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prismatic-bell · 1 year

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Anti-Racism In Glass Onion: It's A Whole Thing, Part One

So I wasn't going to write this, because I'm white and it felt like veering very far out of my lane. But I also haven't seen anyone else talking about it, and finally I decided I'd rather make an ass of myself by doing something well-meaning than I would to uphold a status quo that zips right by one of the most important things in this film (that doesn't get explored enough in media or fandom), so here we are. Please keep in mind this is going to be FULL of spoilers so if you're not about that life, you'll want to give this a pass for now. (I also expected it to be much shorter than it is. It’s, uh, nine pages long. So it will be multiple posts long. Sorry.)

I don't think I've yet seen anyone really touch in-depth on the fact that this is a movie with a pretty strong theme calling out antiblack racism and the overturning thereof. Indeed, I’ve only seen one post mentioning it at all.

So let’s analyze, yes?

First, let's look at "the disrupters." They include:

--an alt-right streamer who's openly mentioned as being just about every -ism in the book

--his blonde-haired, blue-eyed girlfriend who's with him for status

--a white politician who objects to Klear not on the basis that it could cost lives, but that it will lose her the progressive vote

--an absolute idiot of a white supermodel who's had two serious antiblack race-based scandals, and is about to have another that's just generally racist

--a Black scientist who repeatedly tries to speak up and gets shot down

--a Black woman, the actual brains of this entire outfit, who created the original business plan and a multibillion-dollar company and got first fired, then financially ousted, then murdered

Now let's look at some other Black characters and Black imagery in the story. These include:

--a mural of Kanye West depicted as a messiah

--Serena Williams, as Miles' personal trainer

--the phrase "sucking on his titties," spoken by a Black woman

--a cameo by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as one of Benoit Blanc's friends

—a Beatles song (yes, really)

--the lower-middle-class sister of the Black woman who was the actual brains, etc.

Before we move on, I want to address the Kanye thing, because Glass Onion was filmed in 2021, probably written in 2020, and the point where Kanye went absolutely batshit deep-end off-the-fucking-rails was in 2022. I do not believe Rian Johnson was making any kind of "go Kanye" statement here--I think it was an unfortunate confluence of timing. As I discuss Kanye further, I want it to be clear we're discussing already-gross-but-not-yet-gone-full-Nazi Kanye.

So let's go ahead and get him out of the way first, because he's an incredibly important figure in Black music but as a Jew I just. Really do not want to be discussing Kanye West longer than I have to, I'm sorry. West is the kind of figure Miles Bron would absolutely want to have in his life as a status symbol. First, if we look at Bron's definition of being "a disrupter" (first you break a small thing, then very quickly you break the system itself), Kanye absolutely qualifies. He started out as a small artist mostly producing beats for other musicians, then did some work for Jay-Z that led to an album Rolling Stone considered one of the best hip-hop albums of all time, and then he dropped The College Dropout. I knew his work was considered influential before I started looking into this imagery deeper, but I had no idea how influential--this was his debut album and it hit #2 on the charts, produced a single that debuted at #1, included a song called "Jesus Walks" that hit the top 20 even though it was predicted a Christian song would never land in hip-hop, and the album is still considered one of "the greats" by other artists--twenty years later. I'd say that pretty neatly fits Miles' definition of "disruption." He did, indeed, first break something small and then turn the hip-hop world on its head.

Where there's a second layer to this that I think would also speak to Miles is that in 2018, Kanye declared the chattel slavery of West African people in the Americas was "a choice"--as in, they chose to be enslaved. He later claimed he was referring to "mental enslavement," but no matter how you cut it, regardless of his own race, that's a pretty fucking racist antiblack statement (in addition to being wildly historically revisionist). While I doubt Miles would be like “hell yeah, racism!,” he’d absolutely buy 100% into the idea of choosing to be in hellish circumstances, because He Got Out All On His Own (even though he didn’t), So You Can Too.

Moving on, we have Serena Williams. She's another person who'd fit Miles' description of "a disrupter," but where Kanye would probably revel in that idea, I honestly don't think she'd like it very much, and her attitude in the movie really underlines that. Yes, she's taking his money to be his "personal trainer," but really, he's frittering her life away. She's sitting there reading a book waiting for him to decide he wants to get off his ass and work out today. She's not a slave, but she has been explicitly put in a role as a paid servant. I don't think it's out of the question to say Miles specifically picked her over, say, Jillian Michaels, because she is Black. Do I think he sat down and went "who's a Black athlete I can subjugate?" No. I think if you asked Miles he'd be the kind of person who'd unironically say "I'm not racist! The head scientist at Alpha is Black!" What I think happened--or to be more accurate, what I think the kind of train of thought Rian Johnson would attribute to him would have caused to happen--is that he picked someone he'd be comfortable ignoring. Did he consciously decide he'd be more comfortable ignoring a Black woman and telling her to put up or shut up if she complained he was wasting her time? No. But do I think we should attribute unconscious biases and prejudices to him that aided him in the decision that he'd be comfortable ignoring her? Yes.

Incidentally, while we’re here, let’s discuss how the two of them stack up to Miles’ other “status symbol” name-drops. First, let’s discard Banksy. He’s a special case here and we’ll discuss him later. But now let’s look at the others. We’ve got Jeremy Renner, whose personal I-make-this-for-my-inner-circle food Miles proudly eats and hands out; Jared Leto, whose personal I-make-this-for-my-inner-circle drink Miles proudly offers to friends (although if memory serves me, he himself is drinking beer); Gillian Flynn, who he’s hired to write a mystery game for his own inner circle; Philip Glass, who he hired to write the music for the Glass Onion’s clock, which is there to impress guests; and Anderson Cooper, whose party he supposedly attended. Notice something about all the celebrities whose products he actively engages with? Yeah. They’re all white. Serena is relegated to a private room and not interacted with, while Kanye doesn’t even get a mention—and as I noted above, this movie would have gone through post far too late for Rian Johnson to have been able to say “let’s…remove praising the dude who’s declared himself a Nazi, please,” which means if Kanye was ever mentioned at all, it was cut long before real!Kanye’s final downward spiral. The Black “status symbols” have literally been relegated to being Miles’ props and “the help.”

Now let's talk about Helen's turn of phrase when she's reading "the disrupters" for absolute filth. She tells all of them what they want is Miles' (and, by extension, Andi's) money, and that they're "sucking on his titties." Putting the line in the mouth of a Black woman puts me instantly in mind of the "mammy" stereotype, where the Black woman is expected to nurture and nourish and care for all of the (implied or outright stated to be white) children and have no personality outside this. Technically it's Miles' money, but it's Miles' money specifically because of the shit he pulled with Andi--he sucked her dry and now is being fed upon in turn. The thing is, the way Black women are further treated throughout the narrative doesn't make this a faux-cutesy little image like those godawful racist vintage ads; it's horrifying. It is horrifying and it should be horrifying; it’s disgusting and the narrative wants you to be disgusted at this.

To continue, we have that cameo by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. It's really only noteworthy because he's the one who's giving Blanc shit for failing at Among Us and refusing to get out of the bathtub. This is important for reasons I'll come back to (put a pin in this), but for now suffice it to say it's important because Blanc is white and Southern and we'll get back to that.

Next up, it’s “Blackbird,” the song Miles was playing on guitar when the ship lands. Other posts have noted that for all Blackbird sounds very pretty and impressive, it’s actually very simple to play, and that this reflects Miles’ relationship with the world in general—pretending he’s bigger, better, smarter, more, than he actually is. This is probably true. I’ve also seen it mentioned that it, like Glass Onion, is a Beatles song from the White Album, and this is also true. What you may not know if you’re not a Beatles nerd is that “Blackbird” isn’t about a bird at all. Paul McCartney has stated several times over the years that the song had a dual inspiration—the sound of blackbirds, but also news reports about the American Black civil rights movement, and that when he says “blackbird” you should be thinking “black girl.” Birdie is excited and immediately declares it’s “her song,” which in her mind probably has to do with her name, but I strongly suspect that for Rian Johnson, this was another way to tie in how absolutely wildly Birdie is willing to appropriate Black experiences and culture. This is particularly true because of the exact part of Black history the song references—Birdie tells us she’s done blackface to dress as Beyoncé (a modern Black feminist who strongly pushes for empowerment) and has compared herself to Harriet Tubman (an escaped slave who proceeded, during Reconstruction, to become part of the women’s suffrage movement). Blackbird links these two together, with our nameless 1960s Black civil rights protestor falling squarely between the two named women. Also worth noting here is that “Blackbird” was released in 1968; while the Black Power movement was getting underway and “Black” or “African-American” would become the accepted terms over the next decade, “Negro” and “colored” were still the polite ways to refer to a Black person in the US. McCartney has since gone on the record apologizing for some pretty serious racism during his time with the Beatles, and I’m choosing for simplicity’s sake here to assume he was sincere, but this makes the song itself another example of appropropriation—“Black” wasn’t really a word McCartney, as a white man, had the right to use when the song came out. That makes “Blackbird” an even more apt double-metaphor—Birdie the appropriator of Black culture calling it “her” song, and Miles “I steal everything not nailed down and say I did it” Bron using it to look like he’s more than he is.

The second half of this (admittedly extremely messy) essay is here.

#glass onion #racism #media analysis

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turtlycute · 1 year

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My Top 10 Anime Watched in 2022:

Kotaro Lives Alone (2022) episodes: 10 started: 5-2-22 finished: 5-5-22 rating: 9.5/10

Moriarty the Patriot (2020) episodes: 24 started: 8-8-22 finished 8-11-22 rating: 9.5/10

Tokyo Revengers (2021) episodes: 24 started: 9-1-22 finished: 9-3-22 rating: 9.5/10

Chihayafuru 3 (2019) episodes: 24 started: 1-19-22 finished: 1-20-22 rating: 9.5/10

Sasaki and Miyano (2022) episodes: 12 started: 6-1-22 finished: 6-2-22 rating: 9.5/10

Blue Period (2021) episodes: 12 started: 10-15-21 finished: 1-25-22 rating: 9/10

Spy x Family (2022) episodes: 12 started: 8-1-22 finished: 8-3-22 rating: 9/10

Romantic Killer (2022) episodes: 12 started: 11-1-22 finished 11-2-22 rating: 9/10

Run with the Wind (2018) episodes: 23 started: 4-19-22 finished: 4-21-22 rating: 9/10

Ya Boy Kongming! (2022) episodes: 12 started: 12-1-22 finished: 12-2-22 rating: 9/10

Honorable Mentions:

Life Lessons With Uramichi-Oniisan (2021) episodes: 13 started: 1-4-22 finished: 1-6-22 rating: 9/10

Fruits Basket: Prelude (2022) film watched 12-28-22 rating: 9.5/10

Given Movie (2020) and Given: Uragawa no Sonzai n films watch: 6-6-22 rating: 9/10

Tamako Market (2013) episodes: 12 started: 11-3-22 finished: 11-4-22 rating: 8.5/10

Vanitas no Karte (The Case Study of Vanitas)(2021) episodes: 24 started: 10-1-22 finished: 10-3-22 rating: 8.5/10

#2022 anime watch list #my anime list #2022 top ten anime list #top ten favorites #kotaro lives alone #moriarty the patriot #tokyo revengers #chihayafuru #sasaki and miyano #blue period #spy x family #romantic killer #run with the wind #ya boy kongming #life lessons with uramichi oniisan #given movie #tamako market #vanitas no karte #fruits basket prelude

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somuchyoudontknow · 11 months

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Hello Sophia,

I’ve been curious about any relationships and linkages between SMA title, Alba and Jinx. Finally, I’ve managed to discover Chris’ influencer profile on one marketing platform (note: Carbons Dating The Web estimated creation date: 2023-06-01).

There are some interesting facts and figures in the case study:

Premium US dog superfood brand, Jinx is redefining dog nutrition and is sold at Walmart stores across the country. Its audience are 71% female, typically single or married and aged in their thirties. English-speaking, Jinx’s followers are 84% US-based, with India, The Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil as secondary markets. Top cities for its customers include New York, LA, San Francisco and Chicago.

Looking at celebrity influences, Chris Evans does not appear in the list.

Media-wise, Buzzfeed, Betches Media, The New York Times, HGTV, The New Yorker, People Magazine, Vice and Bon Appetit come out on top for consumption.

