upset at your screentime. he constantly tells the others that they're online too much. he doesn't like youtube shorts much but he likes long documentaries. the others, including valentina, want to get rid of the cable tv but he wants to keep it 😭 don't get me wrong he's not completely grandpa, he knows how to use messaging apps like whatsapp. he has an instagram account just because yelena told him to make one, but he doesn't use or check it much. he still prefers sending emails.

═══════════════════════════════════

ALEXEI SHOSTAKOV

he loves memes. also will spam the whatsapp group chat with tiktoks. i feel like he'd be interested in conspiracy theories. sometimes he sends the others memes against them yet still laughs heartily at them. he doesn't take them that seriously. he also yells at his device if it's lagging or if the wifi is bugging. he watches those clickbait celebrity or online drama channels LOL. he has facebook too. but he loves sending yelena those wholesome posts like "my daughter is the light of my world" with floral backgrounds fshkdfhsfm

════════════════════════════════════════════

AVA STARR

TUMBLR. SHE'S ON TUMBLR. you cannot change my mind. also ao3 is her guilty pleasure. she is def on twitter/x and has a john walker hate account. literally messages walker: "i hate you 98" "i hate you 99" "i hate you 98" "oh no i messed up." "i hate you 1" she calls people on twitter/x morons and idiots. i feel like she'd looove watching legitimate drama channels. enjoys looking at shopping online. and is defff a chill pinterest girl. she's also the girl that helps with all the tech issues. is also a discord mod and does nitro giveaways. constantly calls people out for using ai and mocks them. "oh poor baby 🥺🥺 do you need the robot to make you pictures? 🥺🥺 yeah? 🥺🥺" (og tweet from @/peterokii)

════════════════════════════════════════════

BOB REYNOLDS

definitely watching baking and cooking videos. the one least on his device aside from bucky. he also likes watching puppy videos and shares them with yelena. he avoids blocking people as much as possible. is the guy in the comments who says 'guys pls dont argue.' defends himself against hate posts. trying to learn the online terminology ("why do people call me a pookie?") he also loves looking at art and stuff. he uses tiktok and instagram. he has trouble telling the difference between real and AI but when he does realize it's AI he reports it. he's not a complete softy though, he will call people out for posting disgusting things. also the guy who has 'dms open if u need to vent' in his bio. has a pinterest account where he posts those like 'everything will be okay' positivity posts with pictures of flowers or animals. definitely wants to use the internet to help people because he knows not everyone has a shoulder to lean on :) he also sometimes forgets to reply to people and leaves them on read unintentionally

════════════════════════════════════════════

YELENA BELOVA

definitely a tiktok girly!!! she ADORES animal videos. also will spam the others' DMs with reels or tiktoks or memes. often times supports Ava, liking and retweeting/reblogging/reposting her stuff. is the person on pinterest that always puts in the comments the original poster if there aren't any credits. she definitely watches minecraft videos. bought walker a pair of cat ear headphones ("now you're a true redditor"). is the one in charge of hosting movie nights. she is obsessed with actor and broadway drama. always checking movie reviews. watches those 'lazy meal' videos. finds speed paints mesmerizing. she also listens to those like slime asmr videos. she likes to argue with people in twitter/x. always makes sure bob is staying safe on the internet (gotta take care of her little brother) but if he doesn't wanna share she doesn't push.

[merykitten]

Randomized Danganronpa characters game!

Part 1

Hello there!

Recently I started a silly game on some of my other social medias where I asked to pick some numbers between 1 and 49, Each number is a randomized Danganronpa characters, and write down some random actions.

Here's what I managed to doodle so far!

1. Celestia Ludenberg doing wax play with Miu 🕯️Rest in peace queen (from Reddit)

2. Makoto Naegi reading a book along some coffee ☕ Hopefully he will comprehend something from it 🙄/jk (from Twitter)

3. Yasuhiro Hagakure losing a ranked game 🎮He's a Miku main, trust (from Twitter)

4. Shuichi Saihara practicing singing 🎤 K1-B0 is still mad at him because he didn't believe in his popstar future career😤 (from Twitter)

5. Chihiro Fujisaki and Maki Harukawa having a cute café date 💌 Mondo and Taka are ready to support their friend if needed <3 (from Discord)

6. Kazuichi Soda and Celestia Ludenberg having an Hentai drew by Hifumi 🌶️ Celestia can't catch a break 😭🙏(from Instagram)

7. Roma Hoshi and Impostor having dinner together 🍚 They keep each other company <3 (from Reddit)

8. Rantaro Amami and Kokichi Ouma doing laundry ���� NEVER LET KOKICHI DO ANYTHING WITH YOU!! (From Twitter)

9. Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Chiaki Nanami holding hands 🤝 They would actually have a cute dynamic 🎀 (from Discord)

10. Kazuichi Soda and Hajime Hinata Makeover time 💄 Hajime is seriously slaying 💅 (from Twitter)

If you want, you can write your own suggestions down this post, but I can't promise to draw em all since I received more than 150 requests 🙏

hope you enjoyed it so far <33

Ps: there were supposed to be 12 doodles but there's the Tumblr limit sooo i'll try to post em separatedly!

