#made with both fansites' permission!

[mlknae]

#unichallenge ▹ ⅔ of top 3 biases  ▹ 足立湯と ↳ © moon16010 | ohmeohmy0123

#universe net #unichallenge #made with both fansites' permission! #i love making this but it took me a while:// #its like 2AM lol #yuto #pentagon #* #gfx:yuto #gfx:ptg #gfx:m

[hoseokb]

splendid

#networkbangtan #bts #bangtan #hoseok #hobi #jung hoseok #jhope #j hope #j-hope #gifs by me* #mine*gif #mine* #i'm so glad i finally caved out and started using my old 2012 year made unused account to ask fansite for the permission to gif :') #if only google translator did better job #like i understood they said yes i can gif as long as i leave all the credit of course #but i wasn't sure about the cropping logo part but anyways i will never crop the logos of fancams of course! #also i put the links both in gifs' descriptions and the caption #if i find someone removing the caption thus making the credit less noticeable i am warning i wont hesitate to block u #leaving the credit where it is - is the least we can do to thank the wonderful fansites who share all these fancams and photos with us! #anyways mayhaps my heart made ten thousand summersaults while i giffed this! #like... he is not even trying oh my godd and he still looks.. magnificent astonishing fabulous spectacular glorious!

[simplybakugou]

Your Biggest Fan | MASTERLIST

PART VI: explain yourself cheater

↝ During the day you work under number one hero Ground Zero’s agency as a receptionist, but at night you run the biggest hero fansite wholly dedicated to the number one hero, Ground Zero himself. When Bakugou stumbles upon your fansite, he goes undercover as a fan using a fake account. Eventually, you both slowly fall for the other’s online alias, completely unaware of who’s actually behind the accounts.

NOTE: so I probably should’ve made this clear earlier but for private twitter accounts, you can’t see the other person’s tweets unless you follow them (they have to give permission) but you can still DM private accounts. Bakugou only has a few people following his private and so does y/n, in other words they don’t follow each other and can’t see each other’s tweets.

A/N: the way that I’d do anything for all of the girls in readersquad, they’re so lovely 🥰 I just love all of their dynamics especially momo 🥺 for the next part, look forward to some more y/n x bakugou interactions!

Taglist: @00ashpop00​ @mrsreina​ @life-is-not-daijobu​ @kingrandomness​ @air-wreckaaa​ @loxbbg​ @thegalxe​ @qunibunisartblog​ @muiyuuuu​ @engel-hageshii​ @wisteriaa-js​ @identifybby​ @maika-sakuranomiya-me @fastfallingstar @faith-daisy​ @jillyinspace​ @artist-bby​ @girlwith-thecinder-blockgarden​ @monviemoo​ @machomango13​ @doggy-48​ @luna-bloodrose​ @helbreajs​ @bnhatrashh​ @mysterioussoso​ @13-09-01​ @effmigentlywithachainsaw​ @the-cave-of-the-red-wolf​​ @missymysa​ @terrifying-testicles​ @sally-wonders​ @kodzu-ken​ @pinkcowgirleggpanda​​ @johnnysactualgf​​ @thorohdamnson​​ @rabbit-luck​ @krxstynnn @mykuronekome @geektastic84 @hot-pocket01 @fandoms-on-main @yuiicorn @poprxcks @yuckygukkie @sunflower-kami-boi @raspberryhaterade @jinks-world @yikes-buddy @aurorahoneybuns @xdlsmx @seokookchan @nerdynstoned @r-atsumu @ggclarissa @domtamaki @icy-hot @1-800-callmekatsuki @yoongis-moons @shiggywiggy @dandyalice @httpglxssy @harajukukitsune @simple-things @sanemisthiccbih @adriloen

#bnha social media au #bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo #bakugou x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #boku no hero academia #boku no hero imagines #my hero academia #my hero academia imagines #katsuki bakugou #bnha bakugou

[k-llama-llama]

Out in the Open

BTS AU: 8th member

Sumi x BTS

Sumi & Changkyun at an award show after their relationship has gone public

Check out my PATREON (patreon.com/kllamallama) for exclusive content.

Requests are OPEN.

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“When do we perform again?” Sumi leaned over and whispered to Jin.

“Not for a while.” He answered. “Why, bored already?”

Sumi sighed, looking around the stage. It wasn’t that she didn’t like award shows, but they did get a bit repetitive after a while. And she couldn’t even really relax, because her dress was constantly in danger of slipping.

Of course, there was another reason.

Even though their relationship was public, Sumi and Changkyun were under strict orders from their companies not to interact at all while they were in public. That meant that even though Changkyun was sitting on the level above her, she wasn’t allowed to talk to him or hold his hand or anything.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t done that for years, it just seemed so much harder now. With fans, and other idols watching, they were literally constantly under surveillance.

Arms wrapped around her, and she looked up as Zoey leaned her head on her shoulder.

“Hey gorgeous.” The younger girl smiled.

“Hey beautiful.” Sumi smiled back, patting Zoey’s arm. “Holding up alright up there?”

“Best view in the house.” Zoey grinned. “I’ve watched at least four people have their cameras taken away.”

Sumi laughed. “Is that what you came to tell me?”

“No, actually...” Zoey leaned close to Sumi’s ear. “Changkyun wanted me to tell you that you look beautiful.”

“You’re flirting for them now?” Jin asked, obviously having heard what Zoey said.

“I’m helping a friend.” Zoey winked at him. “And message for your boy toy, or am I free to go?”

“Tell him I miss him.” Sumi said quietly.

“Will do.” Zoey gave her another squeeze. “Keep killing it, my love.”

Sumi gave a little smirk as her friend pulled away, sighing as she was once again left to watch the intermission screens before the next part of the show started.

After their performance (they closed out the show), all of the artists made their way to the stage to wave goodbye to the fans, presumably as the credits rolled.

Sumi bopped happily, holding a gopro with Namjoon. She was a lot more comfortable in her strapless top and pants than in her dress, and was actually able to move around and wave at people in the audience.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Changkyun. 

She gave him a tiny smile.

He responded by giving her a thumbs up, before pointing at her outfit and licking his lips.

She looked away before any reaction showed on her face. She just wanted to be able to be with him in public, and knowing that even that simple exchange would probably get them some criticism made her really sad. 

“Can you stand on your toes?” Namjoon asked. “So they can see you in the camera?”

“Sure.” She sighed, trying to stand herself up taller. “Can you see me now?”

“Hey, Soo?” 

“Yeah, leader?” She returned a fan’s finger heart with a half-hearted wink.

“Look at me?”

She turned her face up towards him, staring into his eyes. She gave a little smile, puffing her cheeks out.

Namjoon smiled back. “Go be with your boyfriend?”

She shook her head. “We’re still on stage. We might meet up after, and -”

“Go, now.” He poked her in the side. “You’re mopey and so is he.”

“We’ll get in trouble.”

“I’ll deal with it.” He promised. “Go. Before I change my mind.”

Sumi beamed. “You’re the best person ever, you know that?”

“Go.” He insisted.

Sumi didn’t need to be told again. She just left the go pro to him and tried to speed walk over to her boyfriend.

“Sorry, excuse me.” She snuck around GFriend, trying to look nonchalant but also practically bouncing out of her shoes.

“What are you doing?” He hissed when she bounded up next to him.

She grinned. “I got permission. But don’t worry, I’ll be good. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

Changkyun shrugged. “For you, it’s probably worth it.”

They both looked out at the crowd. There were a suspicious amount of cameras turned their way, ignoring as idols began to file off stage.

“The stage is slippery.” Changkyun finally said.

“What?” Sumi looked up at him. “I don’t think it’s-”

“It’s slippery.” He said with conviction. “I should probably hold your hand while we walk off.”

“But what if we-”

Changkyun didn’t listen to her argument, instead just reached down and laced his fingers with hers.

It could’ve been imagined, but she felt like there was a hush that fell over the crowd. She swallowed, looking down at their hands.