Chris’ audience is 67% female, typically single and aged 25-34. English-speaking, his followers are typically based in the US, with Brazil, India, Italy and Mexico as other territories. Top cities include São Paulo, New York and LA. On basic demographics, Chris Evans and Jinx are rather well matched, particularly if the brand is hoping to reach a slightly younger customer base.

Diving into likes and interests, Film & TV rank highly, as well as music, dance, sport, college, poetry, Mexican food and spirituality. Pets is present, with 1.5% of the share, which is 1.3x the platform average, putting Chris Evan’s profile in the top 20% of all Instagram accounts for pets.

Looking at media consumption, Buzzfeed, BBC, CNN, 9GAG, New York Times, TIME Magazine, The New Yorker, GQ and Hugo Gloss dominate. Crucially, Jinx isn’t listed as one of Chris Evan’s follower’s main brand affinities. Instead, the likes of Marvel, Disney, NASA, Starbucks, Google, PlayStation and Sephora lead. That being said, no other pet food brand appears.

It is important to note that Chris Evans is one of a few celebrity investors in Jinx. However, he is still quite an organic brand ambassador, being known for his relationship with his dog. Overall, it’s a smart match for brand and talent that taps into authentic interests and with the addition of Evans as creative director for campaigns, it appears to be a more substantial collaboration than a simple awareness-based sponsorship.

November 2020 – Chris followed Alba.

16 November 2021 – Pooch loving celebs Trevor Noah, Chris Evans, NFL star Odell Beckham Jr. and CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz are among the latest high-profile investors in Jinx.

PageSix: Chris Evans and more A-listers invest in healthy dog food brand.

2022

9 March – Pet Age: Walmart Partnership Expands Distribution of Premium Dog Food Brand Jinx.

10 March – Pet Product News: Jinx Pet Food Now Available at Walmart.

21 May – People Mag: Chris Evans celebrates National Rescue Dog Day with adorable photo of himself and pet Dodger.

2 June – Buzzfeed announces Puppy interview.

18 June – Buzzfeed releases Puppy interview.

24 June – Alba’s first like in 2022 (iPhone post).

15 July – Laser focused interview.

16 July – Chris liked Alba’s MHGP post.

17 July – JustJared, Daily Mail and Buzzfeed report Chris Evans is laser focused on finding a partner (no mention of Alba).

18 July – People Mag: Chris Evans Says He's 'Laser-Focused on Finding a Partner' to Spend His Life With.

20 July – Chris’ Dating Poll by Buzzfeed.

27 July – Entertainment Tonight meet Chris Evans' 'Long-Term Partner': His Adorable Dog Dodger!

Forbes: Chris Evans Partners With Jinx Premium Dog Food.

Adweek: Chris is Future Jinx Ad Star.

CNN: Talking dog parenting with Chris Evans.

People: Chris Evans Says His Pet Dodger Is 'a Cut Above the Average Dog,' But Admits 'I'm Probably Biased'.

26 August – People Mag: Chris Evans Celebrates National Dog Day with Pup Dodger: 'In My House, Every Day.

27 August – E! news tweet: When Captain America found his perfect sidekick. ❤️ Happy #InternationalDogDay to Chris Evans & Dodger.

October – Alba deactivated her IG account.

6 October – People mag: the actor and his beloved rescue dog Dodger star in a new ad spot for dog food company Jinx.

11 October – Alba reactivated her account. Chris liked 2 WN posts.

7 November – SMA announcement on Monday's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Chris Evans Is PEOPLE's 2022 Sexiest Man Alive.

Entertainment Tonight: Chris Evans Reacted to Getting 'People' Magazine's 2022 Sexiest Man Alive (editor Julie Jordan: “If he is dating someone he will talk about it or you will see him with the person”.

10 November – People: Chris Evans Is Dating Actress Alba Baptista: 'It's Serious,' Says Source — He's 'Never Been Happier'.

OK! Mag: Chris Evans & Actress Alba Baptista's Relationship Confirmed Months After Packing On The PDA At 'Super Affectionate' Date Night.

PageSix: Chris Evans and girlfriend Alba Baptista hold hands in first PDA photos.

12 November – Daily Mail: 'World's Sexiest Man' Chris Evans, 41, is seen holding hands with Alba Baptista, 25, for the FIRST time on a romantic stroll in Central Park.

E! News: Chris Evans & Alba Baptista Confirm Romance With PDA Stroll.

14 November – E! News tweet: The strongest bond in the universe (Dodger).

10 December – Alba deactivated her IG account.

2023

10 March – Alba reactivated her IG account.

18 April – Alba at Ghosted Premiere in NY.

26 April – People: Jinx to bring "The Dog Dream Box" to dog lovers nationwide.

28 April – Pet Food Processing: To celebrate Pet Month in May, Jinx launched a new limited-edition “The Dog Dream Box” collaboration with celebrity Chris Evans, brand ambassador at Jinx, and his dog Dodger.

J2 June – 40/29 News: 2023 Walmart Associates' Celebration.

#chris evans pr #chris evans #Alba-baptista #Jinx #Pr strategy

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straighttohellbuddy · 1 year

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die mad about it {Dream/Reader/Sapnap} // Part 2

2. 2021

Summary: A retrospective on the interconnected timeline of Dream, Sapnap, and TV and film star Y/N, via social media.

2021. The year starts with Y/N's recent film racking up nominations during awards season, while Y/N themselves tries to work their way into getting into the DreamSMP. Dream isn't exactly thrilled with this, and he and Y/N appear to start beefing on Twitter. Sapnap moves in with Dream and his still-unknown housemate, but appears to be having a great time there, and Dream, in an interview, reveals that he's not technically single. Ft. mentions of the PSMP

Need to Know: Explicitly Non-Binary!Reader, early-20s!reader, reader is an incredibly well known film & tv star and has been living with Dream for several months/just over a year. Polyamory.

{ masterpost : 2 / 3 }

A/N: 6997 words. OH MY GOD ITS LITERALLY DOUBLE THE LAST ONE WHAT. also pretend its several months ago and i had this done on time please and thank you xx PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK I LVOE THIS FIC AND THIS STYLE OF WRITING EVEN IF IT TAKES ME AGES!!

Taglist: @esylwen @ihatesunfl0wers @theghostpeach @rainyaheysoe @magicastle @tidelqnds @icarusthefoolish @randokku @todaynotseen @moyo5653 @kittyfragsmini123666 @lacunaanonymoused @parkerpeanuts @sadredflower0000 @jay-being-weird @ronsbadidea @lacunaanonymoused @dreamtogether2000 @summerknights @mishthemess @lovejoywill @randosposts @stormy-skies-falling @gaysludge @hatchetislostpog @cryinghotmess @boiled-onionrings @busyfangirling12

Taglist is always open! Feel free to message or comment if you’d like to be added! xx

· JANUARY ·

At the beginning of January 2021, Y/N's tweet 'so glad they pushed back the SAG awards to march this year at my request, my boyfriend just moved in so im unavailable for the rest of the month' quickly followed by 'dont worry its not because i carried furniture and hurt my back or anything, my boyfriend helped him with all the heavy lifting, i just want to know i have several weeks to be domestic without being interrupted' caused chaos and confusion on Twitter, and they trended for the following 8 hours. After relative radio silence for twelve hours, the only tweet you chose to interact with was one that asked 'which is the side piece tho', to which you responded 'both i sleep in the middle 💙❤️🖤'.

Y/N also retweets a video originally posted on TikTok by user @.woolfenhawke; the woman in the video has dark skin and is wearing pale yellow pyjamas. The label at the top of the video reads 'millennial celebrity Y/N every single time they open Twitter Dot Com'. She starts facing away from the camera, and turns around suddenly, and the camera zooms in very quickly on her face as she lip-syncs to the audio of Tyler Oakley saying 'Hello LGBT community'.

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The most popular fandoms in the character tag of Y/N Y/L/N are Actor RPF, HELIX (2020) RPF, Star Wars RPF, X-Men RPF, and American Horror Story (TV) RPF. The most common pairing is tied between Y/N Y/L/N/Amandla Stenberg and Y/N Y/LN/Evan Peters, followed closely by Y/N/Reader. However, since the beginning of January, there has been a steady increase in fan works rated Mature or Explicit featuring polyamorous pairings.

Reposted from Tumblr and quickly growing in popularity is the fanfiction '(in the absence of everything) i promise to keep you warm'. The first chapter was posted on November 24, 2020, one week after HELIX's public premiere, and has updated consistently in the following months. It is ongoing, at 13 chapters and approximately 45,000 words. It has the following tags; Explicit, Actor RPF, Y/N Y/L/N/Chris Evans/Pedro Pascal, Y/N Y/L/N & Amandla Stenberg, Y/N Y/L/N & Oscar Isaac, AU, Assistant!Y/N, Polyamory, Polyamory Negotiations, Movie Sets, Secret Relationships, Power Dynamics, Protective Chris Evans, Protective Pedro Pascal, Daddy Kink, Fluff and Smut, D/S Undertones, Service Top, Domestic Fluff, Social Anxiety, press publicity and paparazzi, Red Carpets.

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Sapnap posts a photo of himself and Patches in order to announce that he's moved in with Dream and Dream's housemate. Not long after the official post goes up, two posts are added to his Instagram story.

The first is an piece of fanart of Y/N's character Woolfe standing back to back with who appears to be Technoblade from the DreamSMP as he's often depicted in fanart. Technoblade is wearing what appears to be the top half of a boar's skull as a mask covering his eyes, while Woolfe is wearing the angular, aesthetically cyberpunk mask that covers their mouth and looks like a wolf's nose and snarling mouth. The background is black while both characters are lit in sharp relief from either side, with Woolfe being lit in neon green, and Technoblade being lit in neon pink. Stretching across the whole middle of the piece in bold, white lettering is the quote 'If you want to be a hero then die like one.' The art piece is in landscape, A3, and framed and hung against a dark wall. The artist of the piece has been tagged, and across the top Sapnap has added 'proof of housemate's 'not a shrine' to technoblade' in pink letters.

The second is of a polaroid stuck to a dark wall, and an unlit but partially used candle at the very bottom of the image. The polaroid is partially obscured as Sapnap appears to have purposefully edited the photo to scribble in black over one of the figures in the photo to hide their identity. What can be seen in the photo is Sapnap, a little blurry, clearly laughing, half turned from the camera and positioned like he's leaning into someone with his arm around them. There is am arm around his shoulder that is unobscured, but their hand is cut out of the image and they are wearing long sleeves, so there is no identifiable features visible. Over the black scribble, in white text; 'a little bit of a shrine ❤️'.

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"They travel a lot, the housemate travels a lot for work usually," one of the earliest streams Sapnap does after he moves is a somewhat indulgent Q&A while playing Valorant, "in like, chunks of time, a few weeks I guess? But when they're home they're still working, but usually in a way that's, I guess more similar to me and Dream? Like it'd feel weird and, I don't know, like arrogant, I guess? To compare our work? Usually at least. But because of how everything is, you know, a lot of their work is online, and like we have a schedule for who needs the house quiet at what times. That's- that's all I can really say. I know it's vague," he laughs apologetically, "but it has to be." Then, after a few moments of reading through chat he frowns, "can you tell us where housemate is now? I don't know if I'm allowed, hang on," he pulls out his phone and types away, "I'll ask." It doesn't take more than a minute for him to receive a response; "they're on the West Coast, that's all I'm allowed to tell you."

He does not address any of the numerous questions asking him to clarify the Housemate's relationship with Dream or himself.

· FEBRUARY ·

@.dreams-housemate-updates changes their twitter handle to @.dreamnaps-housemate-updates. Their header also changes to the meme image of Bugs Bunny, pointing with both hands to the right, overlaid with the communist flag, with the words "Our Housemate" in the centre.

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@.YourTwitter: me and the boys at 2am looking for BEANS [Image ID: Y/N, Amandla, and the director of HELIX all posing on the red carpet for the Golden Globes.] | @.YourTwitter: BEANS acquired [Image ID: Two stills from the live broadcast of the Golden Globes, the first one being of Y/N and Amandla in the audience, leaning against one another and clutching each other, beaming and on the verge of tears as they are looking up, presumably at the stage. Y/N has their free hand up and partially covering their mouth. The second is of HELIX's director Robert Eggers on stage having just received the Golden Globe for Best Director of a Motion Picture. He has a hand to his heart and is using the Golden Globe itself in his other hand to point out into the crowd, presumably to Y/N and Amandla.]