Update:

Here's the continue of the post:

Key words:

Danganronpa Thh trigger happy havoc sdr2 goodbye despair V3 Killing Harmony randomized characters challenge MeryKitten Monokuma procreate doodles

[trafficblr-confessions]

I think people are getting a little too comfortable toeing the line between constructive criticism and being a hate-watcher.

Between the policing on how tasks should go and the flack the CCs have gotten for the changes of pace in the series, a lot of us have forgotten that the Life Series is NOT just another show like the ones you see on netflix or hulu, and when you publicly spread hate as a viewer you're not poking holes in corporations, but individual people just trying to have fun playing together.

Constructive critism or ideas or suggestions are all fine, but jesus christ, the lashback especially against Gem? The fact that she ended up tweeting about how stressed she felt about the upcoming sessions due to the amount of badmouthing fans have been doing, it makes me sick! This isn't a scripted, rule-abiding production, it's an improv series with a gimick that a bunch of friends play together on. Hell, wasn't it the rule breaking in the first season that made us all crazy for it to begin with?

It's especially disheartening with this being Gem's first full season, it makes me afraid she may not want to join back next time around.

And yes, I know, Gem and everyone else on the server are grown adults, they can manage their media as needed and it's inevitable people don't like their content and/or say hurtful things. The problem lies in when it's the actual viewers, the people following the series. Again, it's not like hate watching a professional production and leaving reviews that reflect it. It's just haunting people playing together to have fun, and quite frankly, it's dehumanizing. Recieving hate from just anyone is one thing, but receiving hate from regular fans? How do some of y'all genuinely not see how harmful that is?

If you don't like how the series is going, click off. Have mean shit to say about the people in it? Either share it in closed groups or not at all, not places where you Know the CCs can see it! It's different when you're on a largely fandom dominated space such as tumblr or discord, but going on more open platforms such as twitter and even reddit on some degree?

This isn't an issue with constructive criticism. This is an issue with borderline bullying the CCs because the series isn't going how certain fans want it to.

.

[sandcobangevent]

Kintsugi Honey

By @ghostofnuggetspast and @iwantthatbelstaffanditsoccupant

“And you’re sure you’re okay? For a minute there, I was kinda worried.”

“Fine, John. Perfectly fine. Just… well, I wouldn’t even call it a bad dream, because, overall, it was quite pleasant, but…it had its moments of distress.”

“Oh. Well, ummm. Wanna talk about it?” . “I suppose that may help in preserving the more pleasant aspects.”

John slid up against Sherlock, who closed his eyes to better recall the moment. A few minutes ago he had seemed so agitated, but now he seemed relaxed, and even…was it content? Maybe so. Sherlock had been sleeping much better since they began sharing a bed. Platonically. For now, at least. John occasionally wondered if it would stay that way. Time would tell though, wouldn’t it? And on nights like this, when he could soak in the calm before the adventure the new day would bring, he felt it was all he really needed out of life. Just...this. Whatever it was. And sharing this kind of intimate moment, well…that was part of whatever it was they had. And he loved every second of it.

“Well, it began simply enough,” said Sherlock. “It began with my getting shot.”

John bolted upright. “And this…this was a good dream?”

“Well, I should explain. I knew I would be perfectly fine as the bullet ripped through my chest, because I knew about the bees. That they were already there.”

“About… the bees?”

“Yes. Do you remeber that absurd post you read me right before bed? The one about freezing bees?”

“The— Oh! This one?”

John scrolled through his phone and pulled up a Twitter post which seemed to have found its way over from Reddit. John had to keep up with Discord and Twitter to see what the fans were up to, those crazy kids. Reddit, not so much. Social media tended to annoy Sherlock, but the more amusing posts were always worth sharing.

“The one from heckacute,” John said. “‘If you put a bee in the freezer it will get cold and fall asleep. After it’s asleep, put it in your mouth, but don’t eat it.’”

“As if I would eat the poor bee,” interupted Sherlock.

“‘Just let it sit there. It will get warm and wake up. Now you have a bee in your mouth.’ And then oboebandgeek99 says, ‘Why the fuck would I do that.’”

“Yes. Why indeed? And I fell asleep precisely as you read that aloud, and it latched on to my subconscious mind, creating a bridge between the waking world and the sleeping one to the extent that I was aware of this concept—of putting a bee in one’s mouth—just as I began to dream. Which was fortunate indeed.”

“Because—or should I say bee-cause—why?”

“You should not.”

“Sorry, already did.” John grinned. Deep down, he knew Sherlock liked the puns. It was, after all, part of what made John…John.

“Because I had, upon the point of reaching my dream state, already placed a bee in my mouth, and, it being—”

“Bee-ing.”