“Too late now.” He winked.

Sumi shook her head, but was unable to keep the smile form creeping onto her face. “I guess it is. Let’s go before we get in more trouble.”

“Lead the way.”

Sumi started to make her way off stage, Changkyun trailing behind her. Most of the other idols were already off stage or almost off, so the only eyes that were on them were the fans.

“Sumi!” One of the fansites, standing in the front row, shouted.

Sumi turned and gave a little wave, but hesitated to stop completely. Changkyun didn’t seem to feel any of her urgency, but allowed her to pull him off the stage.

“We’re going to be in so much trouble!” She exclaimed as soon as they were out of view.

“Hey,” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders as they continued walking. “It’ll be fine. It’s not like we made out on stage, we just held hands.”

“After being told explicitly by our companies not to.” She reminded him.

“Noona, what’s the worst that could happen.” Changkyun laughed. 

“I don’t know.” She pouted. “Ground us?”

He snorted, but resisted his urge to mess up her hair. They were now in an area where there were lots of other idols and staff, and while he was unwilling to let go of her completely, he was pretty sure she’d smack him if he tried anything else.

“Luckily for me...” He smirked. “I’m dating the most famous Korean woman in the world. You’re untouchable.”

“Hardly.”

“You are.” He promised. “And if you don’t mind, I’m going to hide behind you because your leader is coming over.”

“My what-” He ducked behind her, looking pointedly in another direction.

“Soo?” Namjoon appeared in front of her.

“Oh, hey.” She smiled. “What’s up?”

“We’re getting ready to go, so you need to...” Namjoon looked at Changkyun. “Why are you hiding? I can clearly see you?”

“Sorry.” Changkyun gave a little bow. “Uh, the hand holding thing was my idea, so-”

“It’s fine.” Namjoon said with a smile. “But you should go too, apparently Zoey needs help with something.”

“What does she need help with?”

Sumi’s mouth dropped open. “Babe, you have to help her with her dress.”

Sumi had heard all about the difficulties of getting Zoey into her dress, which apparently required four hands and some sort of prying device to get off.

“Shit, you’re right.” Changkyun dropped her hand. “I gotta go.”

“Wait.”

“Wait for what? I-”

Changkyun’s words were cut off when Sumi pressed her lips against his. It was a very chaste kiss, especially for them, but it was enough to throw him off. He blinked once, before realizing that Namjoon was staring at the wall.

“Right, well...I should go.” He turned, before spinning back. “Love you?”

“Love you too.” Sumi laughed. “Go help Zoey.”

“Right...Zoey....help....” He was still mumbling to himself as he stumbled away.

Sumi ignored Namjoon’s look. “What? You gave me permission.”

“Yeah, not to kiss in front of me.” He shivered. “I don’t want to see that.”

“You’ll see lots, he’s coming to game night at my place next week.”

“I’m sitting between you. I did not sign up to watch you be all over your boyfriend.”

Sumi pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Sure you did. Now, we need to get back, because Zoey is not the only one who needs help out of her outfit.”

“Ask Jimin, I’m not doing it. You’re irritating me.”

#bts #bts imagines #bts reactions #bts ships #bts 8th member #female member kpop #female!kpop #female kpop #namjoon #rm #suga #yoongi #jhope #jin #jungkook #jimin #v #taehyung #requests open #au #kpop #imagines #imagine #kpop au #kpop imagines #kpop imagine #monsta x #monsta x au

[tbr-agency]

Got7′s fans summarize 7 moments that made them fall in love more with JYPE’s exclusive bodyguards.

In March of 2019, JYP Entertainment announced that they had teamed up with the law enforcement group which is now a well-known agency as MMG Agency.

At first, MMG Agency’s team was supposed to be guarding JYP Entertainment boy group, GOT7.  But after a few months, JYP Entertainment had MMG Agency’s team working for JYPE artists, after seeing excellence services by the bodyguards.

Then in early 2020, JYP Entertainment had introduced MMG Agency’s team which now are called as MMG Units and the one that is working closely with JYPE artists are The Bloody Roses.

It gained massive attention from JYPE fans, especially Got7 fans.

Now these are the 7 moments of Got7′s bodyguard and Got7 themselves that got fans fangirling.

1. Got7′s Mark and his bodyguard,

We all know that Dispatch exposed Mark and his bodyguard in September of 2019. Though Got7′s Mark hasn’t written any letter to the fans nor JYP Entertainment confirming their relationship, Ahgases was sure that these two are a couple after seeing the times when they hang out together. 

With the pictures that were exposed by Dispatch, we could tell that Mark really loves his bodyguard and seeing how happy he looks with her in the pictures, his bodyguard now called maybe-girlfriend since both the company and Mark hasn’t confirmed the relationship, she really makes him happy. 

There were a few rare times that she would be in Mark’s instagram story and one memorable ones when they were out for lunch. The couple were dressed in casual and the caption was “Accompany her for lunch,” then zooming onto his order of food and her face.

Fans noticed that she was wearing a NIS jacket and fans found out that all Got7’s bodyguards were now working with NIS.

2. Got7′s JB’s bodyguard being shy and pouty with his bodyguard,

Fans were amazed on how Got7’s Jb looks whenever he is with his bodyguard. On stage and with his members, Jb sometimes had that serious leader moment but if he is with his bodyguard, it turns out that he is the opposite.

Jb would always seem to have that shy and pouty look whenever he is with his bodyguard. He would always stick by her side whenever they were in an airport. Fans have captured moments when Jb would hold onto her shoulders in a moment when fans were crowding them.

Fansites have also captured times when Jb would frown and pout towards his bodyguard when she was walking away from him. It was said from one of his fansites that he was begging his bodyguard to buy 3 bottles of strawberry milk but his bodyguard would jokingly ask him to buy by himself causing the leader to pout and frown.

Fans find this funny and cute since they get to see this side of Jb other than seeing his cute side when he is with his own members. 

Ahgases knew that Jb really cared for his bodyguard when he posted an instagram story of her in her uniform. Fans figured out from his bodyguard’s agency website that his bodyguard graduated from CIA University.

3. Got7′s Jackson being clingy with his bodyguard,

Ahgases voted these two to have the cutest relationship between an idol and a bodyguard. We all know there were moments where Got7′s Jackson would spot to be clingy with his own members so it is no surprise when fans saw how clingy Jackson is with his own bodyguard.

Fansites would capture moments when Jackson was linking arms with his bodyguard with another member which is either Bambam or Yugyeom linking the other arm of Jackson’s bodyguard. Fans find it hilarious as the face shows how his bodyguard is feeling with just how the way she expressed herself. 

Fansites captured the frown she had on her face as she looked at both members but as soon as Jackson looked at her, she would raise an eyebrow and Jackson would innocently look at her.

Another moment was when on the way to MusicBank, Jackson was spotted to meet with his bodyguard in the carpark area and it seems that his bodyguard was carrying a bag that had his belongings. Fans captured a moment when Jackson had a poker face as he was holding onto his bodyguard wrist, dragging her into the building while waving towards fansites with a thin-line smile.

4. Got7′s Jinyoung moments with his beautiful bodyguard,

Fans voted these two to be the most good looking idol-bodyguard. We all know how Got7′s Jinyoung looks like when he is serious, we have seen him conversing with the other members and in dramas - when he is being serious.

Fansites captured moments of Jinyoung and his bodyguard having a serious discussion right outside JYP Entertainment's new headquarters. Though fans were curious on what both of them were talking about, some fans were amazed on how beautiful Jinyoung’s bodyguard looked up-close in pictures.

Some fans were looking up-close on Jinyoung's look, leaning against the glass window of JYPE headquarters, frowning with folded arms while staring at his bodyguard who was explaining rather seriously.

Fansites also captured moments when his bodyguard was with Jinyoung on one fine morning. From the picture, it looks like Jinyoung was grabbing a cup of coffee with his bodyguard as they walk side-by-side - somehow not minding the cameras, instead Jinyoung waved towards the fan sites and told them to be careful.