HELIX was nominated for 5 Golden Globes in total, and won two; Best Director - Motion Picture, and Best Original Score - Motion Picture.

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On Valentine's Day, you post one picture to your Instagram story. It's of a nondescript hotel bed covered in red rose petals. The duvet is black and neat, and the only caption you've added is white text highlighted with red in the top right corner; no shitposts today im actually in love.

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It had been somewhat disheartening to be on set on Valentine's Day knowing you were so far from the two people you loved the most. It's been weeks since you were home, which only made it all the harder. The shoot went well, and you were glad to be messaging Dream and Sapnap through the day, even if you couldn't be near them.

Around lunch they tell you that they're sending flowers to your hotel, that it was meant to be a surprise but they'll need your room number, and that the hotel might call to confirm with you. As much as you love the gesture, it makes you miss them both even more, and you start browsing flights back to Florida on your phone in between takes, fantasizing about having the time to take off and see them.

The hotel calls in the afternoon, and you confirm that anything from your boyfriends has full permission to be placed in your room while you were gone. Sun will be setting in a few hours, there's no time left for your fantasy to come true, not if you wanted to remain professional.

There'd always be next year, you tell yourself.

You message to say that you miss them, and they respond in kind, both quick to assure you that there's always going to be more time, that one day wouldn't matter. Perhaps not in the long run, but today it felt like it did.

So when you get back to your hotel and see the rose petals on your bed, it feels too good to be true.

And when you catch sight of both Dream and Sapnap waiting patiently in the larger living space of the room, you feel yourself begin to tear up. They're both with you immediately, wrapping you up in their arms, endeared as they try and soothe you, murmur for you not to cry.

It's been a long day of heartache, thinking that you'd be without them, so it's all you can do to hold them tightly, a mess of laughter and cathartic tears as you tell them how much you love them both. You hadn't realised just how much you'd missed them until this moment, until you're peppering them with kisses and babbling about how this has gone from the worst day to maybe one of the best of your life.

"So far," Sapnap grins teasingly, kissing your temple. Dream echoes his words, echoes his tone, and you feel yourself growing flustered as your initial wave of shock and awe had died down.

Best day of your life, so far.

· MARCH ·

In early March 2021, the nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards are announced, and HELIX receives 6 nominations; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects, and Chris Evans is nominated for Best Supporting Actor. Controversy arises, however, as Y/N is also announced as a nominee for Best Actor.

A statement is released by the Academy the day after the nominees were announced, stating the decision as to which category they were nominated in was due to the technical broadness of the category, and that Y/N's team had been contacted prior to the nomination being confirmed.

A day after The Academy releases their statement, Y/N posts two updates to their Instagram story;

1. A blurry selfie taken in bed, sheet pulled up to their neck, giving the camera peace sign. Across their forehead reads 'its an honour to be nominated, im looking forward to the day that there's a category specifically for nonbinary actors and actresses so people like me don't have to be torn to shreds online when people try to acknowledge and appreciate us'.

2. A photo of a mostly empty plate sitting on their bedside table, covered in crumbs, with a knife and fork sitting in the middle. Their hand can be seen giving a thumbs up closer to the camera, and is captioned '"why didn't you respond before now its been two days????" sorry buddy i was getting my shit rocked and eating pancakes in bed. i knew it'd be a hot button issue online so i decided to celebrate the nom first. im allowed to celebrate my achievements ✌️'.

----

@gnflmnop: you remember that one time @.YourTwitter tweeted about the dsmp right before their movie premiered and then Never Again? Did I hallucinate that? | @YourTwitter: my boyfriends bully me whenever I go to tweet about it :( | @YourTwitter: they're mad about who my favourite is (it goes back and forth but they're never happy with who I say 😔) | @.YourTwitter: if y'all knew my boys this would be so much funnier, I promise this is all v lighthearted. | @.gnflmnop: Who's your current fav?? | @.YourTwitter: @.Quackity 🥰 | @.Quackity: HOLY SHIT

· APRIL ·

HELIX ends up winning four of the six Oscars it's nominated for; Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Score, and Y/N wins Best Actor.

Transcript of Y/N's winning speech from the 93rd Academy Awards for their performance in HELIX:

Before I start, I need to say something to the people like me - non-binary and trans people like me - beyond this room, watching this live or in the future; hi! Look! We can see it now, you can see me; the world is changing and our future is bright! [Brief pause.] Now, on January 4th this year, my ex-manager told me I was an unhireable PR nightmare, and tonight he decides to text me; congrats on the nom, for your own sake don't start a twitter tirade when you lose, Anthony Hopkins is eighty seven, he can't fight back. [They are becoming audibly choked up.] To that I say; don't you wish you put your energy into something useful? [Pause as they compose themselves.] Which is why I'm up here, thanking my amazing manager who actually believes in me, our whole incredible team behind HELIX, especially Rob and Amandla - you should both be up here with me, because I wouldn't be here without either of you. [They take a moment to clutch the Oscar to their chest, looking overwhelmingly grateful.] And the only thing better than this is knowing I get to see my wonderful, supportive, damn amazing partners after. My favourite place in the world is at home with you both, I love you. [Sniffling, they give a watery laugh.] This is a moment, isn't it? This is our moment. Thank you.

Given the immense exposure of The Oscars, Y/N's speech quickly goes viral. The backlash from the conservative side of the internet is immense, however the outpouring of support still manages to dwarf it. It's seen as a cultural reset, with 'the world is changing and our future is bright' being painted across every LGBT+ corner of the internet. Also, both the polyamorous and nonbinary communities specifically appear to adopt the phrase 'this is our moment'.

----

The following interaction occurred during a Just Chatting stream on Wilbur Soot's Twitch channel on the 30th of April, and can be found in the stream's VOD beginning at 53:46.

"Can I share something surreal with you all?" Wilbur asks, tone vaguely bemused as he was streaming with Tommy, Ranboo, and Philza, "lads, chat, can I share the most, I think unexpected reaction I've received after yesterday?"

"Unexpected how?" Ranboo snorts a laugh.

"Like, I think it was the emotion I was going for, but I never expected this person to contact me?"

"Oh interesting, who was it?" Tommy asked excitedly.

"Well, I mean, there's weird ways the SMP kind of breaches containment that makes me think 'ah, people lying for attention on the internet again'," Wilbur begins, and is met with stifled giggles from the others, who seem to know exactly what he means by that sentiment, "which I don't necessarily know why I think that, since most times it's kind of innocuous or makes a roundabout kind of sense, like a politicians kid getting them to tweet at us, but there was something a few months back that I heard about and I was like 'that's absolute bullshit'."

"You do especially seem to get a few weird ones," Phil agrees.

"And I don't usually get star struck; I'm not trying to brag here, but I've had - well, we've all had - some pretty high profile encounters here and there," Wilbur's voice was rising in intensity, as the others voiced their agreement, "but there was an interaction a few months ago, and I kind of shot my shot since I don't use Twitter and had my Discord passed on to this person, and nothing really came of it."

"Who was it, man?!" Tommy groaned, frustrated by Wilbur building up the encounter, much to everyone else's amusement. Wilbur pauses for a moment.

"Yesterday I received my first message from Y/N since we'd connected on Discord, after months mind you, and it's a selfie of them giving me the thumbs up, whilst clearly crying -"

"What?!" Several of the others in the chat exclaimed, Wilbur clearly matching their confused, startled energy.

"Right?! And you wanna know what the caption was? Here, I'll read it to you guys, it says; Wilbur, why am I crying about minecraft ghost."

Silence.

Then;

"Three days ago they won an actual fucking Oscar; what reality am I in right now?" He crows, still clearly baffled.

"That can't be real," Ranboo announced, sounding a little dazed.

"Why is Y/N Y/L/N crying about minecraft ghost, Wilbur?" Tommy practically yelled, "we saw HELIX together with Tubbo the last time I was in Brighton, I refuse to believe fucking Woolfe shed real tears over Ghostbur!" Then, after a beat, "oh God, and it was my fault too! I need to start writing an apology," he's clearly half joking, and the others play along.

"The character Woolfe?"

"No, to Y/N themselves," Tommy says, adding, "maybe if I ask Dream nice enough he'll take it back."

Not long after this conversation occurred live, the following was posted to Twitter;

@.YourTwitter: ooh lads, me and my parasocial relationship might not survive this one omg @.WilburSoot @.philza @.tommyinnit @.ranboo | @.ranboo: [GIF from Y/N's award speech at The Oscars; Y/N is holding their award to their chest, standing behind a podium. The caption at the bottom reads 'This is a moment, isn't it?'.]

And;

@.Dream: despite wishful thinking, no celebrity tears based twitter campaign will make me take back certain SMP based events. in fact if you tried i think id just double down and say certain minecraft ghosts got what was coming to them | @.YourTwitter: @.YourTwitter | @.YourTwitter: see its that easy to @ me. <3 | @.Dream: didn't you win an oscar? please get a hobby | @.YourTwitter: dont vague me just because ur mad ur not my favourite | @.Dream: @.YourTwitter You make me want to smack you sometimes. | @.YourTwitter: hot. dm me. | @.Dream: Why are you like this? | @.YourTwitter: for the bit. <3

· MAY ·

@.enbyhawke: @.DreamWasTaken @.YourTwitter the people have spoken. Link to the Change.org petition 'Let Y/N Join The DreamSMP'] | @.YourTwitter: @.Dream the people have spoken 😌 | @.Dream: @.YourTwitter the people need to be quiet, I already told you no in our DMs. | @.YourTwitter: [GIF from Mean Girls of Regina George, phone to her ear, caption at the bottom reading 'Boo, you whore.']

----

Rating: Explicit Archive Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply Category: Other Fandom: HELX (2020), Dream SMP Relationships: Woolfe (HELIX)/Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) Characters: Woolfe (HELIX), Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF) Additional Tags: PWP, what is this lol, crack, based on a twitter post, Eric Andre Voice LET ME IN but its woolfe and the dsmp, Power Imbalance, hate fucking, choking, spit, reluctant bottoming, degradation, so close to just writing RPF but im pretending to have dignity, ch 1 is afab!Y/N, ch 2 is amab!Y/N, otherwise the chapters are identical, just like every other smut oneshot with Y/N or their nb characters lol, the Y/N fandom etiquette is beautiful tbh we all know what we're doing here, WAIT c!Dream IS LITERALLY JUST A YOUNG VERSION OF CHRIS EVAN'S CHARACTER OH MY GOD, DOWN TO THE EXPERIMENTING ON PEOPLE AND KILLING THEM AND BRINGING THEM BACK Language: English Series: Part 1 of isn't bite also touch (HELIXsmp) · Next Work -> Stats: Published: 05-15-2021 Words: 4863 Chapters: 2/2

i'll tell you my sins (and you can sharpen your knife) FullContakt

Summary: There's a price to pay for clear intentions. Woolfe understands the roles and rules of this place and is happy to call themselves a villain, however the one who originally chose that title isn't exactly willing to give it up, so Dream decides to find out exactly how far Woolfe is willing to go for it.

Notes: Y/N and Dream's one online interaction makes me laugh so fucking hard, they're both so chaotic, I don't know who is the one with the audacity here. I think they both have far too much. But anyways, since im lowkey obsessed with the few HELIX/DSMP crossovers we already have here (literally never cried as hard as i did finishing starslikerhinestones's Woolfe/Wilbur MASTERPIECE 'a hero's job is to die'. seriously if nothing else please read it for Hawke being THE BEST OLDER SIBLING to tommy, as long as you don't mind tragedy and heartbreak) ANYWAYS seeing that interaction between Y/N and dream just made me think that Woolfe and c!Dream would HATE each other so here, they beat the shit out of each other... and yeh fuck a bit. Enemies-to-enemies-who-hatefuck.

----

Sapnap makes an offhand comment during a stream about how he's missing their housemate since they went to the UK. Dream seems to share this sentiment, joking 'and we didn't even get to swap them for George while they're gone, it's so unfair'. Both seem genuinely disheartened by the housemate's absence, but make a note of how proud they both are of everything the housemate has been doing.

----

From May 20th to May 23rd, the 'PenisSMP' or 'PSMP' trends on Tumblr as a shitpost directed at the Minecraft YouTube community, that flourished on the oft overlooked blogging platform, was quickly co-opted and expounded upon by said community.