“— And it being disconnected from anatomical reality, the bee had somehow procured other bees and settled within my right ventricle.”

“As opposed to taking the only available route in reality and flying directly into your lungs or stomach.”

“Yes. They created a small hive there.”

“In your heart.”

“Yes.”

“Like a birdhouse in your soul.”

“They were bees, not birds. And the soul does not have a physical location.”

“My English teacher, Mr Nieburgher, always insisted the soul was in your left armpit. But I digress… So, there were bees… buzzing around your heart. And again, this was the good part?”

“Well, they would occasionally fly out of my ears and harvest honey. But their home was in my heart, yes.”

“No flower gardens in your spleen?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, John. Is this conversation disturbing you? You are trying to divert it more than your usual proclivity for random interjections.”

“No, I’m okay. I just, don’t like to hear about you getting shot. It is upsetting.”

“I see. Well, you need to keep in mind that I knew all would be well. You see, the bees gathered nectar and created a lovely comb that was integrated into my circulatory system. This was fortunate, because, as I have mentioned, when the dream began I had been shot. By M, I believe. But the identity of the perpetrator was not entirely clear.”

John leaned in a bit closer and resisted the urge to crack another joke. He was not one to buy into prophecy, but then again, it felt like either one of them could be harmed, even fatally, at any given moment. And things were reaching some critical point, he could feel it.

“And the thing is, there was damage to the heart, where the bullet pierced it. But the bees…the bees filled the missing pieces, John. Filled it with their honey.”

“Like Kintsugi?”

“John! You really were paying attention when you researched all that oriental pottery!”

“Well, I mean, there was a section on Japanese pottery, and I read it without intending to, but the concept of the thing was kind of nice, so…it stuck with me.”

“Yes. The honey flowed into the broken pieces and filled them in the same way that precious metal binds together broken pottery to make it whole again. Quite beautiful, really. Poetic.”

“And the honey…it…oozes—”

“Love. It oozed love, John. The hive was connected directly with my heart. It was, quite lovely. So. That’s why I cannot say being severely, even potentially fatally, wounded was a bad thing. It was…quite euphoric, actually.”

“Oh.”

“Indeed.”

“Well, I am grateful the bees were there to save you.” John paused a moment. “Was…was I in the dream?”

“Yes, of course. Do you think, upon my having been shot, that you were not by my side? You and Mariana. Not Archie though. I don’t think my subconscious holds him in quite the same level of esteem.”

“They wouldn’t let a dog into the dream-hospital, I bet.”

“As the honey stuck together all the broken pieces, it also healed them with flavonoids, catalase, glucose oxidase, polyphenols and phenolic acid. Bees are truly fascinating creatures. I should like to study them. Perhaps with a hive of our own? Nothing quite like being a hive, but, we can’t expect that now, can we?”

“I suppose not.”

“I wonder if my corpse might become a hive someday?”

“Sherlock!”

“No, it would be a very good thing. I’d have no use for a body at that point. The bees can have it then.”

“Can we not talk about your…future corpse?”

“Fine.”

“So, there were bees flying out of your ears.”

“Yes. Good thing Archie wasn’t there, actually. He might have tried to catch them and eat them. Then he’d look like that dog in the post you showed me last week.”

“And then they wouldn’t have been able to heal you.”

“It’s a dream, John. In dreams, I would have found some other means of healing, I’m sure. A dream is simply a story our subconscious tells ourselves because the brain is never fully at rest. Or mine isn’t, at least. If things get too difficult in the story we can avoid the unhappy ending simply by waking up.”

“You can’t always do that. Sometimes it’s bad all the way through. Just like in real life.”

“True. But I do think that you could have fixed my heart as well, John.”

“In a dream, I suppose I could have.”

“I don’t see why not. You did it in real life. You came in to my world and saw something in me no one else had. Not for a very long time, at least—and I was fairly convinced I didn’t have whatever that spark was anymore. And I think Mariana saw it only because you did first.”

“I didn’t. I was ready to leave. Remember?”

“But you did not.”

“No. No, I didn’t. But you fixed me as well. Gave me purpose.”

“I suppose so. You are…my honey.”

And John laughed. And then he stopped, and placed his head on Sherlock’s chest. Because, for a moment, it didn’t seem all that funny. Not really.

“No, you’re right. I…I sort of…am.”

“Thank you. I think I’ll remember it now.” And Sherlock closed his eyes again and went back to sleep.

[askagamedev]

Is there a "wrong/right" way to boycott a game (besides obivious attacks and death threats?

I can't find the tweet nor recall the specifics, but it was about an not related developer talking about how the fanbase should be better in how to boycott or else it would damage the franchise long-term wise in ways nobody wins. Even if what the fanbase was angry about is valid.

The answer to your question entirely depends on what your goal actually is. A boycott isn't a goal by itself, it is a means to an end - usually the players are mad about something and the boycott (or whatever else - review bomb, harassment, doxxing, death threats, etc.) is an attempt at applying pressure to make the developer do something else (among other things like venting a bunch of hurt feelings).