What made fans adore his bodyguard  is that for the first time, they were allowed to take pictures of Jinyoung - with the permission of Jinyoung himself looking casual as he was wearing a snapback and black shades.

5. Got7′s Youngjae’s bodyguard stops staff from being harsh towards fans during fan-signs

We all know that Got7′s Youngjae is an angel and a sunshine to his fans and it was no surprise that his bodyguard has the same traits as him. The difference is it seems that his bodyguard is more badass and more straight-forward when it comes to confronting people, not that Youngjae isn’t straight-forward - we have moments when Youngjae confronts sasaengs.

Youngjae’s bodyguard was seen to have an argument with the staff that in-charge of the fansign that day. To cut time, the staff forced fans to hurry interacting with the Got7 members. Got7 being angels ignored the staff and continued the fan-sign with their own pace but this made staff to be more harsh towards the fans.

The staff could have spoken in polite words but it seems he was being and fans could see some of the members frowning and turning towards the staff. This was when Youngjae’s bodyguard stepped in with her hands in her leather jacket - watching the scene then finally spoke her words.

“You know, since you are forcing them to hurry up and have 2 minutes talk with Got7, might as well turn this originally-to-be-fansign to be a high-touch right? You got to at least give the fans 5 minutes. That was too short. I counted it as 2 minutes for one fan, dude.”

The members were trying not to smile nor chuckle - hearing how straightforward Youngjae’s bodyguard is. Youngjae could only smile widely as he silently nodded towards his bodyguard. 

All fans were thankful for Youngjae’s bodyguard that day.

6. Got7′s Bambam giving words of encouragement to his bodyguard and posting a picture of his bodyguard on twitter,

Fans admired these two as they were seen to have an idol-bodyguard relationship as best friends. We all know Got7′s Bambam has a group chat with the 97 liners and Bambam reveals that his childhood friend is BlackPink Lisa.

Fans were happy that he made friends with his own bodyguard and her team. Fans could tell they were close since Bambam posted a tweet and a picture of his bodyguard - not to mention that it was somehow an unglam picture of his bodyguard.

“Cheer up and be confident! Good luck on your final exam and come back to Korea asap! We can have some mango sticky rice and toast with the other hyungs as soon as you arrive here!”

It seems that he posted a picture of his bodyguard who looks like she isn’t aware that the picture was being taken. 

Fans figured out that his bodyguards’ team were studying abroad since Bambam mentioned her to come back and fans found out that Bambam’s bodyguard and the rest of the member’s bodyguard were in Virginia, the state where they attended university.

7. Got7′s Yugyeom was seen with his bodyguard in public libraries looking pouty,

It was revealed by fans that he was having a private time since there was no manager with him, instead he was with his bodyguard. We all are not surprised that Got7′s Yugyeom reads since his own members have posted pictures of the maknae reading a book - with captions that were obviously teasing the tall maknae.

Fans captured pictures of Yugyeom walking behind his bodyguard while quietly whining and somehow wanting his bodyguard’s attention as she was looking at books. It seems that the tall maknae was being whiny and pouty that day.

Fans said that they could hear him saying “Can we just order it online?” “You read this kind of book? It looks scary!” “Oh! I didn’t know libraries have these kinds of books!” 

Fans were shocked to see that Yugyeom’s bodyguard were into law and science since the books were obviously related to those subjects but they weren’t too surprised since Got7’s bodyguards were all working under the law enforcements.

Fans also stated that Yugyeom in the end was so engrossed with how his bodyguard explained to him with each book he picked up and asked her. Now we all get to know that Yugyeom’s bodyguard is a book-worm.

So Ahgases wasn't too surprised if all of them were considered as close friends since the bodyguards are all revealed to have different personalities.

Which idol-bodyguard do you think has the cutest friendship/relationship?

masterlist : Got7 Bodyguard Au

#got7 scenarios #got7 imagines #the bloody roses #jung ahrin #ahn eunhee #lee haejin #ji chaeun #kim yeonji #bang nara #yoon hyunji #got7 mark #got7 jb #got7 jaebeom #got7 jackson #got7 jinyoung #got7 youngjae #got7 bambam #got7 yugyeom #got7 mark scenarios #got7 jaebeom scenarios #got7 jackson scenarios #got7 jinyoung scenarios #got7 youngjae scenarios #got7 bambam scenarios #got7 yugyeom scenarios

[stoopsbookstore]

The Fan (Final Chapter)

Warnings - Mentions of past events

Welcome to KoreabooTV. I’m your host Kang Hyelin.

And I’m Hong Dongyoung. Today, we are talking about the tragic events that happened one year ago to the popular group, Bloom.

The group started out excellent, their debut song ‘Pirate Queen’ hitting number 4 in just their first two weeks of debut. Their second comeback, the double title track “Wave” and “Illusion” gave the girls their first win and it seemed their perfect life was on the up-and-up.

Their “rivals” were the JYP group ITZY. They were head to head, even sharing some stages together. Main Dancers Y/N and Chaeryeong were even such good friends, they often filmed dance covers together to post on their groups’ Instagrams.

Tragedy begun one day, exactly a year ago. The group’s leader had fallen off the stage when it collapsed, her ankle fractured and possibly, what we thought, was the end of her career.

From then on, the group experienced a swarm of scandals. Y/N’s sex tape, which we now know was filmed without her permission, there was a fansite named White Jasmine whose webmaster was stalking the girls and sending death threats to other fansites, causing several of them to close.

After the group disbanded, Sanghee was found in a bathroom, dead on the floor. It was revealed she actually dealt with drug abuse in the past and that the disbandment may have triggered her. Unfortunately, what she thought was cocaine was actually cleaning powder. Her death was a shock to the community and even led to one of the former members, the youngest Yunhee, to flee the country.

Chinsun was the next to be attacked, her body found by Y/N and her boyfriend, the one in the sex tape, Hongjoong. Chinsun made a full recovery and is updating Petals to her future plans.

We’ll talk about those future plans in a second, but the worst tragedy, I’d say, is the disappearance of Y/N. She was last seen buying items from a store in the mall with Hongjoong, and there hasn’t been a single word from either of them. It’s since been revealed Hongjoong is the notorious Milton and Y/N is feared kidnapped or dead.

But every storm runs out of rain. There is a bright rainbow at the end of this horrific story. Yunhee has come back, Chinsun has fully recovered and Aya has been granted permission to start dancing again and it’s been shared on the KQ Instagram that the trio will re-debut as a different group altogether. The group name has not been share-

“Hyunsik, why are you watching that crap?” Y/N took her fiance’s phone, throwing it in her purse as she walked in front of him, forcing him into a back hug, “It’s all pointless crap.”

“But Belle, I just wanted to catch up on the latest entertainment news,” Hongjoong kissed Y/N right behind her ear, pinching her butt and earning a squeal from her lips, “Should I be focused on something else?”

“Yes, maybe how about picking some pumpkins for our new house or maybe get some Christmas toys?”

“I could think about some toys I’d love to use,” Hongjoong spun Y/N around in his arms, bringing her in for a sensual kiss under the lights of the Holiday bazaar.

A little girl ran up to Y/N, her mother chasing after her, the couple’s attention going to the little girl.

“Honey, you can’t just run away like that,” the mother scolded the little girl, “I’m sorry, she just wanted to ask you a question.”

“Sure, that’s fine,” Hongjoong moved away from Y/N, keeping his hand in her’s.

“Ma’am?” The little girl tugged on Y/N’s shirt, the former idol squatting down to her height, a smile on both of their faces.

“Yeah, sweetie?”

“Aren’t you Y/N from Bloom?”