In amongst its colourful cast and rapidly developing lore, several real figures were included and adopted into the kayfabe, including current members of the DreamSMP such as Tommyinnit (given the alias 'Wife_Haver' in the PSMP), and ConnorEatsPants, with no significant alterations to his already established character whatsoever, just that he existed in this SMP too. Alongside them, Y/N was quickly adopted into the lore and cast of characters with the in-game alias of '4rs0n_R1sk', as first mentioned in user @.localtubboenthusiast's post;

localtubboenthusiast literally why is anyone surprised that fvckass blew up half the server?? why is ANYONE surprised they keep setting fires??? they were literally hand raised by 4rs0n_R1sk!!! #who is literally being played by one of the most chaotic actors of our generation #this is why dream didn't let Y/N join the dream SMP #hes a coward #psmp #penissmp #penismp #y/n y/l/n #4rs0n_r1sk #fvckass the sheep #fuckass the sheep

And the follow-up question they received;

Anonymous asked: WAIT HOLD UP THATS WHERE I KNOW 4RS0N'S VOICE??? ITS Y/N????

localtubboenthusiast answered: yeah apparently they're friends with penis irl and asked if they could join out of spite after the whole dream refusing to let them into the dsmp thing 😂 can't believe they literally don't even stream they're just there lol

#also in case it wasn't clear i AM a PenisUnavailable And ShittyFartBaby69 Are Actually Y/N's Boyfriends truther #4rs0n_R1sk #Y/N Y/L/N #PSMP #penismp #penissmp

Fanart of '4rs0n_R1sk' usually depicts Y/N as either their character Woolfe from HELIX, or Contakt from The New Mutants with a warm colour pallet and fire powers. They are usually drawn with 'Fvckass the Sheep', 'PenisUnavailable', or 'TurboThruster'.

----

@.YourTwitter: went to dublin and all I got was spit on. they give you exactly what you ask for here, amazing customer service 🥰 | @.Ic3_Squared: Hey bestie some thoughts should stay in your head ❤️

· JUNE ·

I Spent A Day With DREAM was posted to YouTube by Anthony Padilla on the 9th of June, and the following exchange begins around minute 5;

Dream: God it's so weird, actually, because there's been these huge changes in my personal life that have happened, like, parallel to the whole YouTube thing, but are still significantly effected by it, if that makes sense? Anthony: What kind of changes to do you mean? Dream: Like, uh, I'm not fully sure if I'm able to talk about this, though I guess if this bit makes it into the video I've confirmed that I am allowed to actually talk about it, [Dream laughs] but I feel very lucky to currently be in the best relationship of my life, but like, I feel like that would have happened, like me- me and my- you know, [Dream stumbles over his words a little, as if to purposefully dance around the precise wording of the relationship] that would still be happened even if I never blew up.

----

📌 Pinned Tweet @.dreamnaps-housemate-updates: If Dream is dating his housemate that would be news to us too. We don't have any more information than anyone else on this matter. Please stop asking us, thank you.

----

On June 26th Twitter user @.goldenghostgirl asks you if you'd be watching Minecraft Championship (Pride), and who you'd be watching. You respond less than half an hour later with three consecutive tweets; 'me and my parasocial relationship will be watching pink parrots 😌🦜💓', then 'only because @.smajor didnt invite me to play which isn't his fault since he doesn't know I'm secretly very good at minecraft.... but just so you know... for next pride... 👀 👉👈' and finally 'im actually being legit here, minecraft as a game is far bigger in our house than I really let on, I'd love to prove my boyfriends' mentoring has paid off 💖'.

For MCC Pride, the team Pink Parrots is made up of SolidarityGaming, Grian, Wilbur Soot, and Technoblade. Highlights from their team during the event include;

Wilbur makes a point to say hello to Y/N at the beginning of the event as he figures they're probably watching. When providing clarification for the situation to the rest of his team in the VC he refers to it as 'mutually parasocial'. Wilbur also jokes about becoming an honourary member of Y/N's polycule. Y/N does not publically comment on any of this; it is not made clear if they saw it.

Technoblade mentions that Dream has been DMing him during the event, and that both he, and his housemate who isn't Sapnap, but is just happy to be here, are cheering them on.

Wilbur's fire alarm chirping aggressively, much to his growing frustration, until he has to disconnect as there is apparently an actual fire emergency in his building. He had to talk to the firefighters who arrived on scene in order to confirm that he was safe to re-enter the building. He is able to rejoin MCC.

In Wilbur's absence, there are several suggestions for a temporary replacement; Technoblade suggests Dream, Grian mentions that Y/N has put their hand up on Twitter, while Wilbur himself suggests Philza Minecraft. Philza ultimately becomes Wilbur's temporary replacement.

Philza breaking down with laughter when he reads your follow up tweet; "Don't look at me, I retract my statement. Coach, I was wrong I'm not ready for the big leagues, you shouldn't put me on. If you have the choice of Philza Minecraft of course you choose Philza Minecraft." He then adds, as his laughter dies down, that he understands now why Wilbur had called his interactions with you 'surreal'.

After the event concluded, you post one final tweet; "if any interviewer ever brings up today I WILL lie."

· JULY ·

On July 14, the final episode of Loki is released on Disney+. During one of the final scenes, after the timelines have all split and Loki is making his way to try and warn Mobius about what had happened, we see Y/N being dragged through the facility, clearly reprising their role as the mutant Contakt (Itta Marie) from 2020's New Mutants.

An hour after the premiere of the episode, Y/N tweeted twice;

1. 'oh yeah lol should update my IMDB about that'.

2. 'nd yeah dad acquired, for those keeping score at home' [Image ID: Y/N and Tom Hiddleston in costume as their respective characters Contakt and Loki on the set of the Loki series. They appear to be in an animated discussion between takes.

----

@.YourTwitter: there's no irl sdcc so no-one can stop me from cosplaying and doing some sort of Q&a.. need suggestions. And questions.

@.YourTwitter: imagine if I became a twitch streamer lol. anyways q&a here [Link to user PR Nightmare on Twitch.]

"Tommyinnit in my chat? Is this real?" You found yourself beaming with delight, "do you wanna join? DM me your Discord on Twitter, you're awesome, dude!"

"Are you cosplaying Ghostbur?" Is the first thing Tommy asks the minute you voice call him.

"I am!" You tell him with delight.

"Why?"

"I miss him," you admit freely. Tommy snorts a laugh, but the conversation trails off until, "it's so cool to talk to you finally, both my boyfriends speak so very highly of you."

"You're... a fan of mine?"

"I like your videos, yeah," you agree without hesitation, "and your arc is super compelling to watch on the SMP."

Tommy goes very quiet for several long moments before you hear faintly 'ow... ow... ow...'.

"Are you okay?" You ask, concerned, and Tommy hums for a moment.

"Sorry, just had to pinch myself a few times," then even as your laughing fondly, he continues, "still not convinced this is a real conversation I'm having."

----

@.dreamnaps-housemate-updates posted a clip from Sapnap's then-latest Minecraft stream on July 28th with the caption 'i love the way they love';

"What's been your favourite part of living with me so far?" Dream's voice is saccharine and teasing as he asks Sapnap live on stream.

"God, you're so needy," Sapnap laughs, though his tone is fond. While his focus remains primarily on his screen where he's playing Minecraft, occasionally his gaze will flick to something to his left, off camera.

"Thank you," Dream sounds quite smug, "but is that really your favourite?" In the silence that follows, Dream's tone takes on that saccharine tone as he prompts again.

"I mean if you twist it the right way, like with the right words," Sapnap sounds uncharacteristically soft, almost embarrassed, and seems to be intently focusing on his game with a faint flush to his cheeks.

"Twist what? Me being needy?" Dream half laughs, but Sapnap continues, sincere.

"I mean, I obviously wouldn't actually word it like that, but you're obviously the best part of living with you," he admits, a warm silence follows, and finally Sapnap looks directly at whatever is to his left, though he still appears to be addressing Dream when he speaks; "I'm not mentioning our housemate because they already look like they're a half second away from saying something emotional despite the fact that I'm live," he warns pointedly with a grin, as if to stave off the housemate in question. Then, after a moment, he softens his tone and expression considerably, practically radiating affection, "but you're the other best part about living here."

----

@.StardewwSoot: how long have @.YouTwitter and @.Callahan been mutuals? 👀👀

· AUGUST ·

@.YourTwitter: in Switzerland, finally able to add another Hot Hollywood Dad to my collection of father figures @.VancityReynolds

@.YourTwitter: ALSO PREMIERE OF FREE GUY AT THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL!! DEFINITELY SHOULD HAVE LEAD WITH THAT!!

----

During an interview as part of Free Guy's press junket, an interviewer asks Joe Keery and Ryan Reynolds if either of them had met Y/N's partners.

"No, but I'm sure they're having a great time in Canada with my high school girlfriend," Ryan says without missing a beat as his younger costars break out in laughter. All three of them are grinning, a clearly easy comradery between them all, even as Y/N gives him a shove and insists their boyfriends are real. "Oh yeah, then what are their names?"

"I wish I could tell you, but I literally can't," you admit, a little sheepish, even as Ryan loudly proclaims that you're not making a strong case for yourself, "I wish- dude, I promise I wish I could tell you, but you wouldn't even begin to believe why I can't!" You insist once more.

----

@.yourtwitter: my toxic trait is every time I miss my boyfriends I read fanfiction about them and send them links to my favourites | @.yourtwitter: the reviews are in folks

[screenshot of a group chat titled '🎉 No Noise Complaints Since 8/23 🎉'. cat daddy: [screenshot of above tweet] cat daddy: your toxic trait is being funny when we're not able to publicly respond H0TB0I: your toxic trait is never specifying when you're missing us or being a menace Ryan Reynolds Lover: ????? cat daddy: @H0TB0I cranky because you skipped the tags and read mpreg aren't you Ryan Reynolds Lover: oh lol yeah no I was just being a menace when I sent that sorry 😅❤]

| @.asheeberree: WAIT PEOPLE WRITE FANFICTION ABOUT YOUR BOYFRIENDS??? WHO ARE YOU DATING??

Less than an hour later, Sapnap tweets out "our housemate just said 'pass me your phone I want to cause problems on purpose' so that's the only context I can give for whatever the next tweet is ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯" less than three minutes later, the following tweet is posted to Sapnap's alt account:

@.sapnapalt: dreamnap housemate here hello sap's twitter, I have a question. why are y'all sleeping on omega!dream and alpha!sap as concepts? I'm absconding with his phone so you have time to answer and I can see your responses before he deletes this 😘

· SEPTEMBER ·

A selection of articles and quizzes from Buzzfeed.com tagged Y/N Y/L/N in the month of September, 2021;

If Ever We Have To Elect A Representative For All Millennials, Here's My Pitch For It To Be Y/N

(Quiz) Plan Your Mission And I'll Tell You Who In The Mandolorian's Crew Would Be Your Bestie

10 Most Plausible Potential Secret Beaus For Y/N (And The Hottest Fanfiction For Each To Prove It)

(Quiz) Plan Your Ideal Date To Find Out Which Of Y/N's Hot Hollywood Father Figures Is Your Daddy

This Talented Artist Does Everything Right In Their Artwork Showcasing Their Fancast for The Breakfast Club In 2021

· OCTOBER ·

On October 3rd, you tweeted in rapid succession 'Callahan's my best friend now', 'hacker voice: im in', '@.Quackity heyyyy what are u doing rn? u free buddy?' and then a link to your Twitch account, where you were live on the Dream SMP.

The following is one of many short clips that you liked on Twitter after your Stream ended;

"Hey look at you go," Quackity laughs "you know your way around here better than I do; you weren't lying about watching us it seems."

"Yeah, well I play quite a bit with my boyfriends, since it's something they're really into, and they really got me into the SMP in the first place; they've been invested in this since day one," you said, smiling warmly before you leaned close to your camera and mic, "and now chat, you're gonna go ahead and clip that for me, and post it to twitter, so they can see it."

----

Dream and Sapnap both post photos to Instagram of several Halloween costumes they wear together. Most of the photos are just of the two of them, always with Dream entirely covered to continue obscuring his identity, but the final photo of both photosets is one of the housemate, for the first time in record.

They appear to be wearing a black hoodie, black gloves, black jeans, and appear to have borrowed the mask Dream has worn previously.

In Dream's Instagram post, the housemate is looking directly down into the digital camera they have around their neck, clearly having been taking the photos for Dream and Sapnap. The mask is lifted off of their face and sits on top of their head, however with the angle they are looking, the mask completely obscures their face and smiles directly at the camera.