If an angry player wants to vent hurt feelings, then the usual anonymous retaliation methods - review bombing, harassment, threats to quit, petitions, calls for boycott, etc. - are what they usually settle on. These forms of feedback have the lowest overall chances of actually enacting any change and they are the most adversarial of the options, but they are also the way that feels the strongest, like the fan is "fighting back".

If the angry player actually wants to provide feedback, they can do so in a reasonable manner on any officially monitored channel - usually reddit, twitter, official forums, etc. Being honest about what you dislike and why you dislike it is usually enough. If there's enough feedback from enough people, the devs will actually take it into consideration and do it. It's worth noting that this is also the method that takes a really long time to show results. Devs usually don't post responses immediately, and we're [usually working two patches in the future].

Often, the best thing a player can actually do is to find a different game to play. We live in a time where there are so many good games being released that finding a new and interesting game to play should not be difficult. There is often little more than mindset tying a player to a particular game or franchise. Emotional engagement with the players is good for us because it keeps players interested, but the players don't really get that much out of it. I don't think it's super healthy to make a game or franchise a significant part of my identity, so I think it's best to put a little emotional distance between myself and any given franchise. I can enjoy them when they're good, but I can go do something else when things take a turn for the worse. I think more people would do better to take a similar approach.

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[sasheneskywalker]

bernard is an avid tumblr, reddit, twitter, discord, and ao3 user. he participates in the rpf hero/villain fandom, writing fics, drawing fanart, sharing meta, and posting strange but compelling theories. due to his engagement with fandom discourse and writing what many fans consider problematic content, he quickly becomes a prominent but infamous figure with a legion of loyal followers and a horde of ardent haters.

when tim and bernard get together, tim accidentally stumbles upon one of bernard's more popular accounts. intrigued and baffled, tim looks into bernard's other fandom activity and finds years' worth of material. and all of it is something tim wouldn't have otherwise ever sought out. there're a robin i/batman dubcon sex pollen smut fic and a red hood/red robin noncon whump oneshot. a red hood/nightwing fanart of them hatefucking on a rooftop, based on a real altercation between jason and dick that someone has filmed and posted on twitter. headcanons of red hood being into gunplay and calling batman "daddy". theories about batman sexually abusing robins and grooming them. a nightwing/robin iii fic rec list.

tim has so many questions. this is a completely unknown side of his boyfriend. he's feeling weird. he always knew there was a hero/villain fandom but he has never read any fanfics about his own vigilante persona. he never even thought people shipped him with other bats. and bernard's writing and art is hot. tim is discovering so many new kinks he might want to try out and starting to indulge in some questionable fantasies that he definitely shouldn't entertain. (is it morally wrong to imagine fucking your adopted relatives and getting off on it? especially if you have a boyfriend? who gave you the idea of fucking your family members in the first place?). also, bernard seems utterly convinced that red robin and superboy are crazy in love, where did that come from?

meanwhile, after months of dating tim, bernard realizes his boyfriend and red robin are the same person and has a silent freak out session. he can only hope tim never ever learns about his favorite fandom pastime.

[miaoumeowmiaw]

"Can I trust these new leaks?"

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome

Fremde, etranger, stranger

Glukich zu sehen, je suis enchante, happy to see you

Bleibe, reste, stay

Short answer: No. Almost all of the accounts who are sharing these leaks throughout the community have a questionable past.

Long answer: Minou and The Cat's Meow have been not-so blessed with knowing many of these accounts in a more intimate way and, as a result, have information pertaining to them that other people do not. We took administrative positions in their private communities such as Discord servers, and also experienced problematic instances involving minors firsthand. While this was publicly available in June and July, it did not reach enough people, until now.

UPSIDEDOWNSCOOP ON TWITTER

Upsidedownscoop is run by two men aged 18 and older, Sam and Tim. They befriended a new Twitter account, Bylerupdates, otherwise known as Lauren, who was a woman aged 17, and gained the majority of their reputation through her leaking groupchat (now Macid).

She, along with her friends, pursued the pair sexually, which Sam was receptive to. She managed to convince them to exchange photos of her body for their photos of the Stranger Things set. Tim and Sam were both aware of this and the implications, and later acknowledged the damage this would have caused to a young, impressionable person.

After this information reached the public, Tim "found out" that Lauren was not the only victim, and that many girls as young as 10 were being groomed in a similar manner. He claims to have removed access to the account from Sam, but all of his actions after the fact disprove this: he lied about the situation, claimed that Lauren told them a false age, and removed all connections between he and the members of Minou. This makes sense when compared to his response earlier into their relationship, in which he laughed when Lauren opened up about the exchange.

Both parties refuse to share further comments, and are strictly against communicating with The Cat's Meow.