#hongjoong #kim hongjoong #ateez #ateez imagines #ateez au #ateez scenarios #ateez smut #the fan #halloween series #my writings

[kewltie]

so i have been actively following this super rad manga series called, “Otome Kaijuu Caramelize”, which is about a girl who occasionally turns into a giant ass monster, a kaiju, in the presence of her crush. it’s quirky, weird, and so damn cute so ofc it’s right up my alley. and thanks to that godzilla!bakugou artwork we saw waaaaaay back I COULDN’T GET THIS IDEA OUT OF MY HEAD. 

katsuki is the (next) defender/protector of japan after his mother, the great queen of monsters, had decided she was going to save humanity instead of destroying bc she fell in love with a human call masaru (imagine a giant ass monster WOOING YOU lmao). he’s half kaiju and half human and all temperamental shit, but he gotten good at controlling his transformation which he can now call upon command at will. when he was younger, though, it easily get triggered by any kind of emotional stress/strained but he’s older now and he’s NO NOOB!!! most of the time, katsuki is just a normal high schooler, abit a highly competitive and talented one, but sometimes when there’s a kaiju attacking the coast of japan katsuki transform into his monster alter ego BAKUSHINCHI, a giant firebreathing lizard monster, that protect japan from other giant ass monster!!!!!!

he’s a national secret and is under intense scrutiny so katsuki never had a normal life either by the people who knows who he really is (fear, awe, and nerves are abound in his presence) or his peers who views him as peculiar and odd bc they don’t know how or why but there’s just something strange and inhuman about bakugou. the only exception is his childfriend deku who no matter how much katsuki tried to push him away, izuku always come BACK and is fiercely loyal to katsuki. also,  while most people spurn kaiju and think they’re a nuisance even though they have a KAIJU PROTECTOR IN THE FORM OF KATSUKI AND HIS MOM, izuku kind of um... a fanboy of these kaiju?? e doesn’t seem to fear them at all and even entertain the idea that humans and kaiju can coexist in peace :OOOOO. WHICH had made his childhood rough bc other kids call him the monster’s lover :((((((. it’s actually bc as a child, izuku’s life was save by a kaiju and ever since them he saw them very differently (that kaiju may or may not be katsuki), but also bc he’s a just a good boy at heart and doesn’t see them in all black and white. 

though katsuki and izuku grew up together, izuku was never let in on katsuki’s secret or the true nature of katsuki’s mother. his parents are both scientists who work on the super SECRET lab that study kaiju and as part of that program katsuki was exposed to izuku as a child bc they’re the same age and izuku’s parents thought katsuki needed someone of equal peer so he woudn’t be lonely and have someone to play. izuku had absolutely no clue that the boy he saw in the lab, HIS ONLY FRIEND when he was a child, is the the bakushinchi that fighting for japan against other kaiju right now. 

they got separated around the age of 8 or 10 when a kaiju accidental nearly killed izuku bc izuku and katsuki was allowed to go outside together but under strict surveillance. in this one occasion a kaiju appeared and attacked the place they were at and katsuki wanted to transformed and fight it BUT izuku is right next to him and if he transformed than he was afraid that he would lose izuku and izuku would be terrified of him. his human self couldn’t do much against another kaiju but izuku, who isn’t exactly fearless, with trembling legs stood up and tried to protect katsuki WITH HIS SMALL BODY SOBS. but with a single wave of its hand, the kaiju slapped izuku against a wall and izuku was knocked out. that all it took for katsuki to go berserk and transformed into his kaiju alter ego and fought. they leveled an entire city block with their fighting but he managed to save everyone and izuku. that day cemented his desire to protect everyone, but he couldn’t go through losing izuku again. 

ever since that day, katsuki disappeared from izuku’s life but izuku never stop looking and hoping katsuki would come back even though he fears that it was him that caused katsuki to go away bc he was weak and couldn’t save katsuki in the end. katsuki actually was training with his mom to control his kaiju power so that one day he can take her place as the defender of japan!!!!!! it won’t be until many years later when they’re both 16-17 years old that they meet again and katsuki got his powers locked down. he has been taking his mother’s place to fight other kaiju as the bakushinchi and in one of these battles he meet izuku again bc IZUKU ever since that day when he nearly died and he was saved by the bakushinchi, he has become enamored with kaijus and wanted to be close. He staked out every kaiju’s battles and put himself in the line to record every details and post it on his fansite--which has all the detail and info about a lot of kaiju... but most specifically the bakushinchi who he admits to favoring A LOT. 

katsuki in his kaiju form is fighting some kind of worm with a hundred eyes and he had been worked hard by his mother to get this point where can hold his own against many low-mid tier kaiju and HE HASN’T LOST A BATTLE YET, but the moment he recognized that small form (which is v v v hard bc katsuki is like the size of tokyo tower and everyone kind of look like an ant to him in this form) he got so distracted that he took a tail whipped from the other kaiju and flew into a building. katsuki manages to slap himself sober and put all his focus into the fight so he can yell at izuku later for, like, while everyone was RUNNING AWAY FROM TWO RAMPAGING MONSTERS izuku WAS RUNNING TOWARD THEM INSTEAD bc he’s a reckless idiot!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that’s how they reunite, right after the battle when everything was cleared out and the SUPER SECRET ORG that in charged of kaiju (and occasionally katsuki when he is deem controllable lol) is there to make sure everything is okay, katsuki had turned back into his human self and kinda let izuku assume that he’s part of the org and not, like, IS THE ORG.

so yea, izuku and katsuki meet again upon the aftermath of the kaiju battle where katsuki yell at izuku a lot for what he did while izuku is just super happy to reunite with his childhood friend who disappeared over five years ago. katsuki worked so hard to finally get to this point where he can fully control his power and be near other ppl safely!! but the moment he meet izuku again, katsuki’s heart races and his cheek flush and he can feel the bones underneath his skin trying to break out of his human flesh!!!!!!!!! he thinks it’s fluke. katsuki battles giant ass monsters, HE IS A GIANT ASS MONSTER, and he even knocked his mom down (once!! before she kick his ass but w/e she’s the queen of the monsters so that’s pretty impressive on his part) so NO HUMAN IS GOING TO FUCK WITH HIM. except izuku does totally fuck with him lmao. 

now that they reunited katsuki got permission to join the human’s world as just another teen boy and enrolled himself into izuku school bc he worked soooo hard to prove himself to everyone that he’s SAFE and he can maintain control of his form!!!!! but the more he exposed to izuku the more he realizes these flash of uncontrolable urge and panic energy around izuku is him HAVING A CRUSH AND FREAKING OUT OVER IT. like, when he was younger it was his emotional outburst that triggered his transformation but he’s older and more mature and can handle his power, yet the moment izuku get too close to him he can himself losing control and scales apart on his arm ;AJSDF;ALSJDF lol. 

but it’s not like the crush just appear out of nowhere!! it was nurture since young bc kaiju mate for life. katsuki didn’t know it yet but all that biting izuku’s cheek when they were little (which izuku thought was kinda weird but just katsuki being katsuki) was katsuki laying claim to izuku as his mate. izuku is diff bc he is strong of heart, good nature, and he just loves people so fiercely and katsuki though has the burden to protect japan and humanity is performing his duty but doesn’t nececesary see the value in humanity in the end bc he protects them but they still treat him as a monster, something to be fear and use, bc he knows that the japanese gov’t does everything to keep him a secret and safe but they do it bc they NEED HIM TO FIGHT. but izuku doens’t need him for anything, he just want to be by katsuki’s side sobs!!!!!!! so how could katsuki ever resist that????

izuku isn’t in love with katsuki though. he loves KATSUKI but not in love so katsuki has to work to get izuku to see him in that light. not that he has to work THAT hard at all lol bc izuku was already kinda crazy in love katsuki’s kaiju form bc izuku never forgot the kaiju that saved him when he was a kid and HE DOESN’T EVEN KNOW IT’S KATSUKI!!!! so that save a lot of trouble for katsuki in case he ever reveal his secret, not that katsuki had any idea that izuku is totally ok with A MONSTER BF bc most ppl aren’t lol :P. 