In Sapnap's post, the setting is different to any of the other photos, as it appears to have been taken in a living room. Dream is still wearing the black hoodie and Squid Game mask, while the housemate appears to have fallen asleep with their head in his lap. Dream's mask is on the arm of the sofa, as is what appears to be a bright green hoodie. The housemate's hood is up while they're laying with their back to the camera so their face isn't visible. Dream is resting a hand on their hip and has his phone in the other, seemingly still using it despite his mask.

On Halloween itself, Y/N posts an image of themselves against a black wall dressed the same way as Dream appears in a few of the earlier photos he'd posted of himself, with a green hoodie, completed with a large, white, smiling mask. Both on Instagram and Twitter the photos is captioned 'this is my official apology to @.DreamWasTaken for breaking into his server'. Dream responds on Twitter telling you 'you're on thin ice....... lucky you're almost as cute as i am in that fit'.

· NOVEMBER ·

On November 11th, the trailer for the 15th season of sitcom 'It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia' is uploaded across the series' various social media platforms. The clip, that lasts just over one minute, appears to take place in Dublin, and includes indications that Y/N will play a reoccurring character throughout the season.

The two most notable clips are;

'Sweet Dee' seems gleeful as she informs Y/N that they are a great assistant, before immediately spitting upon them.

And;

"So we need you to clarify which of us is gay -" Dennis posed the question to Y/N standing close beside his sister.

"Mac, right? He's the gay, isn't he?"

"Yes," Dennis frowns, "but he likes men, and you are -" he gestures to their body, "not. However, if we," he gestures between himself and Dee, "both are trying to sleep with you, then one of us is gay," he paused, visibly deliberating, "or, well, not gay, but also not straight, since that would make this much easier for me, but for me to be straight you'd have to be a woman and you are -" again, he gestures to their body, "not..." Dennis clasped his hands together, tone growing almost furiously frustrated, as if at Y/N themselves, "so now, you beguiling little minx, have made us both potentially neither gay nor straight, you have turned us into Schrodinger's Fruits!" Waiting, breathing hard at the end of his outburst, it cuts to Y/N, visibly confused by the situation, brow furrowed.

Not long after the clips are posted, you retweet it with the caption 'show with the most BDE (big dad energy)' and a photo of yourself on set in Dublin in the middle of a cheesy group hug between the five lead actors of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Not long after, the show's official twitter responds with;

@.AlwaysSunny: Welcome to the family! [ID: Four stills from the upcoming season of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia; 1. Dennis clearly having taken Y/N by surprise, grabbing them by the shoulders and kissing them. Neither appears to be enjoying themselves; Dennis's entire expression is scrunched up like he's smelled something awful, while Y/N is so tense their arms are throw out to the side. 2. Dee and Y/N nose to nose, both staring intensely into each others eyes, the tips of their tongues awkwardly touching where they're poking out of their otherwise closed mouthes. 3. Charlie and Y/N both covered in mud, fully clothes in a bog up to their waists, passionately making out. 4. Mac leaning against a bar counter from behind it, beaming brightly at Y/N who is slouched at the back. Mac is gesturing proudly to four different coloured liquor bottles lined up in the order yellow, white, purple, black, thus making a side-on nonbinary flag. Y/N is giving the display a tired smile.]

----

@.YourTwitter: I honestly can't believe that on Halloween I celebrated a year with my dream boi, and like a week later I got to celebrate again with hot boi, just before the anniversary of HELIX. | @.YourTwitter: everything has happened so much this year, Im so proud of all the wonderful people in my life and all the projects we've worked so hard on!! | @.YourTwitter: omg this might have been the best year of my life..... | @.Dream: so far. | @.Sapnap: So far. | @.YourTwitter: @.Sapnap @.Dream ur both so right,, best year of my life So Far 😌

· DECEMBER ·

December 2021 is surprisingly quiet.

At the beginning of the month you announce that since you've actually got some time off, you're going to be stepping back from social media to focus on spending time on your partners and yourself. Many voice their support for you, including both Dream and Sapnap.

Sapnap streams far more frequently than Dream, and it's notable that he seems incredibly bright in all December streams, even moreso than usual.

Dream does two Twitter Spaces during the month, and in both he sounds practically giddy, explaining that both he and Sapnap are glad to have their housemate home for the holidays.

----

The Archive Of Our Own tag 'Clay | Dream/Sapnap/HousemateWasTaken' has 98 works by the end of 2021. The fanfiction with the highest kudos in this tag is 'Tommy's Guide to Imports and Exports', which is part 3 of user alliumc4t's series 'The Kids Aren't Alright'. This series revolves around the romantic relationship between Dream, Sapnap, and their housemate, whilst also becoming legal guardians of Tommyinnit, Tubbo_, and Ranboo. The series is still labelled as ongoing, and contains the following fics;

'Ohana' Isn't A Real Word

Blessed Be The Boys Time Can't Capture

Tommy's Guide to Import and Exports

Time's Arrow (The Achilles Heel)

The Only Normal Person In This Whole Damn Building

Flags and Other Decorations

----

And finally, to book end the year, Y/N posted the following Tweet just after midnight on New Year's Eve:

For all you asking, the boys were each other's New Year's kiss, I gave our cat a smooch on her little fuzzy noggin. Good start to the year all around. 💖

#dream x reader #sapnap x reader #dream imagine #sapnap imagine #dream x reader x sapnap #dreamwastaken imagine #dreamwastaken x reader #mcyt imagine #mcyt x reader #dsmp imagine #dsmp x reader #cc!dream x reader #cc!dream imagine #cc!sapnap x reader #cc!sapnap imagine #cyltlanp #Spotify

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thatsonemorbidcorvid · 3 months

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“OnlyFans takes 20% of whatever creators earn on the platform. The top creators, most of whom are famous women, rake in millions a month. Below them, those in the 0.1%, earn around $100,000 (£80,000) or more every month. The typical creator, though, has 21 subscribers and brings in $151 monthly. A different survey* revealed that, on average, an OnlyFans creator makes about $180 every month. To earn the big bucks, you need to be better than 99% of creators on the platform. An opportunity that the growing number of agencies have begun to recognise, and have come swooping in, proffering the secret to success.”

I could be earning hundreds of pounds a week, apparently. I’ve been spotted, online, for my potential. And, as I wait impatiently for payday, dragging myself through those long days at work where nothing extraordinary happens, it’s tempting. Really tempting. How? I can become one of the OnlyFans 1%. At least, that’s what this agency is telling me. They would manage everything, I’d work less and earn more, and I wouldn’t even need to show my face. Win, win, right? But, as I was about to discover, what these agencies are really doing is less manager, more pimp… They’re selling a lie dressed as ‘the dream’.

One google of OnlyFans and the stories come rolling in. There’s the ‘Florida woman who quit her Chick-fil-A job to become an OnlyFans model and now earns a whopping $14K a week,’ or ‘the mum-of-two who makes £5,000 a month and saved a £60k deposit for a house in just two years.’ All rags-to-riches tales of women who bid adieu to their boring or unfulfilling lives and now make more than burned-out city bankers.

Your parents probably know what OnlyFans is, so extreme is its ubiquity. The UK-based company barrelled into the industry in 2016, offering users the opportunity to monetise their influence and sell exclusive content to their fans. Not all of this content is adult… but it’s largely, now, what the platform is known for. Sex workers, cam girls and adult film stars enjoy the autonomy OnlyFans offers, in an industry where – previously – they had to rely on bigger companies to either cast them, promote them or, in the case of strip clubs, give them a place to work. On OnlyFans, the creator chooses what content they produce and when, working hours that suit on a self-employed basis.

The platform’s popularity peaked during lockdown (something attributed both to traditional venues closing down and more people being pushed into financial hardship). Between 2019 and 2020, the number of registered users rose from 13.5 million to 82.3 million. Now, there are 190 million active users and 2.1 million of those are creators. Between 2020 and 2021, OnlyFans’ revenue increased by 220% – to $4.9bn.

OnlyFans takes 20% of whatever creators earn on the platform. The top creators, most of whom are famous women, rake in millions a month. Below them, those in the 0.1%, earn around $100,000 (£80,000) or more every month. The typical creator, though, has 21 subscribers and brings in $151 monthly. A different survey* revealed that, on average, an OnlyFans creator makes about $180 every month. To earn the big bucks, you need to be better than 99% of creators on the platform. An opportunity that the growing number of agencies have begun to recognise, and have come swooping in, proffering the secret to success.

It was 3am and Pollie† had just finished filming her latest content. She’d been doing what’s known as ‘dick rating’, where fans send her pictures of, well I think you can guess what of, and she delivers them a critique of the picture. But, despite working for hours, she still couldn’t go to bed – she had 30 messages to reply to, from her fans, and each needed special care. She wasn’t in the mood for sexting, but if she slipped up, was snappy or not as ‘fun’ as they thought her to be, then she would lose their support. Bleary-eyed and frazzled, she checked the clock… 5am. She was finally ready to wind down. Her kids would be awake soon and she’d need to do the school run.

Pollie, who’d set up her OnlyFans account in April 2022, was succeeding on the app. She enjoyed it a lot more than her old job in the corporate world, plus it could work around the hours she needed to do since falling sick with an autoimmune disease while pregnant. She was making okay money, but with all the hours she was putting in, it wasn’t worth it. ‘It was extremely lonely,’ the 30-year-old mum says from her home. ‘It had reached the point where I didn’t have the motivation to cook.’ She’d heard that other OnlyFans creators hired people who would do a lot of the accounting and messaging, leaving her with more time to create content. Within a month of starting OnlyFans, she decided that she also needed extra help. She didn’t know then that it would end up costing her a lot more than she ever thought.

Agencies exist to help models manage their productivity, schedule work, help with time management and marketing. In theory, they aren’t any different to an actor, author or influencer hiring a PA or manager. ‘Creators may choose to work with a wide range of third parties, including photographers, videographers, talent managers and agencies, to curate and monetise their content,’ an OnlyFans spokesperson told us, adding that, ‘Any third party that a creator elects to work with does not work on behalf of OnlyFans and is not affiliated with the company in any way.’ There are also plenty of reputable agencies that are a great help to the creators and can take their business to the next level. But then there are the rogue ones. They take many guises, from the ones going after people like me, who don’t have profiles yet, claiming that they can make people hundreds without showing their faces, to those approaching existing OnlyFans creators and promising to elevate their brands and take all the hard work off them.

‘One person doesn’t have enough hours in the day to do OnlyFans and earn good money, unless you’ve got millions of followers on Instagram and are ready to mass DM them,’ says Pollie, who was building her OnlyFans profile and trying to attract a fan base from scratch. ‘If you’re just an average Joe like me, agencies are quite important because they have the strategies and finances to help you out,’ she notes.

The agency told Pollie they would do everything. She logged out of her OnlyFans account so they could post her content and reply to fans. They’d monitor her email inbox and the money made, paying her an allowance each month (40% of the profit, they took 60%) as they took total control of her account. Pollie was new to this, she didn’t know how it usually worked. Plus, they were convincing. Two months passed without them paying her. She was also still doing 90% of the work, as the agency had stopped doing any promotion for her. Pollie, curled up with her cockapoo on her sofa, takes a deep breath as she remembers. ‘I’d spend so many hours just crying, thinking, “What the fuck have I got myself into?”’ Spiralling, she demanded her log-in details. Her blood ran cold. The agency had earned $9,000 from her and had only sent her a meagre cut, not the 40% she thought they agreed. They blamed exchange rates and bank fees. When we spoke to OnlyFans, it confirmed that creator accounts have to be set up by an individual who goes through extensive identification checks before they can upload content, and that all payments are made to creators’ bank accounts, with the name field for all bank accounts uneditable. Pollie claims her agency got around this by setting up a bank account in her name.

I spoke to six OnlyFans creators for this piece, all of whom had experiences with different agencies. However, there were common threads that ran through each of their harrowing stories, with financial abuse looming large. Student Josie†, who started an OnlyFans to help pay her tuition fees, went from earning £1,200 a month to £160 in three months after signing on with an agency that sold her profile to another, without her knowledge. It then locked her out of her account, changing the email and refusing to give her the new password. ‘I was crying all day,’ she recalls. ‘I thought I was going to lose my account.’