HAWKINS HAPPENINGS ON TWITTER

Hawkins Happenings is one of few leaking accounts who has openly supported Upsidedownscoop. Despite claiming to have cut contact with the pair prior to finding out about this situation, he continues to interact with them in a positive light publicly, and has privately threatened Minou when confronted. He insists that it was all a lie, and that he was not aware of the additional, younger girls, but refuses to believe it is "as bad as we say".

By extension, Hawkins Happenings is one of few leaking accounts who has shared false information stemming from accounts previously exposed by Minou. For example, after Willsxbylers sent news accounts a fake set of videos taken at the Stranger Things set, Hawkins Happenings insisted it was real and cited both Tate and Orlando Willis. Orlando Willis was a fake account created by Minou and our associated groups, specifically coming from Macid, which is where the situation with Lauren occurred.

Hawkins Happenings has close connections with Sam. They are aware of his personal account. There are rumoured messages available between the two, but Sam has yet to release them, blaming "a want for attention and fun".

He refuses to share further comments, and is strictly against communicating with The Cat's Meow.

MYTIMETOSHINEHELLO ON TWITTER AND REDDIT

This is my time to shine, hello (as in, move away from that situation, as complex and horrible as it is).

Mytimetoshinehello is a known leaker in the Marvel and DC communities. As a result, many people do not research the individual, but rather accept everything at face value. It turns out that, from as early as 4 years ago, this account has been criticized multiple times by these same communities for having a history of fake, exaggerated leaks and connections to the media industry. There are old rumours that Mytimetoshinehello was part of the conceptual teams at DC, which was later abandoned by her supporters due to this history.

This has begun to reach Twitter. As such, we have decided to provide the original thoughts of the leaking portions of the Marvel and DC communities, with the earliest being from 3 years ago. While she may have been reputable at one point of her career, she has lost that many years ago, and it's important that anybody reading this, especially if they are in the informative fields, keeps this in mind prior to citing an individual as their "reliable source".

Other potential sources that you might want to look into are HawkinsAVClub on Reddit, and, of course, The Cat's Meow, if you will.

- K

[blackgryph0n]

BillieBustUp: A Boycott?

Hazbin Hotel is implicated, too.

cw: child grooming

Short version: BillieBustUp hired a known child groomer Blackgryph0n/Gabriel C. Brown, and the lead dev Katie Nelson is digging in their heels defending him, claiming that the groomer says he's innocent, and the "haters" are all sockpuppets for his wife/victim's abusive father. The evidence against him is piling up, and it seems like BillieBustUp, a game founded on LGBTQIA and disability representation, will instead be the face of uplifting pedophilia and child grooming. Gabriel is also the voice actor for Hazbin Hotel's Alastor, but only his singing role in the pilot, the song "Insane" which has risen to some popularity.

On June 14, 2024, Twitter user dagobbiEST posted a Twitter thread that implicated the creator of BillieBustUp, an upcoming indie game helmed by Katie Nelson/KatieBlueprint, in defending the actions of the voice actor Blackgryph0n, aka Gabriel C. Brown, who voices the character Barnaby. For those who were present in the My Little Pony fandom during 2014, you will know BlackGryph0n best either for his videos or perhaps for his most infamous accomplishment, which was creeping out many fans with his overly-familiar relationship with voice actress Michelle Creber, who was 14 to his 24.

Blackgryph0n went on to groom and subsequently marry Claire Corlett, Michelle's coworker and friend (and fellow 14 year old) when she turned 20, who was then isolated from her entire family, citing abuse. (The author does not deny that she may have been abused; it is typical for a groomer to pursue a minor who has a strained/difficult family situation.)

The facts are simple: Gabriel met Claire when she was a child, only 14/15, in a position of authority over her as a sound engineer at her voice acting job. The fact that they then later pursued a relationship, even if "she initiated it", implies that there was grooming taking place over the years in between. The groundwork of a relationship was built with a minor, even if it was not overtly romantic until later. For more information on grooming, please see here.

Scads of screencaps were rapidly produced on Twitter after the initial screencaps of the BillieBustUp Discord were posted, including many tweets with proof of Blackgryph0n's inappropriate flirting with the child actresses back to when they were 15 and 16. Gabe's claims that they "became friends only four years ago" (conveniently when she was 20) were quickly debunked as lies, due to all of the overwhelming Tweet and video evidence.

A list of links with more information:

A gathering of some of the most damning tweeted evidence to dispute the "only befriended her when she was 20" claim by Gabe.

A Reddit thread from r/YouTubeDrama concerning the recent allegations and firsthand witnesses to creepy behavior at conventions. Key quote:

"To provide some context, Gabriel knew them from that age because of his work. He is the only notable brony who concurrently worked on the show, though only peripherally as a backup voice/sound engineer for the sound and music team. However, he was around early on, and thus had access to FiM's voice actors, including the then-child VAs of the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Sweetie Belle (Creber), Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo). That's why he knew her from that young age, because his job provided him the opportunity to engage with those teenagers—to a professional limit, but he took it further than that with at least 2 of them." (d_shadowspectre3, who misidentified Creber - Creber voiced Apple Bloom, and Corlett voiced Sweetie Belle)

An informational Twitter thread from 2023 by BronyFandont discussing the grooming with more screencapped evidence.