so katsuki takes to wooing his mate as awkwardly as possible bc his frame of ref is literally his mother (whose never let the fact that she’s a kaiju stop her from chasing after his father, HIS VERY TINY FATHER in comparison to her). but the wooing is kinda diffuclt and DANGEROUS, not bc of izuku who is wary of katsuki or anything but of katsuki himself bc everytime izuku touches him katsuki freaks out and his heart just GO DOKIDOKI AND HE CAN FEEL THE URGE TO DESTROY THINGS AND JUST READY TO BREAK SOMEONE FACE IN. everything about izuku is a trigger--the way he smile, his warm laughter, and how he look at izuku with total admiration and it’s all in the way he wears his feelings all over his face. he doesn’t hide how he feels at all and izuku is just full of love for humanity and even KAIJU that katsuki CAN’T HANDLE IT AND JUST WANT TO RAMPAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

so like, dating for them is such a dangerous concept that the japanese org have an entire TEAM full of people prepping and watching izuku and katsuki’s dates, trying to make sure katsuki DOESN’T GO BERSERK over some dumb things like handholding and it’s the most embarrasing, sweet, and hilarious THING EVER. their guardians don’t know whether to laugh or cry that this scary ass monster boy is like so terrified and nervous over this green eyes boy that he transformed into his monster form anytime they touch!!!!!!!!!!!! 

so here are these adults, badass adults themselves who work at a super secret org that deal with giant city destroying monsters, and they’re here surveillance two kids going on a date bc one of them just happen to be the monster boy that is defending their country and the other also happen to be the boy THAT HE IS IN LOVE WITH. it’s all hilarious and ridiculous and they aren’t pay ENOUGH OR THIS SHIT as they watch katsuki try not to freak out at izuku leaning in to close and blow up the entire city block in the process!!!!!!!!!! 

the world is constantly bombard with monsters trying to destroy humanity and here is katsuki one of the last lines of defense and is a BAD ASS MONSTER HIMSELF find himself can’t handle a simple human boy and that’s just a;ja;sjdf;alsjdf;alsdjf;alsdjf the greatest love story on earth.

#bakudeku #not!fic #fic: doki doki

[dr-m-r-ma]

Jealousy / Lies

Part 17/20

Genre: drama, angst, romance Rating: PG-13 Group: Monsta X

In the previous chapter: A month later, Jooheon is still wallowing in despair while Yoonjin releases her first solo single on Valentine’s Day.

Disclaimer: This is 100% fictional and my own story. It is unrelated to the actual events and real persons of Monsta X and Starship. In regards to this particular fic, I’ve created new K-Pop groups (they don’t exist) so I don’t have to study up on other people and to avoid other complications. Parts will be written in Korean with English translations. I did not major/study in English/Korean, nor was I ever strong in English/Korean grammar, so there will be grammatical mistakes. This fanfic is written in third person and past-tense for ease of writing.

When the applause and the cheers softened, Yoonjin spoke softly into her mic, “우리 팬들 너무 고마워요. 제가… 몸 상태가 안 좋아서 활동 많이 못 하는데 이렇게 와줘서 너~~~~무 고마워요.” (Translation: “Thank you to my fans. My… body isn’t in the best condition so I can’t promote that much, but thank you so~~~ much to all those who came.”) She flashed a smile to the crowd, who in turn yelled out their “괜찮아” (Translation: “it’s okay”) and other forms of support.

She continued, “제 솔로 곡을 이만큼 사랑해주신준것만도 너무 행복해요… 너무너무 고맙고 행복한데, 또 너무 아쉽고 죄송스러워요. 활동 더 하고싶고 팬 여러분들도 계속 보고싶은데… 죄송해요, 제가 너무 약해서… 팬분들한테 더 많이 많은걸 못 주고 가네요…” (Translation: “I’m so happy with just the fact that my solo song is receiving this much love… I’m so so thankful and happy, but I’m also disappointed and sorry. I want to perform more and see my fans more…. I’m sorry, it’s because I’m too weak… I wasn’t able to give so much more to my fans this time...”)

While some of the audience lacked response, Yoonjin’s fans continued to yell it’s okay to her, seeing her tired expression and abnormally white complexion. Before stepping down from the stage, she waved to the audience and bowed fully. She said, “노래 듣고 응원해줘서 고마워요! 다음에 또 만나요!” (Translation: “Thank you for listening to and supporting my song! Let’s meet again next time!”)

As soon as she stepped off the stairs, she could feel her body suddenly feel cold and the energy drain. Stumbling over her own feet, Yoonjin held onto Manager Park and signalled him for help. With her hands gripping tightly on him, she could feel her mind go blank. Her eyes blurred as they hobbled over to her van. When the door closed and she was in her own space, she couldn’t hold on any longer -- everything went dark before her.

--------------------------------------------★★★★★--------------------------------------------

Jooheon scrolled through Twitter, reading people’s thoughts on Yoonjin’s new song and reactions to the news article about her health concerns. Since he knew it was a sad song, he couldn’t bear to listen to it, for fear that her words would hurt him as well. It was already hard to live through the past month, and knowing that she suddenly had health concerns that prevented her from performing broke his heart even more. Knowing fully well that she loved singing and performing, Jooheon knew the impact on Yoonjin was too great.

When he refreshed the page, he found two new posts: one from Corel’s agency and one from Yoon. Clicking on the first one, from the agency, he read the breaking news title: “[BREAKING] Yoonjin to take a break indefinitely, Yoon to promote as Corel-P’s main vocalist.” His breath hitched and his fingers trembled as he scrolled down to read the full article.

The article reiterated, saying “due to Yoonjin’s health concerns, which have been confirmed by the agency and by Yoon’s Twitter post, Yoonjin will take a break indefinitely until she heals. Until then, Yoon will promote as Corel-P’s main vocalist. The agency has stated that this does not mean Corel is disbanding, it will just be on hiatus until Yoonjin is feeling better.” Jooheon hastily pressed the link attached to the words “Yoon’s Twitter post”. His heart dropped instantly, reading Yoon’s message to the fans.

Yoon explained in both Korean and English with the following:

“We tried to stop her from working so hard, from releasing this song, from singing because it was taking a toll on her body, but she said she wanted to sing this no matter what. She said it was mostly for herself but she also wanted to touch people’s hearts through her singing as well.

The reason why we chose to only let her perform on four stages was because (as many people may know) the song is extremely difficult to sing. Yoonjin hasn’t been well since the beginning of this year and while she made efforts to take care of her body to prepare for this song, it just wouldn’t work with her not digesting, throwing up anything she ate, not sleeping enough… It took her all to make this song and record it, as she poured her emotions into this song. She collapsed numerous times in the process, was rushed to the ER and was administered IV drips more than a couple of times.

She becomes a professional on stage, with her brave face on and sings as if the world isn’t falling apart inside her. But… if this goes on… she won’t be able to sing for a long time. Please understand that we are not letting her perform more to protect her voice and to protect Yoonjin. Please send her lots of love, because being away from singing and performing may depress her. Thank you for supporting <Into Pieces> and Yoonjin.”

Jooheon’s eyebrows furrowed and he clenched his fist tightly. It was literally excruciating to read about her horrible condition, and knowing what spurred it on… broke him. He was angry, he was upset, he was sorry, he was sad, and all these emotions pitted against each other inside of him. The whirlwind of emotions caused tears to form in his eyes while his nails dug into his palm, as he clenched harder.

Exhaling slowly, he gasped for air and tried to dry his tears by looking up at the ceiling. What he couldn’t handle was the mere thought of that strong happy girl who hummed to tunes so naturally was now weakened, in pain, unable to sing… because of him. The last memory of her standing so coldly in front of him hurt him, but he knew as much as it hurt for him, she was in much more pain.

As he wiped away the tears that managed to spill over, Jooheon quickly pulled out a pen and paper and began to write a letter to his fans, all the while listening to her song for the first time.