Lia†, an ex-OnlyFans model, who also worked as a marketing and talent manager for an agency, describes being in message groups with the agents where they spoke derogatively about the women they managed, including racist remarks. The agents advised each other on control tactics such as blackmailing women who didn’t pay them their cut, by threatening to send all their pictures to family and friends. At one point, one agent said (in messages seen by Cosmopolitan), ‘Sounds like time for a leak of content… revenge porn,’ before a colleague reminded them that they could get into legal trouble for that.

As for the professional marketing strategies and account growth promised? This turned out to be fake followers and likes bought to boost profiles, and ‘the chatters’ (people employed to pretend to be the model, to chat to fans and boost engagement) were mostly friends and family members of the company directors. ‘Only one of them had sales experience,’ says Lia. ‘[The models] were giving away a percentage of their earnings for no reason.’ Meanwhile, agency staff began promising fans in-person meet-ups that, aside from the safety and privacy concerns, is a violation of OnlyFans policy, with their spokesperson telling us that ‘OnlyFans is a site for digital connections, and in-person meetings are strictly against our terms of service. Words such as “meet” are not allowed on the platform and we use AI tools to screen for them. Supported by our AI tools, our team of human moderators review all content uploaded to the platform, including direct messages, and anyone found to be breaching our terms of service faces being banned from the platform.’

Lia screenshotted everything and showed it to a solicitor. They told her she couldn’t take it further because they’d taken themselves off Companies House, a government register of legitimate companies. ‘Every few months, they set up a new business name. They would rack up a lot of debt, and a lot of unhappy clients. But then the clients can’t do anything about it because they’ve now resigned.’

‘No one actually needs a subscription for your pussy…’ I’m chatting on the phone to flame-haired Rebecca Goodwin, who’s an OnlyFans success story. Before joining the platform, she was £15k in debt and feeding her children with food vouchers. Today, she earns between £60,000 and £100,000 a month. But, despite her success, she’s keen for people to know about the hard work that goes into it. ‘People think, “Oh, OnlyFans will save my life.” It’s just not that easy,’ she explains. ‘We’re in a cost-of-living crisis, so you have to put 10 times the amount of work in [to get subscribers].’ You need to be in people’s faces constantly to do well, Goodwin adds.

People message Goodwin all the time asking if they can sell content on OnlyFans without showing their face or having any social media. ‘Less than 10% of it is the actual act of anything explicit. In fact, 90% of the job is constantly being on social media, piquing people’s curiosity so they want to see more,’ she shares. She’s a brand. ‘People remember my name. They know my personality, rather than just someone anonymous on a free porn site. That’s what they pay for.’

Yet, it was exactly this that I was promised. The opportunity to build a fan base without having to show my face, or use my own social media channels. Agents prey on vulnerability. When Goodwin’s page started blowing up five years ago, it all got too much. ‘My anxiety was awful. I thought that having all the money would be an exciting time. But it was just so much more pressure than I could have ever imagined.’ She signed a 12-month contract with an agency, whose advice then led to her losing a bulk of her subscribers and income.

That was a year ago, and the 29-year-old from Chesterfield is in a much better place now. She works without an agency, and puts time aside (8pm to 11pm, six days a week) to answer messages. It’s a lot of work to sext this many people every day, but her fans expect a personal connection. They send pictures of themselves, she sends a video back. She’ll also ask how their day went, and the chat might get deep. Others are witty and playful. It’s very rewarding, she says. Alongside this, she makes three or four movies a month. They are comedic parodies, professionally produced. Her titles include The Little Spermaid, Super Mario Hoes and Lord Of My Ring. Each movie takes two days (seven hours of acting with clothes on, 20 minutes of sex) and costs about £4,000 to make. The bulk of her time is spent promoting the films and her page across social media, which is why her average screen time is 10 hours a day.

On one shoot, she met adult film director Dick Bush. They got on and decided to become business partners. He gets between 15% and 20% of her earnings a month, which amounts to between £15k and £20k. It’s worth every penny to work with one person she trusts rather than an inexperienced team she’s never met, Goodwin says. He helps her with filming and editing, brainstorming ideas for content and finding new work opportunities. He also motivates her for the sex scenes. ‘I’ve got the worst self-confidence in the world. So I have to talk myself into doing sex scenes for days before actually doing it.’

What Goodwin has discovered is her niche. With new creators joining OnlyFans each day, most have to find a way to stand out. The top performers find their USP and perfect it. Astrid Wett is known for also being a boxer. Bonnie Locket uses her knowledge and love of super cars to attract fans. Goodwin is known for her comedic parody fantasy films. ‘Being down to earth and having tits – I soon realised how important it was to stand out from the rest of the competition,’ she notes.

But what if you don’t have a niche? The agencies, it turns out, will find one for you. Pollie, who now has 123k followers on the app, has settled as a ‘curvy football mum’ but she’s also been a nurse, piano teacher, an office worker; whatever an agency (she’s now moved between a few) suggested she try, she did. I was also told by one creator, who preferred not to be named, that she was pressurised into creating content about wanting to sleep with a stepson, something she was opposed to doing as it would make her own stepson feel uncomfortable. But she was bullied into it and eventually gave in. The platform may have been built to put the power back in the hands of sex workers, but it seems the more business has boomed, the more outsiders – often men – have tried to exploit the women at its core.

‘How I made $100k a month in 2023,’ the video proclaims. Only this time, it’s men, not women, being sold a dream on OnlyFans. YouTube is full of hacks on how to earn six figures a month running an agency. Like the Bitcoin-hungry crypto bros before them, the OnlyFans boom provided a chance to cash in. Men see how supposedly easy it is to make money and are lured in to set up their own creator-management agencies. I’ve been told of men telling their partners or friends they could make loads of money if they let them manage their OnlyFans account.

But, as the platform (and cash within it) grows, what can be done to stop this from happening? An OnlyFans spokesperson told us, ‘OnlyFans provides creators with a platform to monetise their content and engage with their fan base. Our relationship is with the content creators and OnlyFans is not affiliated with and does not endorse any third party or agency.’ This stance exists within a wider context of murky UK legislation. OnlyFans itself is legal (with restrictions on certain types of content), as is working with agencies. However, laws for in-person sex work state that working with a third party is illegal. This results in those who feel taken advantage of by their agencies feeling afraid to go to the police, not to mention the long-running mistrust that sex workers have for law enforcement.

Transparency could help break this cycle. The more that creators speak out about exploitation, the more sex workers know what to look out for. But perhaps we also need to break our dated perceptions of what OnlyFans is and how it functions. Society sends the message that when a woman is using her image to make money, then she mustn’t know what she’s doing. That it’s work that doesn’t require a brain, only a body. But, as every creator I spoke to showed, making it on OnlyFans is a business. And today, it’s about being a business owner in a highly saturated market. Like all new companies, you’ll need a strong plan, a USP and the energy and drive to hustle, hard. And like any other business, the dream doesn’t really exist. Overnight success stories are rarely what they seem and, where there’s money, there’s always a host of snake oil salesmen trying to cash in. Third party OnlyFans agencies are no different, but due to the law and a society that shames sex work, forcing it underground, they have the opportunity to exploit and thrive.

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verypersonalscreencaps · 1 year

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Hey guys, it’s time to share my favourite film watches of 2022! I can’t say that I saw every film that was on my watchlist but I think there were some definite highlights. In ‘new releases’ we have this Top 20 (very loosely ranked!): 1. Aftersun (dir. Charlotte Wells) 2. Tár (dir. Todd Field) 3. The Woman King (dir. Gina Prince-Bythewood) 4. The Wonder (dir. Sebastian Lelio) 5. À Plein Temps (dir. Eric Gravel) 6. Mrs Harris Goes To Paris (dir. Anthony Fabian) 7. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (dir. Sophie Hyde) 8. Les Passagers De La Nuit (dir. Mikhaël Hers) 9. The Quiet Girl (dir. Colm Bairéad) 10. L’Événement (dir. Audrey Diwan) 11. The Fabelmans (dir. Steven Spielberg) 12. Fire Of Love (dir. Sara Dosa) 13. Les Années Super 8 (dir. Annie Ernaux & David Ernaux-Briot) 14. Les Olympiades (dir. Jacques Audiard) 15. Nobody Has To Know (dir. Bouli Lanners) 16. Ali & Ava (dir. Clio Barnard) 17. Top Gun: Maverick (dir. Joseph Kosinski) 18. Dowton Abbey: A New Era (dir. Simon Curtis) 19. Emily (dir. Frances O’Connor) 20. Rien À Foutre (dir. Julie Lecoustre & Emmanuel Marre) And in ‘older releases’… 1. The Worst Person In The World (2021, dir. Joachim Trier) 2. Amanda (2018, dir. Mikhaël Hers) 3. Ce Sentiment De L’Été (2015, dir. Mikhaël Hers) 4. The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012 , dir. Felix Van Groeningen) 5. Bright Star (2009, dir. Jane Campion) 6. The Handmaiden (2016, dir. Park Chan-wook) 7. Daphne (2007, dir. Clare Beavan) 8. Oslo, August 31st (2011, dir. Joachim Trier) 9. Robin And Marian (1976, dir. Richard Lester) 10. La Belle Saison (2015, dir. Catherine Corsini) As hard as it is to believe, 2023 is almost upon us, it's time to wish you all a HAPPY and SAFE New Year. Have a wonderful time wherever you are in the world. Big love 💗💗

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beautifulpersonpeach · 7 months

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This is an opinion piece. Many will not agree with me, so I have laid out some facts. Scooter’s wife divorces him and his biggest clients leave him by the end of 2022. As if the pandemic wasn’t hard enough, hey Scooter? Karma?

2017

-On May 21, 2017, BTS won the Billboard award for Top Social Artist, beating out Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, and Shawn Mendes. Beiber and Grande at that time were both signed to Scooter Braun’s agency. Everyone took notice.

Except Justin that is, lol.

2018

-Here he is in August 26, 2018 answering fans questions about Jungkook and BTS. He had listened to one song - FIRE.

https://youtu.be/aDHRFWrM08g?si=_0ql84of_Z6R1lVw

2020

-Jan 14, 2020 Justin announces he has been diagnosed with Lyme Disease

https://www.healthline.com/health-news/justin-bieber-lyme-disease

-July 23, 2020 Justin announces tour dates - previously delayed because of Covid pandemic

https://www.cp24.com/entertainment-news/justin-bieber-announces-2021-dates-for-rescheduled-tour-1.5036378b

2021

-April 13, 2021 The Redemption of Justin Bieber. Justin has struggled. With addiction, depression, anxiety and the law. He has been isolated from his peers and elevated to celebrity superstar status before reaching adulthood. In the western world that’s a recipe for disaster. Whether you like his music or not, there’s no denying Justin Bieber has talent. The numbers speak for themselves.

https://www.gq.com/story/justin-bieber-cover-profile-may-2021

-May 6, 2021 covid pandemic causes Justin to cancel tours until 2022

https://toronto.citynews.ca/2021/05/06/justin-bieber-postpones-canadian-summer-tour-dates-until-2022/

-April 2, 2021 Scooter sells Ithaca Holdings to Hybe.

https://www.reuters.com/article/hybe-ma-ithaca-idUSL4N2LV13C

(Interesting that 11 days later that month the redemption of Justin Bieber article in GQ is published)

-And a month later, June 25, 2021, Scooter flies to South Korea to meet his new company, the vast potential of new, polite, trainees, various established groups under the Hybe umbrella and world superstars, the BTS members. I have to sigh here, the author of this article can’t even be bothered to include each member’s name. Just a general Scooter says “they’re great”. Because he couldn’t care less? He had his wonder boy Justin, and potentially a whole new generation of talented people to work with should the need arise in the future. I believe the members of BTS individually or as a group weren’t his priority at the time. I remember that period when fans were asking if a collaboration with Justin Bieber would be possible in the future. BTS handled these questions very delicately.

https://www.koreaboo.com/news/scooter-braun-experience-meeting-bts/

And during the epidemic, all is quiet except for the BTS members who work continuously through this period, appearing virtually on several shows aimed at the western audience.

2022

-March 13, 2022 Hybe’s gross profit from of PTD concert one night show in theaters is a Blockbuster Hit! $32.6 million in revenue earned from 3711 cinemas.