A google doc of various screenshots, including a first-person witness to Gabriel's inappropriate behavior at a Brony con.

A Twitter thread with eight screencaps debunking the timeline Blackgryph0n tries to lie about, claiming he only met Corlett for extended periods when she was 20.

A Twitter thread by user Wootmaster discussing the allegations back in 2022, in which he adds that several big fandom names - including Saberspark, ACRacebeast and PaleoSteno - closed ranks and defended Blackgryph0n at the time, including leveling harassment at Corlett's father. Saberspark coined the deeply unsettling "It's creepy, but legal" in regards to the situation.

Some of Gabriel Brown's previous brushes with racism also came into discussion, including

A full blown minstrel skit with Michelle Creber (a minor at the time) with giant afro wigs, blaccents, and the fake names "Nikisha Abagale Safron" and "Latoya Aloofa Williamson", posted by ACRacebeast under the title "Bronies React: MLP Generation 3."

Another Twitter thread with screencaps of Gabriel Brown's racism by Helluvareceipts.

Screencaps of the BillieBustUp discord, with clumsy defenses by Katie Nelson in lieu of any official statement.

More of Gabriel's racist and C*vid-denial tweet "likes" have been dug up.

A deleted racist tweet from Blackgryph0n.

A Twitter screencap of Blackgryph0n getting banned from Babscon due to racism in 2021.

During the uproar, BillieBustUp and lead dev Katie Nelson remained notably silent, which resulted in a Tweet about the game's LGBTQIA representation devolving into repeated demands for answers, which were also ignored.

There was an unofficial statement made only on the BillieBustUp Discord group on June 15th, but it wouldn't be until June 17 that an official "rebuttal" was posted on Google Docs by "Katie and Ash". The entirety of the rebuttal can be summed up with 'Blackgryph0n says he's being targeted by sockpuppet accounts and promises he's innocent, and I believe him.'

June 17 also saw a very strange, inappropriate, and immature response from Michelle Creber, peppered with "Y'all"s, emojis, and inappropriately casual slang like "take the L," considering the seriousness of the allegations. She not only stated that Gabriel Brown (a member of the US Navy) is an "incredibly brilliant but brilliant autistic bean" and thus so harmless he wouldn't hurt a spider, which errs so far on the side of infantilization it seems insulting at best, and ableist at worst. Any Twitter accounts that requested clarification or answers were blocked by both Creber and Brown.

What does this mean for you?

What this means is that the BillieBustUp and Hazbin Hotel fandoms now have to contend with the fact that their creators have knowingly and purposefully invited a child groomer into their fandoms, and given them social cachet that they might use to take advantage of minors, as he did during his job as a sound engineer on My Little Pony. The BBU dev team is also ignoring any concerns about a potential threat. This may also mean that, if there are inevitable fandom events like panels, the child groomer Gabriel C. Brown may be present where there are also children and teens, who may not be aware of his history.

The decision of whether to boycott or not is your decision; I cannot in good conscience spend money on a game that will put money into a groomer's pockets and add to his resume. The decision is yours. This post is to shine light onto what the BillieBustUp team and Blackgryph0n/Gabriel Brown desperately want to keep in the dark, and to spread awareness to other social media platforms. And, most importantly, to protect any minors who might be in these fandoms, who may not realize that their idols are not someone they should look up to, defend, or even be in private contact with.

Stay safe, and thank you for reading.

[quotevarchive]

official quotevarchive quotev death post (three entire days late)

On Friday, May 31st, 2024, Quotev issued an update that removed the activity feed, the chatbox, the ability to post in groups, the recently added “recommended users” feature, the ability to make individual posts private, the “location” feature on profiles, and backgrounds on the homepage, to name a few things.

They also added a reminder in groups and messages that the two features “are being discontinued and will be removed July 1st.”

This update also added a home button and a button that leads directly to a user's library on the menu bar (situated in a somewhat unbalanced position.)

According to reports of several users, the update happened sometime between 1-2 PM, GMT (I am not entirely sure what time is most accurate, and I did not log on until an hour afterwards.)

Thus began the mass panic. Several users blamed themselves for the removal of the feed, including one user (.hideri) who had among other things apparently make a joking bomb threat the day before. Since the administration had not made a statement in the News section (which was temporarily removed when I logged on, at about 3 PM GMT) no one had any idea whose fault it was. With no other apparent options, users began to move to other platforms to discuss the situation, including twitter, tumblr, reddit (r/Quotev), discord, and plurk. Some users sent messages of protest to the administration.

Around 6 PM GMT, the administration posted a statement in the restored News section.

(note that the time on the post is listed in EST on my device)

The last paragraph, detailing how to archive your messages and group topics, was not included in the post until around a day after it was posted.