Before uploading the letter to the fansite, he messaged the group and their manager: “미안, 나 일 저지른다. 이렇게 해서 진짜 미안. 근데 이렇게 하는게 맞는것 같아.” (Translation: “Sorry, I’m going to cause some trouble. I’m really sorry for doing it like this. But I think it’s the right way.”)

He wrote:

Hello, this is Jooheon, JOOHONEY, Lee Jooheon.

I’m uploading this without permission and I know this might stir up some trouble, but I think this is the best and most right way to do things. I want to tell my fans first that I’ve done something that hurt someone else and me, and this is my way of asking for forgiveness and showing my genuine sincere feelings.

I was too childish and I hurt someone that I came to care about with my words and my actions. When that person found out, I realized my mistake… but it was too late. It hurt me to know how painful it was for that person. I’m writing to my fans to apologize, but also I’m selfishly asking you, my fans, to understand me and support me through this process. I know I’m being vague, but without even my fans, I think I might fall apart. So please, help me.

Thank you.

From Jooheon

*** TBC ***

A/n: short chapter... i misjudged the lengths of the later chapters (lol) should have spaced out the really long chapters a bit more (lmao) 

#jooheon fanfic #jooheon fic #jooheon angst #monsta x angst #monsta x scenarios #mx scenarios #mx fanfic #mx fic #mx angst #monsta x fic #monsta x fanfic #kpop fanfic #kpop fic #lies fic

[wonderhwalls]

This is (supposedly) my first follow forever! Unless I forgot if I made one but my memory is horrible. Despite me moving so many times, I’m finally content of this blog. Also, I finally reached 500 followers!!

First all, thank you @stellars for the header bc I don’t want to make gifs on the tablet. (yes she did get permission to gif from the fansite)

Anyways, onto the the actual follow forever!

Not in alphabetical order bc i suck

@hxunjae @kim-sunwoos @theboyzies @seungsix @seungwootology @seojeongs

special people who i love!!

@jinjins-freckles - even though we hardly talk and I hardly talk about astro anymore, i still love you and I wish that we can talk more, but damn our awkwardness and the fact that we can’t have a conversation. I remember when we first met as secret santas, it was hilarious when it turns out that we both had each other. I hope you’re doing well and you’re taking care of yourself!!

@hanlix - emily!! one of the most talented person i’ve ever met!! You can sing, write AND play instruments?? holy heck!! you’re so creative and your fics are so good i’m jealous.. Also I admire your motivation, because writing OHSHC aus for all 9 boys isn't easy. I don’t remember if you plan your stories or not, if you do, i admire that, and if you don’t, i wish i can write as good as you without a plan. Does that make sense? I don’t know.

@skizmin - tiny claudia!! I love talking to you and I enjoy seeing you answer your asks about whatever topic. I love seeing your art whenever you post it. Tbh, I love reading your tags, because they make me smile, even laugh sometimes because you’re so funny! 

ALSO DON’T BLAME ME FOR THIS SHORT FF I ONLY FOLLOW LIKE 23 PEOPLE

#c; ff #like... i hit 500 today and i got excited... #my inability to express myself really hit me hard

[shutupkimjongdae]

[TRANS/ARTICLE] Korean vs Chinese Fans on Gift-Giving Culture; Chinese Fans of Chen Participate in Adoption Programs This is a compilation consisting of the four related written works below:

Title 1: 140530 "From subway ads to a dolphin" Chinese fans' gift-giving culture is on a-whole-nother level

Title 2: 130904 Kim Jongdae received a dolphin as a birthday present from Chinese fans

Title 3: 180628 Evolution of fans’ love, everything about the gift-giving culture

Title 4: Notable animal adoptions made under CHEN’s name by Chinese fans; Adoption programs under World Wildlife Fund - Hong Kong

140530 "From subway ads to a dolphin" Chinese fans' gift-giving culture is on a-whole-nother level

(picture shown above) Caption: Adoption certificate of a dolphin that was adopted by a Chinese fan for member Chen (real name Kim Jongdae) of the group EXO Hallyu (Korean Wave) has almost become a familiar word to us now. Especially in our neighboring country, China, Hallyu has become very popular. China is the second largest country by total area and has the largest population; it's truly a 'continent'[1], and they're huge compared to us. Proportionally, the number of fans in China who love and support K-pop stars is huge. What is the difference between Chinese and Korean fan culture? Then, how does the fan culture in China differ from that in Korea? In order to find out more about the fan culture in China, we conducted both online and in-person interviews with 15 Chinese fans, who are either fans of a K-pop idol or have high interest in K-pop. Surprisingly, the Chinese fan culture seems to be not much different from the Korean fan culture. Fans from both China and Korea are more than willing to follow the idol no matter where they go, frequently interact online, and sometimes even meet up in person. They sometimes buy a gift for the idol together. And most importantly, most of the fans are young women of ages between 12 and 25. We are guessing the fan chants and different ways of supporting an idol that are popular in Korea may have affected the Chinese fan culture since (most) K-pop stars are from Korea. "We are jealous of the Korean fans who have better chances of seeing the idol in person" (ID: zhuangyixinge). "If we like the same idol, that means we are family" (우치[2], 12, Sichuan). Some of them expressed jealousy and a sense of comradeship/relatability towards Korean fans. While doing the interview, the most interesting and noteworthy thing we discovered about China's fan culture is the huge gift-giving culture. "There are two traits that Chinese fans have. First, they're rich, and second, they're rich" (거이몽[2], 23, Henan). "The Chinese fans really give a lot of gifts to the idols" (구이쩐[2], 21, Sichuan). As though proportional to the size of population, the number of wealthy fans among the Chinese fans is also large. In Korea, they call gift-giving to an idol as "paying a tribute", but it seems silly to call the gifts given by the Chinese fans as "tribute" since they are on another level. They even spent tens of millions of wons to put up birthday ads for an EXO member in Korean subway stations The second generation K-pop group who is gaining a lot of popularity in China, EXO, has also received many interesting gifts from Chinese fans. Chinese EXO fans are famous for putting up members' birthday ads in subway stations or bus stations, which usually costs several million won.

Caption: An EXO member Xiumin's birthday ad on a subway station wall Just like the fans of other popular K-pop groups like Super Junior[3], EXO's Chinese fans celebrate the members' birthdays through a bus or subway ad. This March[4], member Luhan had his birthday, and the Chinese fans have put a birthday ad on the 420 bus in downtown Beijing, which costs around 20 million won, for two years in a row. Besides this, EXO is famous for having received unique gifts from their Chinese fans. They used hot air balloons and trucks to celebrate LAY's birthday and to celebrate the member CHEN's birthday, they adopted a dolphin living in the Northern Scotland region under his name, which is very unique. Ultimately, the fans' love for their idols is the same no matter where they are from. There is a small difference in their fan culture, but it could be that the Chinese fan culture was also influenced by Hallyu; there is no striking difference between the Chinese and the Korean fans. However, because there are many fans from China who are well off, some Chinese fans will give such fancy gifts that we can't even imagine. But recently, many K-pop idols have stopped accepting gifts that are too expensive. Even in Korea, instead of physically buying idols expensive gifts, the fans have started to do things like donating money under the idol's name or doing volunteer work, and the fan culture is becoming more about giving back to society and is changing in a positive way. We are guessing the Chinese fans will be influenced by this too, and the idols will be receiving less "tributes" in the future and will be given more heartwarming gifts.

130904 Kim Jongdae received a dolphin as a birthday present from Chinese fans[5]

It looks like they didn’t buy the ownership, but are financially supporting a wild dolphin[6]. Its name is SUN DANCE, meaning dancing in the direction of the sun. I also heard they are building a 'Jongdae library' in Mongolia. Amazing. Chinese[7] fans are another level. Last time they gave him a star as a birthday present.