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/bts-permission-to-dance-on-stage-seoul-llive-viewing-gross-1235203444/

-June 8, 2022 Justin postpones North American tour dates (Look at the scheduled list of dates)

https://www.sportskeeda.com/pop-culture/why-justin-bieber-postponing-north-american-tour-dates-singer-says-sickness-getting-worse

-September 4, 2022 BTS’s PTD tour reportedly earns $ 230.7 million in concert revenue

-September 15, 2022 Scooter to pay $20 million in divorce settlement but gets to keep private jet

https://people.com/music/scooter-braun-ordered-pay-ex-wife-20-million-divorce-settlement-keeps-private-jet/

2023

-January 24, 2023 Justin sells his music catelog

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/24/media/justin-bieber-music-catalog-sale/index.html

-January 25, 2023 Scooter becomes sole CEO of Hybe America

https://variety.com/2023/music/news/scooter-braun-hybe-ceo-bts-1235500913/

- February 9, 2023 Scooter buys Quality control music

https://www.thefader.com/2023/02/09/scooter-braun-quality-control-music-hybe-deal

-February 10, 2023 Hybe buys 14.8% stock in SM entertainment

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/09/media/south-korea-hybe-sm-entertainment-deal-intl-hnk/index.html

-Feb 23, 2023 Justin cancels remaining tour dates

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2023/02/28/justin-bieber-cancels-justice-world-tour/11368719002/

-March 5, 2023 Hybe to raise up to $769 million to purchase shares in SM Entertainment

https://www.kedglobal.com/mergers-acquisitions/newsView/ked202303050002

-March 24, 2023 Hybe sells shares in SM Entertainment

https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/hybe-sm-entertainment-k-pop-1235563480/

-March 26, 2023 Records are broken worldwide with Jimin’s album release FACE on March 24, 2023

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbenjamin/2023/03/26/bts-jimin-sells-over-1-million-copies-of-face-solo-album-worldwide-for-record-breaking-24-hours-in-korea/

-August 23, 2023 ABANDON SHIP!! Is everyone leaving Scooter?

https://www.koco.com/article/scooter-brauns-artist-roster-what-we-know/44894780

Everything I have ever read about Scooter, I don’t respect him enough to write his proper name, is that he puts himself first. Previous clients do not speak highly of his management. Taylor Swift for example.

Interesting fact, Taylor Swift, Halsey (Boy with Luv collaboration with BTS) and Camilla Cabello (Shawn Mendes is her ex) gave a great performance of “Shake it off” at the American Music Awards in Nov 2019.

Perhaps when Justin’s health issues became too grave to hide from the public or Justin himself refused to be held to his contract, (and perhaps Justin sold his catalog to cover his costs/penalties of canceling his tour) Scooter had an empty sandbox with no one to play with.

And, having lost his main source of income and having a keen head for business, (vulture capitalist) he had already set his sights on a new revenue stream. Of the seven BTS members, one in particular had released songs by Justin Bieber, proving he had what it took to be successful in the western market.

Jungkook has been a Bieber fan since he debuted with BTS. He ticks all the boxes needed for the western market, doesn’t he? Masculine build, tattoos, piercings, outstanding vocal ability and dance skills/technique and is a member of the greatest musical group in history?

No wonder Scooter went to the White House with BTS. Had to be sure to be there at the Grammys too. Front and center as though he was responsible for their success.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/hybe-is-raising-380m-to-fund-more-music-acquisitions-in-the-us-report/

Confusing isn’t it?

1) Hybe buys Ithaca holdings April 2021

-$ 1 billion + reportedly

2) Justin Bieber Tour is canceled several times, and he pulls out of remaining tour dates February 2023

- $ unknown

3) Scooter buys Quality Control music one month after being named CEO of Hybe America February 2023

-$ 300 million

4) Hybe buys 14.8 % stock in SM entertainment February 2023

-$ 334.5 million

5) Hybe sells stock in SM entertainment for

+ $ 191.8 million March 2023

Well thank goodness for BTS. In 2022, their PTD tour earned:

+ $ 230.7 million concert revenue for PTD Tour

+ $ 32.6 million from PTD theater showing, limited engagement, in 3711 cinemas

Someone had to keep the lights on in that new building and families of the employees fed.

Which brings us back to Jeon Jungkook, Bieber admirer, a man who most definitely fits the “western audience appeal”, possessing talent beyond what we in the west have seen in many years.

And then there’s his equally talented, gifted dancer “Bro” Jimin who broke all the records right before him but does not bow down to those who whisper behind his back, lol.

And by coincidence, their music videos, promotional materials for their solo albums and many of their conversations seem to hinting at something 😉

Oh Scooter, it isn’t fun when someone beats you at your own game, is it?

When in doubt as to what is going on in an organization, follow the $$$.

I firmly believe the budget allowed for BTS’s chapter 2 “solo period” was capped due HYBE’s financial acquisitions at the same time.

In my opinion.

***

Now, @westcoastgal1,

I commend the effort you've put into this ask and I can tell you're trying to build a case for your theory(-ies), but I'm not sure what exactly that theory is.

Is it that "I firmly believe the budget allowed for BTS’s chapter 2 “solo period” was capped due HYBE’s financial acquisitions at the same time." ?

Is it that Scooter is broke and HYBE shifted financial resources from BTS to support him and their SM acquisition? Didn't HYBE tap capital markets precisely to raise proceeds for that purpose though? Or is it that Scooter is looking for a windfall in BTS now that his old roster of artists have abandoned ship?

But then, what is the implication here?

"And then there’s his equally talented, gifted dancer “Bro” Jimin who broke all the records right before him but does not bow down to those who whisper behind his back, lol.

And by coincidence, their music videos, promotional materials for their solo albums and many of their conversations seem to hinting at something 😉"

Is it that Jimin wasn't willing to play Scooter's balls like JK did apparently? But he had no issues accepting the Fast & Furious gig? And if so, what's the takeaway here? How does this tie in to the similarities in their concept pics styling, etc, so far?

You've already put quite some effort into building out this timeline so I hate to ask you to do more work, but I'm afraid the dots aren't quite connecting for me just yet. If you'd like to send me a follow up ask succinctly explaining what you mean, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, all I can say is this looks like a variation of the same fan theories I've seen people come up with to explain Jimin's solo rollout relative to Jungkook's. The fact there's so much discourse around it indicates something else to me, but I'll let the dead horse be.

#bpp misc posts

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rookie-critic · 1 year

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Rookie-Critic's Top 20 Films of 2021: #14 - Last Night in Soho (dir. Edgar Wright)

Edgar Wright's ode to the Italian giallo horror of the 60s and 70s is one trip of a movie that will have you questioning what's real, what's not, who's bad, who's good, and everything in between right up to the big reveal. Wright is no stranger to fast-paced storytelling, and while there are moments in this that have his definite stamp of frantic on them, most of the movie is more reserved in its storytelling, at least compared to Wright's previous films like Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Hot Fuzz, and it's nice to see one of the best modern directors stretching his abilities and really showing what he can do when he's outside of his typical way of doing things. It's also nice to see Thomasin McKenzie in her first major leading role giving it just everything she's got. The dream sequences (as well as the rest of the film) are exquisitely shot and the neon soaked streets of London never seemed more ominous.

Score: 9/10

Currently available for streaming on HBO Max.

#Top 20 Films of 2021 #Last Night in Soho #Edgar Wright #Thomasin McKenzie #Anya Taylor-Joy #Matt Smith #Michael Ajao #Diana Rigg #Terence Stamp #film review #movie review #2021 films

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dynamoe · 9 months

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Last month I uploaded the last chapter of Tomorrow's Just Another Day to AO3.

71,832 words, written between 5/2022 - 6/2023 → go to the Billy Quizboy & Pete White index

If you read any of this shit, thank you very much. I hope you got some entertainment out of it. I can now retire from my brief but intense career as fiction writer.

— THIS TUMBLR IS ALSO RETIRED —.

Tomorrow... follows Boy Genius: 54,414 words between 11/2021 - 2/2023

Boy Genius was meant to read like a (very long, unfocused) episode of the Billy & White spinoff show, had it existed. Tonally, it's in the sci-fi-through-mundanity Venture genre: a SuperScience convention paralleled with the culture of competitive boy geniusing. Billy's mother is the only other canon Venture Bros. character to appear.

Tomorrow is fan fiction in response to fan fiction. I never saw a Billy romance attempted so I wrote one. It's not slash or erotica— just '90s style indie film awkwardness. Not in the Venture Bros tone at all. There's no sci-fi element other than Billy's robot hand; no Venture content other than Billy's Rusty Venture memorabilia collection.

It's still a nostalgia wank. I go real deep on mid-1990s specifics.

Because the show came out so slowly over a long period of time (20 years!), the current generation of most-fired-up-fans are way younger than the creators or the characters. Each fan creates their own internal canon for the characters they love. They experience it through their own frame of references. Own it. Go on with your bad self. I GET IT! YOU DO YOU!

THAT SAID...

Seeing fan stuff saying like "Pete identifies as gamer ..something something playing Minecraft" "Billy buys import Vocaloid/Anime figurines" totally gives me whiplash. Because I'm an old. (Not as old as AstroBase Go and not as old as Conjectural Technologies but enough to know their references.)

My read on it— Venture Bros is a quintessentially a Gen X show and Gen X nerdery is a whole other animal. Being a weird dork manifested in a whole other way before widespread internet use and the current age of geek culture dominating pop culture. It was a shameful niche.

So, playing around in the '90s I got to define some of that old school dorkwad identity and I got to top-load it with every nostalgic element of the era I could think of (and research for even deeper cuts.) I was in high school then, so some of that shit is stamped on my brain.

I created an original character who I hoped would be interesting and flawed and believable for the era but most importantly funny playing off the characters fans would already know. (And then get rid of her when I was done, though I felt bad about it.)

Between the two stories, the only material I never found a use for was high school stories of 9-12 year old Billy meeting an inspirational (secretly alcoholic/crack-smoking) teacher, taking over the varsity Quizbowl Team, a battle of wills with his rival (the unctuous team captain with a McEnroe perm and temperment) and getting stood up by his prom date (Pretty in Pink situation where he is both Duckie and Andie).

if you've read all the way to the end of either story, please leave me a comment or send me an ask or DM or something. I wrote a hell of a lot of words (and drew way too many illustrations) on this fuckin' thing. Thanks.

all Billy Quizboy & Pete White material:→ FAILURES of SCIENCE index

off into the sunset (in a universe where I didn't blow her up)

→ go to the Billy Quizboy & Pete White index

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strawberrybyers · 4 months

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for the past few years i’ve been keeping track of every film i watch for the first time ever throughout the year. in 2023, i watched the most amount i have documented so far! out of those 132 films—i wanted to share some of my favorites <3

1. aftersun (2022) dir. charlotte wells

2. the bling ring (2013) dir. sofia coppola

3. king richard (2021) dir. reinaldo marcus green

4. the whale (2022) dir. darren aronofsky

5. nine days (2020) dir. edson oda

6. air (2023) dir. ben affleck

7. top gun: maverick (2022) dir. joseph kosinski

8. glass onion (2022) dir. rian johnson

9. take care of maya (2023) dir. henry roosevelt

10. the king’s speech (2010) dir. tom hopper

11. girl in the picture (2022) dir. skye borgman

12. green room (2015) dir. jeremy saulnier

13. pulp fiction (1994) dir. quentin tarantino

14. red, white & royal blue (2023) dir. matthew lópez

15. boys don’t cry (1999) dir. kimberly pierce

16. scream vi (2023) dir. matt bettinelli-olpin & tyler gillett

17. the menu (2022) dir. mark mylod

18. the quiet girl (2022) dir. colm bairéad

19. barbie (2023) dir. greta gerwig

20. interstellar (2014) dir. christopher nolan

21. the super mario bros. movie (2023) dir. michael jelenic & aaron horvath

22. the craft (1996) dir. andrew fleming

23. bones and all (2022) dir. luca guadagnino

24. bullet train (2022) dir. david leitch

25. when harry met sally… (1989) dir. rob reiner

26. pearl (2022) dir. ti west

27. molly’s game (2017) dir. aaron sorkin

28. pain hustlers (2023) dir. david yates

29. elemental (2023) dir. peter sohn

30. nyad (2023) dir. elizabeth chai vasarhelyi & jimmy chin

31. the other zoey (2023) dir. sara zandieh

32. oppenheimer (2023) dir. christopher nolan

33. eloise at christmastime (2003) dir. kevin lima

34. leave the world behind (2023) dir. sam esmail

35. tinker bell (2008) dir. bradley raymond

36. prayers for bobby (2009) dir. russell mulcahy

37. little women (1994) dir. gillian armstrong

38. saltburn (2023) dir. emerald fennell

39. candy cane lane (2023) dir. reginald hudlin

40. the grinch (2018) dir. scott mosier & yarrow cheney

41. a season for miracles (1999) dir. michael pressman

42. bottoms (2023) dir. emma seligman

(these are ranked in the order that i watched them)

full list of films i watched in 2023 on my letterboxd

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turtlycute · 4 months

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My Top 10 Anime Watched in 2023:

Nana (2006) episodes: 47 started: 9-11-23 finished: 9-14-23 rating: 10/10

Sasaki to Miyano: Graduation (2023) movie watched: 9-28-23 rating: 10/10

Dororo (2019) episodes: 24 started: 3-1-23 finished: 3-3-23 rating: 9.5/10

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion (2023) started: 7-8-23 finished: 7-9-23 rating: 9.5/10

Summer Time Rendering (2022) episodes: 25 started: 1-12-23 finished: 1-14-23 rating: 9/10

Suzume (2022) film watched: 4-18-23 rating: 9/10

Skip Beat (2008) episodes: 25 started: 2-24-23 finished: 2-26-22 rating: 9/10

Big Windup (2007) episodes: 26 started: 8-13-23 finished: 8-15-23 rating: 9/10

My Happy Marriage (2023) episodes: 11 started: 7-5-23 finished: 9-22-23 rating: 9/10

Ahiru no Sora (2019-2020) episodes: 50 started: 8-3-23 finished: 8-8-23 rating: 9/10

Honorable Mentions:

Belle (2021) film watched: 1-11-23 rating: 9/10

Oshi no Ko (2023) episodes: 11 started: 9-6-23 finished: 9-7-23 rating: 9/10

Buddy Daddies (2023) episodes: 12 started: 7-19-23 finished: 7-20-23 rating: 9/10

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) film watched: 5-19-23 rating: 9/10

#2023 anime watch list #my anime list #2023 top ten anime list #top ten favorites #nana #sasaki and miyano graduation #dororo #why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion #summer time rendering #suzume #skip beat #big windup #my happy marriage #ahiru no sora

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historyhermann · 1 year

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Booming LGBTQ Representation in Animation in 2021 [Part 1]

Two of the choices for “Fan Favorite Couple” in Autostraddle’s Annual Gay Emmys in September 2021 were in animated series. Both choices are highlighted here by yellow boxes.

In December 2020, I wrote that there is “hope in the future for diverse storylines and expanded representation,” adding that there is “a lot to look forward to in 2021 in terms of animated series…[which] will undoubtedly affect the ongoing war between streaming platforms for more subscribers, profits for themselves, and film distribution itself.” That still rings true, and 2021 has even more representation that I had imagined in December 2020, with continuing series like The Owl House, Disenchantment, Helluva Boss, Star Trek: Lower Decks, the third (and final) season of Final Space, and many others. The representation in 2021 is part of the “whirlwind” of LGBTQ representation which creator Noelle Stevenson described in November 2021.

Reprinted from Pop Culture Maniacs, my History Hermann WordPress blog on Jan. 15, 2023, and Wayback Machine. This was the seventh article I wrote for Pop Culture Maniacs. This post was originally published on January 5, 2022.

When Autostraddle, a digital lesbian culture publication, posted about their annual awards show, the Annual Gay Emmys, in September 2021, the influence of LGBTQ representation in animation was evident. [1] While most of the nominees for the categories were live-action series, there was an entire category dedicated to such series, “Outstanding Animated Series.” Harley Quinn, Blues Clues & You!, the “Obsidian” episode of Adventure Time: Distant Lands, The Owl House, “The Politics Episode” of One Day at a Time, and Magical Girl Friendship Squad were nominees. [2] The Harley Quinn episode “Something Borrowed,” was one of the nominees for the “Best Episode with LGBTQ+ Themes” category, and two couples in animated series were nominated for the “Fan Favorite Couple” question. When the results were announced Harley Quinn won for Outstanding Animated Series, although it was unfortunately the only animated series to win in a category. Of the series nominated, Magical Girl Friendship Squad and One Day at a Time ended in 2020, [3] Distant Lands ended in 2021, while three others are ongoing (Harley Quinn, Blue Clues & You!, and The Owl House).

Keeping this in mind, reviewer Jade King, in a review of The Owl House, said “we shouldn’t look toward giant corporations for continual queer representation.” While that still rings true, many of the shows with LGBTQ representation are produced and broadcast by such companies. For instance, of the over 20 Western animations noted in this article, almost all of them are produced by the subsidiaries of companies like Disney, WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, ViacomCBS, and Sony, which bring in more than $1 billion a year. [4] The same is the case with many of the Japanese anime series noted in this post, which tend to have more LGBTQ representation, generally, than Western animation, although the instances of representation between Western and Japanese animation is slowly reaching the same level, and Japanese anime often plays into “many problematic aspects” and stereotypes in one way or another. King also pointed out that queer representation is not a competition, but should be a collaboration, rather than putting down one show while elevating another, arguing that “queer representation isn’t a linear path to acceptance. It’s messy and inconsistent.”

In 2021, shows on streaming platforms lead the way when it came to representation. Netflix tops the list in this regard, with shows like Disenchantment, Carmen Sandiego (to a lesser extent), and City of Ghosts. With Disenchantment, the show was described as “queer through and through,” with what some would call queer vibes throughout, had its third part air on Netflix in January of 2021. Recurring characters Odval (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) and Sorcerio (voiced by Billy West) were shown to be a gay couple, while there was an implied gay couple between Big Jo (voiced by LaMarche), and his assistant, Porky. Furthermore, Princess Bean, called a “rebellious, alcoholic, adventurous princess” by one reviewer, the show’s protagonist, voiced by Abbi Jacobson, was shown to be bisexual or pansexual. This is illustrated through her kissing the elf, Elfo (voiced by Nat Faxon), trying to have sex with various men, seeming to have feelings for Lady Bowmore (voiced by Tress MacNeille), female explorer, and falling in love with a mermaid named Mora (voiced by Meredith Hagner). This is further supported by the fact that Jacobsen is bisexual herself, making the representation that much more genuine. As for Carmen Sandiego, it was more implied than anything else. In February, in Instagram Live interview, Duane Capizzi, the showrunner of Carmen Sandiego, said that it was intentional that Le Chevre (also known as Jean Paul) and El Topo (also known as Antonio) were together, and confirmed them at a couple, calling them villains which are “sweet,” but you “can’t help but love.” [5]

Carmen Sandiego and Julia Argent in the Carmen Sandiego: To Steal or Not to Steal animated film

Some fans also speculated that protagonist Carmen Sandiego had feelings for Julia “Jules” Argent, called “Carulia” by fans, but that has not been confirmed by Capizzi or anyone on the show’s staff. Similarly, for City of Ghosts, the LGBTQ representation was subtle rather than outward like in Disenchantment. In the case of that series, Thomas, one of the show’s protagonists, a specialist of the Ghost Club and voiced by transgender child actor Blue Chapman, was non-binary, confirmed as such by show creator Elizabeth Ito. One episode of the series also showed a character with two mothers. The series, more broadly, was praised for its simple animation and characters, but having “strikingly complex” stories and background art which reflects the “realities of one of America’s richest cultural melting pots,” Los Angeles.

Disenchantment, Carmen Sandiego, and City of Ghosts were not the only Netflix shows with LGBTQ characters. The kids-oriented Ridley Jones also included such characters. The preschool animated series included a non-binary bison named Fred voiced by Iris Menas, and two characters (Aten and Kosi) voiced by Andrew Rannells and Chris Colfer, two openly gay actors. The series was created by Chris Nee, who created series like We The People and Doc McStuffins, both of which featured LGBTQ characters. Nee described herself as gay and “relatively butch” in an interview in 2021. Jacobson, who had voiced Bean in Disenchantment, voiced Katie, the protagonist of the animated film, The Mitchells vs. the Machines. In the film, she wears a pin with a rainbow flag and later is noted as having a girlfriend named Jade at film school, with the representation relatively subtle. More outward, in terms of the representation, were Chicago Party Aunt, which included a a gay man named Daniel, and Q-Force, which featured an assortment of LGBTQ characters. The latter series, which had caused great controversy and consternation online due to its use of stereotypes, features a gay protagonist named Steve Maryweather (voiced by Sean Hayes), a gay man named Benji (voiced by Gabe Liedman), a lesbian woman named Deb (voiced by Wanda Sykes), and a gay drag queen named Twink (voiced by Matt Rogers). A late-comer to this article was Arcane, the first part which aired from November 6 to November 20. Show writer Amanda Overton confirmed that Caitlyn Kiramman was a lesbian, saying that there is no word for gay or stigmatization against it in Piltover, meaning that Caitlyn could “marry any gender or race suitor,” but such a person would become “a part of her house.” Overton also said that the relationship between Caitlyn and Vi is “naturally developing,” with the trauma that Vi’s parents were killed by Enforcers, with Vi also confirmed as a lesbian as well. On Twitter, Overton said that everyone on the show’s crew is “working together to tell the same story.”

On November 25, 2021, the final season of F Is For Family, aired on Netflix. It included Louis, the gay brother of Sue, a character voiced by Neil Patrick Harris, an openly gay actor. It also included Ginny Throater, who divorces her husband, Greg Throater, and is bisexual, while Greg is gay, and divorces her as a result. Additionally, Eileen, Frank’s sister, is lesbian and becomes Ginny’s lover. The second and final season of the Netflix series, Centaurworld, premiered on December 7. It featured three gay characters: Zulius, Ched, and Splendib. Zulius, who was hinted to be gay in the show’s first season was confirmed as such in the second season, while Ched was revealed to be gay. Furthermore, Zulius is voiced by Parvesh Cheena, an openly gay actor.

Other than shows on Netflix, there were multiple series on other streaming platforms included LGBTQ characters. For instance, Volume 8 of RWBY, running from November 2020 to March 2021, which streamed on the Rooster Teeth website, featured a trans woman named May Marigold, who is voiced by a trans woman, Kdin Jenzen, a bisexual catlike woman named Blake Belladonna (voiced by Arryn Zech), and various lesbian characters. The latter included Ilia Amitola (voiced by Cherami Leigh) and a couple (Saphron and Terra Cotta-Arc) who have a child named Adrian. At the same time, the first season of Invincible, which aired on Amazon Prime from March to April 2021, included a gay recurring character named William Francis Clockwell, voiced by openly gay actor Andrew Rennells.

HBO Max, also owned by Warner Media like Rooster Teeth, featured a gay couple, Jonny Quest and Hadji Sing, in Jellystone!, while Young Justice, which focuses on young superheroes from DC comics, has a rash of such characters. Specifically, Kaldur’ahm/Aqualad (voiced by Khary Payton) is polysexual, while Marie Logan (voiced by Danica McKellar) is bisexual or lesbian, Eduardo “Ed” Dorado Jr. (voiced by Freddy Rodriguez) is gay, Violet Harper (voiced by Zehra Fazal) is genderqueer, Wyynde (voiced by Robbie Daymond) is gay, and Harper Row (voiced by Fazal) is bisexual. The second half of the fourth season of Young Justice premiered in late October of 2021 and aired until December 30, 2021. While Kaldur reappeared in the newest season and with speaking lines, characters such as Ed, Bart, Violet, and Harper either had no lines, were only pictured, or only their voices were heard. At the same time, Logan died in Season 2, Wynnde has not made an appearance. These are unfortunate developments.

The HBO Max preschool series, Little Ellen, featured same-sex couples, with a second part of season one released in October, while Summer Camp Island, which also airs on HBO Max, includes a non-binary couple (Alien King and Puddle) and two presumably gay ghosts. It was also implied in various episodes that Timothy Brice Campbell in the HBO Max series Close Enough was either gay or bisexual. The second and presumably final season of gen:LOCK premiered on HBO Max and it featured a genderfluid character named Val(entina) Romanyszyn. Her character was not only groundbreaking as a genderfluid character by smashing apart tropes attributed to such characters, but is voiced by a non-binary pansexual voice actor named Asia Kate Dillon. Val confirmed that she was pansexual in the same season and Robert Sinclair was shown to be gay, with a boyfriend named Chris.

Continued in part 2

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