Users have continued to move to different platforms. Some seem resigned, while others are determined to challenge the administration with a change.org campaign. Several “quotev discord” servers have been created (spawning their own separate dramas.) A controversy on plurk has emerged, discussing whether or not the recently moved quotev users are disrupting the website.

This all leads us to the question: why? The administration's statement is vague and probably not fully true. What is the actual reason? Can they no longer maintain the website? Were they fed up with the constant drama moderation? Quotev has been no stranger to unpopular updates, but none have been as dramatic as this. Website statistics have shown a huge drop in usage. It's not going to get better when everyone finishes moving their stuff and lurking. It remains to be seen if we will ever truly get a good answer. In the meantime, former users mourn, reminisce, bicker, and will ultimately move on. There has been ridicule for the sadness that we are experiencing, over “just a quiz site.” Yeah, maybe it sounds silly to be so sad, but there is really nothing quite like quotev and the community that it contained, for better or for worse.

[probablyasocialecologist]

Social media and online video companies are collecting huge troves of your personal information on and off their websites or apps and sharing it with a wide range of third-party entities, a new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff report on nine tech companies confirms. The FTC report published on Thursday looked at the data-gathering practices of Facebook, WhatsApp, YouTube, Discord, Reddit, Amazon, Snap, TikTok and Twitter/X between January 2019 and 31 December 2020. The majority of the companies’ business models incentivized tracking how people engaged with their platforms, collecting their personal data and using it to determine what content and ads users see on their feeds, the report states. The FTC’s findings validate years of reporting on the depth and breadth of these companies’ tracking practices and call out the tech firms for “vast surveillance of users”. The agency is recommending Congress pass federal privacy regulations based on what it has documented. In particular, the agency is urging lawmakers to recognize that the business models of many of these companies do little to incentivize effective self-regulation or protection of user data. “Recognizing this basic fact is important for enforcers and policymakers alike because any efforts to limit or regulate how these firms harvest troves of people’s personal data will conflict with their primary business incentives,” FTC chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “To craft effective rules or remedies limiting this data collection, policymakers will need to ensure that violating the law is not more lucrative than abiding by it.”

19 September 2024

[iridescentttears]

idk about u guys but this feels like a riddle… sommonday, 8 days, guarded secret, december 1964, whistleblower, hyperbole.

okay so if summonday is the 8th day of the week, and the countdown began on release day july 23rd, and then 7 days later on july 30th the countdown ended and another countdown in negative time began. if “time is dead and meaning has no meaning” then everything could be malarkey and there’s not gonna be any way to predict what’s gonna happen. but also, maybe time got reset when it “died” and july 30th became day 1/ the first day of the week. we’re currently at day -5 and 19 hrs.

perhaps (based on nothing but the number 8 maybe-clue) on the -8th day of the countdown which falls on august 7th, they’re will be some form of a release/ another clue that hints closer to the answer.

that would make the time from release day to lost files release day 16 days (two weeks if we are counting summonday as the 8th day of the week)

all i’m saying is this feels very much like the brewings of a modern day cipher hunt like maybe it’ll be less about traveling to physical places like the original but instead some sort of wild goose chase treasure hunt online through hopping websites and soundtracks and books from 1925 and just like mixing the media formats. i think the mixed medias in tbob are so incredible and are really what set this book apart as its completely original entity and not just a sequel to journal 3. and with that shift feels very reflective of the era of time we live in now and in no way tries to recreate any previous era. ALSO all the metaphorical foils and parallels that alex hirsch has been begging us to see through the great gatsby are important. the literary connections between bill and gatsby’s characters AND the real life lesson of: we can’t repeat the past, we can’t get back things we lost, if we choose to live in the past it will lead to our demise but if we look to the future and accept what’s happened, we have a chance of building something amazing. (sooo no season 3 ppl like that’s not what any of this is about)

and and side note if the majority of the public believed the government release of the truth about “summonday” to be hyperbole, what about the minority that took it seriously? who are they? did they decide it together? are they in some sort of group/cult together?

the themes of cults, cult leaders, sociopaths, narcissists, and control come to my mind immediately regarding tbob, great gatsby, and now these weird cryptic messages from jason ritter…

sooooo long winded answer later,

i would love it if the countdown would end in 3 days @ -8 days and for it to lead to another link or to a code or to some sort of next step for us all to work together on tumblr and twitter and reddit and discord and all the platforms. thus ushering in the beginning of a new cipher hunt— but not like a cipher hunt 2. this is alex hirsch we’re talking about. i think the stakes will be different and i think it will be much less about physically finding things in the real world and more focused to online clues. and if it does end up being some sort of wild goose chase treasure hunt online i will be sooooo overjoyed.

cause i think that working together to solve mysteries as a collective is where this fandom shines. we make allies, we learn from each other, y’all are all so fucking funny and smart and passionate and genuine and i love hanging out in this community in the space between space and time.

i would love to go on that adventure with y’all cool internet sleuths!!