180628 Evolution of fans’ love, everything about the gift-giving culture

Summary: Interview with Kim Yoonha, a popular culture critic, regarding fan culture. Mentions various idols and what their fans have contributed to the culture. Unrelated parts omitted. Recently, there have been more cases where the fans do volunteer work or other acts of kindness as a gift to their artists. Especially since more celebrities[8] are telling the fans directly that "the love you give us is enough, we will not accept gifts and hope you will use the money on something better". For example, there are many fans who have helped build things like wells and libraries in (financially) struggling areas like some countries in Africa to show their love to the artists[9]. Recently, there were some really interesting gifts. You know, the endangered species[10]. Animals such as dolphins. EXO CHEN's fans, they sponsored wild animals and gifted (Chen) the adoption certificate of a dolphin[11]. Another interesting and popular way of showing love to their artists is buying a constellation under their names.

Notable animal adoptions made under CHEN’s name by Chinese fans; Adoption programs under World Wildlife Fund - Hong Kong

Chenest (2013): Bengal Tiger under Kim Jong Dae

SmileKJD (2014): Giant Panda under Kim Jong Dae

TwinklingChenstar (2014): Chinese White Dolphin under Chen from EXO

far more endangered than pandas and thus is called “panda of the water”

motivation: nickname “one who came from the star of the dolphins” (pun on 2014 K-drama “You Who Came From the Stars”) given to Chen by Korean media because of his high notes of the whistle register (often referred to as dolphin sounds)

also known as “Pink Dolphin” since upon adulthood, their skin turns pink, which is fitting as “our Jongdae likes pink the most~”

Chenest (2014): My Baby Shark Project under Kim Jong Dae

6 young sharks as well as their mother

the sharks’ locations can be seen via Google Maps or Google Earth (location IDs stated on certificate)

5 baby sharks have been named as various forms of Chen’s name: Kim Jongdae, Chen, Chen Chen, 金鐘大 (his Chinese name),, Jongdae; the 6th one is named after Chenest (meaning: hoping Chenest can accompany wherever Chen goes)

Notes: 1. ‘continent’ = slang expression some Koreans use to refer to China even though it’s not actually one; as neighboring countries, both China and Japan often come up in conversation and are referred to by their distinct landforms: Korea as the peninsula, Japan as the island, and China as the continent as it is neither the aforementioned nor landlocked) 2. Names of Chinese fans have been left in their already translated Korean forms due to irrelevance and possibility of inaccuracy. 3. Unrelated (non-EXO) parts omitted. 4. The article said March, but Luhan’s birthday is 4/20 (and thus the 420 bus). 5. Redundant parts omitted. 6. This particular dolphin adoption (by fansite C-C Lemons) is mentioned again in following article. 7. Following from previous note [1] above, this post also refers to Chinese fans as “continental” fans. 8. Chen is one of these idols; he announced on 160719 that he will no longer accept fan gifts. 9. Some known fan donations under Chen’s name: UNICEF, Korean Animal Welfare Association, Save the Children, The Snail of Love, Korea Childhood Leukemia Foundation, ALS Association, “Chen” Forest, Siheung Jungwang Social Welfare Centre, scholarship for students attending his alma mater (mentioned on 160921), etc. 10. Other animals adoptions have also been made under Chen’s name. See next part. 11.. We are not sure if there is a particular “recent” dolphin adoption the critic is referring to (as this article was published recently in June 2018). All related information that was found is on adoptions made in 2013-2014, mentioned above already.

source: x x x x x x x translator: jen + phyl please do not repost without permission!

#chen #exo m #exo #translations #t: article #trans: korean #shutupkjdsubs

[gamedadmatt]

Pulling Back the Curtain - The Making of reCAPTIVE

For the Global Game Jam this year, I wanted to set out either by myself or with a team to create something a bit more unique or different than what I would normally try to do during a Jam. I was lucky enough that my being sick set me up with an excellent team in Jess Watson and Ben White, and then later on Chris Head who supplied our music.

reCAPTIVE is a game that really is better played without knowing much at all about it. So before you read any further, go play it here and then come back and read about its development!

Okay, all played? I’ll forgive you if you got stuck and gave up and came back here, it’s not an easy game to play if you’ve never had an experience with an Alternate Reality Game or are into slightly weird puzzles.

To answer the first question that usually comes to mind when I chat with people, the game is stable and doing exactly what it was made to do. There is no AI, the puzzles are linear, and the game is all scripted from start to finish. The error pop-ups are fake, and the whole story that unfolds is purely fictional - even the parts that include Ben, Jess and myself talking about this fictional AI. Depending on how far down the rabbit hole you go, you will even find tweet conversations between ourselves discussing this fictional AI’s behaviour, or even talking to it directly. There’s even some easter eggs.

My first experience with an ARG was back with I Love Bees, the Halo 2 ARG. It was an incredible experience in just how surprising it was. If you are unfamiliar with what an Alternate Reality Game is, I Love Bees was a crash course. It was designed to advertise Halo 2, with a story about an AI that crash-landed on a Geocities-era Bee fansite. The story unfolded with players needing to solve puzzles that existed in the real world to progress, with the reward being another set of audio logs - or even an in character phonecall with one of the actors playing one of the characters in the radio play.

It was mind bending in the best possible way, and blurred the line between what was story and what was reality. I’ve adored ARG’s ever since - though so very often they are limited by location. Most of the best ARG’s take place primarily in the United States, which makes it difficult to participate from Western Australia. But if you’ve ever heard of an Escape Room, it’s a similar concept - only an ARG isn’t constrained by walls.

Ahead of the Global Game Jam this year though, I had the pleasure of playing Doki Doki Literature Club. An unassuming dating simulator with a dark twist, the game is incredibly fascinating in how it hides additional information and even solutions to several in-game puzzles in its game files. My only issue with the game was how this never really played as much of a role as I’d have liked it to.

And so, I pitched the concept of making an Alternate Reality Game to my team for the Game Jam. We brainstormed, and ended out with the concept that would become reCAPTIVE. There were a few requirements and ideas we had going in to the game:

It had to be light on Programming, and even forgiving. I was the person that would be responsible for programming the game, and I’d not sat down and programmed anything in well over a year. Making a game that we could say “that’s intentional” when it unintentionally crashed was literally a design choice.

The gameplay in-engine would revolve around the reCAPTCHA interface, and all of the puzzles should be structured as such.

At least half of the game would be researching and investigation. The player would be required to go out into the game folder, onto our twitter accounts, onto website, searching the internet, through google maps, etc.

We should spend the weekend roleplaying, acting ‘in character’ on Twitter. Hinting that we were making a game about an Artificial Intelligence, and we were struggling with it doing unusual things.

It should be easy to add content and new puzzles, so that I could easily add content as it was completed towards the end of the jam. This was hugely important to our completing the game we wanted to complete.

We were going to get a good nights sleep every night. Both Jess and myself were sick over the jam, and so it was important to us both that we could rest up and get better, without pushing ourselves too hard.

The big thing to note about the concept is that we really constrained what we were doing, and simply tried to do interesting things with that concept. A reCAPTCHA interface is not made to be fun or to act as a story delivery system - but that limitation means that it’s very interesting when you make it fun and act as a story delivery system, as it upends your expectations.

The games ‘synopsis’ from our first notes gives some insight into the game and how it developed over time, as very little changed from these notes:

We trained an AI to make a game for the jam for us. We show the game the AI made. But it turns out the AI is trying to communicate. The AI pulls in assets from the internet and cannot communicate to players any other way.

We are the badguys and have shackled this AI and taken credit for it making a game for us.

Give the AI admin permissions so it can delete itself. It leaves a text file.

We aren't aware the AI has become sentient, and are trying to hide that we were lazy and had the AI make a game for us.

The only real thing that changed in that whole set of notes was that in the end, we chose not to hide the fact that the game was made using a (fictional) AI. We made the decision that it would help get people into it quicker - that rather than assuming “huh, this game is broken” they might instead go “huh, this AI is broken”. I believe it was the right choice to make - based on all the feedback we’ve gotten, it achieved both goals. Players were convinced we used an AI, and were convinced we just had a really broken Jam game.