[powdermelonkeg]

Something websites (*cough* Tumblr *cough*) need to learn is that what retains an audience isn't an abundance of new bells and whistles to play with, it's a coherent experience overall.

When someone joins a website, you don't need to grab their attention and hold it. They're already testing the waters. They've agreed to sign up. You've won on that front, and they're there for something specific you already have that they're hoping works well.

What drives them away is frustration.

Frustration, frustration, frustration.

Learning curves are going to be a part of any new website experience; they're something the user comes to terms with, in their own time. But broken or bad features are going to make them jump sites.

On top of that, constantly adding new features makes them feel like all the hard work they've put in to learning what you have isn't worth it; your website looks unstable and your staff looks incompetent, because it gives the impression that you don't know what you're doing.

You are floundering. It makes your new users nervous. It makes your old users hesitate to bring anyone else on board. And why should they? Why should they put effort into it if you're going to throw that effort away next Tuesday? Why get used to a UI that you're not going to bother to keep? Why customize anything if you're going to whittle that customization away?

Between that and the broken, unattended features of this site—the tag organization failing, the inability to look up posts word-for-word, the video player either refusing to play or yanking you to the top of the dashboard, images taking forever to load, advertisements blaring at full volume when you scroll past, you have your problem.

You have the reason why your numbers are failing.

It's not that you're not interesting enough.

It's not that you're too difficult to understand.

It's that you aren't improving what you have, yet you keep adding more half-broken things and unwanted copycat features to the pile.

It's that you're losing your identity in pursuit of a hypothetical perfect customer.

It's that you are actively telling your user base that you prefer those hypothetical customers over them. And your user base, your real people who make you happen, are smart enough to know where your priorities lie.

The bulk of this post talks about Tumblr, but other sites have gone the same way. Twitter is dead and its corpse is decaying in the street. Reddit has sabotaged any trust its users had in its management. If you'd like a really old example—I used to use Fanfiction Net. It's not the most intuitive website in the world, but it was the first one I called home.

I used it to host my works. The adware now on it makes it a hassle to navigate. The bots make comment sections and private messages a dread rather than a joy. So I moved on.

I also used to use it to collaborate on stories with my now-roommate. The message limit was 300 a day. When you're writing dialogue between characters, that's nothing.

So I moved on. We started messaging on Facebook. It was better, it didn't have a limit. But then I learned Discord existed, and I could edit messages, make dedicated channels, etc. So I moved on from Facebook to Discord. And Discord had a steep learning curve, especially if you're trying to make your own server rather than contribute to one. But, most importantly, the payoff was worth it.

If Discord changed its layout every other month while I was learning it, and broke how its reactions worked, and kept shifting what it meant to create a channel? If it opted me into servers I didn't sign up for, in hopes of engagement? If its text never formatted correctly, or its search function only went back a day or two?

I would have gone right back to Facebook. Even if it's a more basic experience, basic is always preferable to unstable.

Figure out what you want, websites.

Slow growth, or a gamble?

You're paying for your magic slot machine in users.

[creetch]

Now that I'm back from my inactivity because of work + the concert I wanna talk about the little Cardinal Copia plushie I found missing in Glasgow.

I was worried that someone else would steal him to keep, and that handing him to Glasgow Hydro staff would result in him being thrown away (they're not the most trustworthy venue) so figured I'd have the best chance to reunite him with his owner via posts on twitter/facebook

From the screenshot you can see how far the reach for this lil guy spread which was really encouraging!

I posted a similar thing to some Facebook Ghost fan pages as well as commenting on Ghost posts to try to find the owner there. Others helped by posting it on Reddit forums and Discord channels. Unfortunately, despite the help, nobody was reaching out to claim him, but I did have a lot of people spreading the word and messaging me as we tried to find his owner.

Then, someone DID reach out claiming him! I was really excited, so messaged the person really fast asking them questions just to make sure this was the correct owner.

At this time, I thought this person had lost A Copia, I just wasn't sure if this was THE Copia, so I wanted to check.

Their story appeared entirely plausible and everything seemed to match up, but then I got a little worried, and asked if they happened to have any photoa of Copia from their phone to doubley check this was the right person.

So, they did send me an image, telling me it was taken on the way to the Glasgow Ritual, which, at the time, I fully accepted, because why wouldn't I? This plushie holds sentimental value, not monetary, I didn't think someone would lie about him.

But then hours later I was lying in bed and thought I'd reverse image search it, just in case.

I found a Pinterest post made by someone else back in December 2024, which was a picture of a Copia plush in an Applebees - a restaurant we dont have at all in the UK, and therefore couldn't have been taken on the way to the Glasgow Ritual (not to mention of course the MASSIVE space in time between this photo being taken and the Glasgow concert) and idk man I'm just blown away by the AUDACITY of trying to steal a plushie that must hold sentimental value to someone?

I was very swiftly blocked

Just goes to show, some people will lie about ANYTHING