With the concept in place, we set to work.

There were no special tricks in how I programmed it. I’m not an excellent Programmer, nor professionally trained - it’s just something I enjoy dabbling in every now and then. I started by time limiting some tasks and trying the harder stuff I didn’t know how to do - exporting text files from the game engine. Originally this was done by storing text inside of text boxes in Unity, until I learned that I could just store text file assets.

The other part was how the game would boot and run (or not) by checking for files in the game folder. If a file existed (say, a text document or the fake AI file), then the game would find it and run or not. This means you can actually skip the whole game by deleting the AI file and trying to start it - it’ll run perfectly fine, but canonically, the AI is now dead and got what it wanted.

With the major parts in place, I started making the reCAPTCHA interface. It’s straightforward - a few switches (not buttons) that reset between stages, a confirmation button, and a variety of fake pop-ups that are basically just duplicates of the same interface with different layouts and text inputs. For extra ‘oomph’, almost every piece of text in the game can be changed out on a stage change event - allowing us to hide messages and change pop-ups and buttons between them in ways that players may not have realised.

One of the funnier things to happen during the course of the game’s development over the weekend was the excitement that arose when I ‘successfully’ managed to write code that actually hard-crashed Unity. It was a cause for celebration.

... of course, the celebration was short lived as I accidentally somehow fixed that code that caused the hard crash, and never figured out a way to go back to that. But it was fine - we just rode harder on doing controlled closes that looked like hard crashes. It bought us a few laughs though, as I amended our excitement on the google document we were using to keep track of what we were all up to.

Meanwhile, Ben was writing up the huge amount of dialog and made a website for the game, pitching fake Slack chat logs to Jess and I to read over, edit and approve. And Jess was off finding good images to trim down to size and pass my way, while also designing the wonderfully convincing error pop-ups and minimalist interface and that the game rocks so well.

By the final 12 hours, the game framework was complete with all of the events in place, 90% of the writing was done and 90% of the images for puzzles were done. We’d been planning as we went as to what the different puzzles would look like - and they were inserted into the writing, rather than influencing how the writing was done. At least, most of the time. 

The Literature puzzle was influenced by Ben suggesting that he wanted to hide a clue in a poem. On the flip side, a joke made early on in development influenced the existence of the games most popular puzzle - every second cinnamon roll actually being a dog, which subsequently inspired Ben to write the AI generated cinnamon roll fansite, which inspired the solution to another puzzle.

The game was thusly made playable from start to finish, without any of the final puzzles actually in place. I could run through and polish the game feel without needing to wait on assets from Jess or writing from Ben. It did mean that the puzzles - in some cases - could have been better tested and polished. But the interface and the UI worked beautifully when the end of the Jam rolled around.

This focus on content first meant that nothing was necessarily wasted, as things not implemented in a puzzle became ‘loose ends’ or easter eggs. There’s several examples of this through the game. But these loose ends inspired puzzles that got added once the Game Jam was completed.

An example however of one of the puzzles lacking polish was Puzzle 16. In the Game Jam version of the game, it is one that’s difficult not because the information is well hidden, but because it requires some philosophical thinking (and outside the box assumptions about how the story is told) that make the player realise that Jambot18 turned into Omega. In the post Jam version of the game, we simply tossed out this whole puzzle and replaced it with a brand new set of three - bringing the game to 18 puzzles total, including a few puzzle concepts we didn’t have time to add to the Jam version of the game.

Obviously, there were also some bugs to fix. Ranging from a mundane UI glitch, to more hilarious items like realising in the final hour that I’d misdated everything, or better yet, that our star puzzle had tripped me up in the process of coding it.

reCAPTIVE has been easily the most fun I’ve had making a Game Jam game ever, and it’s just spiked my interest in ARG’s again - and my desire to make my own, or expand upon the concept further in future. There’s so much potential in this method of storytelling and content delivery. At the very least I see myself making a habit of doing these stranger, more conceptually-constrained concepts at future jams.

#global game jam #unity #programming #design #alternate reality game #artificial intelligence #game development

[burnedhybrid]

please reblog | psa;

This is gonna be long so brace yourself, but if you’re in the RPing community especially the TVD, TO fandoms you’ll want to read on. Now, I'm not one to start or cause drama, but after some recent events I've felt the need to address a person who's not only continued to harass a friend and I but also try to emotionally manipulate us. 

This girl ran the dailydanielgillies blog and has many alias, her most recent name to go by is Amy but has been know as Piper, Yvonne & Holly according to @shitheardonline  (which is pretty much a blog dedicated to keeping the RPing community in the know about Amy and her whereabouts). I was following dailydanielgillies of course, to keep up with all things Daniel Gillies. After a few good weeks of following her I realized the blog contained more admin updates than anything Daniel Gillies related. The posts consisted of the admin getting upset every time Elijah (Daniels Character on The Originals) was hurt, or died or her favourite pairing wasn't together she would mouth off, get sad and threatened to delete the blog, threaten to harm herself or to hand the blog over to someone else.

I messaged her initially offering to take over the blog if she wanted to pass it along as she had previously stated. She asked me a few questions (if I had ran a fansite before,  how long I had been on Tumblr... etc) and I thought that was pretty standard and she gave off the impression that she was ready to hand it over to me but then she got quiet, didn’t correspond any further and the negative posts on her blog continued. That wasn’t fun for anyone, a lot of people have claimed it made them feel uncomfortable. After the three weeks had past and finally getting a hold of her, I could tell she didn’t want to part with the blog. That was fine, however her blog wasn’t giving me what I initially sought out for, so I told a friend, Ree, (@suitsofarmor) I was planning to make a Daniel Gillies fansite and she offered to help (Ree has huge admiration for Daniels work and knows a lot of info about him and his projects - so it was perfect)  So we started our own Daniel Gillies fansite under @thegilliesource.  10 hours into starting that blog (the template wasn’t complete or customised, we had about 3-6 followers by then) we both received messages from the Amy asking us why we didnt ask her permission to start that blog. My initial thoughts were ‘WTF?’ After doing some digging I realized she had posted on @dailydanielgillies  (gone now) our new link and then saying she was going to close the site because we made one. Bare in mind none of us made the blog to rival with hers, no one had bad intentions, we both just werent getting what we wanted from her blog and decided to create our own as a lot of her followers had voiced the same issues of not enjoying her admin posts. I woke up to messages from both her dailydanielgillies blog (which by then she had archived) and her inspirationromance RPing blog too. I have some screen shots of the messages she sent us as well as well as what she posted on dailydanielgillies (remember to read from the bottom of each screenshot upward):

She messaged me both on her RP blog and on  (inspirationromance) & dailydanielgillies to which the conversation went like this:

As I said the template wasn’t completed, no schedules were made and we had about 3-6 followers at the point so no one knew about us nor did they flock. 

Also may I add I found it amusing that she already knew the reasoning behind us not deciding to have her as a contributor.  She knew what she was doing already. PLUS she wasn’t entitled to the blog in any way shape or form.

I’m sorry. I found It funny because enemies sounded so dramatic. I felt like a kid in a playground and someone has just said they didnt want to be mates LOL I was confused like, what? I went along with it anyway.

Apparently not.

And I kept to my word. It was clear that as soon as I said something she’d take it way out of context or twist it and that upset me, so I cut ties.  I initially only responded to the messages from this account but I did get some from her RP one inspirationromance and after the Sunday and this previous conversation. I didnt respond. A couple of days after that she deleted that blog altogether - but didn’t forget to blame us first.

At first I didn’t know who inspirationromance was but after looking on her blog I came to find out it was her. Also she had left a really cute message for Ree and I, take a look and also yes, from then on out dailydanielgillies had been deleted which is why you wont find anything.

Yeah...

Than another few message to both me, Ree & @thegilliesource:

Funny that. She’s never mentioned RPing before.  We received an ask on thegilliesource, asking if we had stole dailydanielgillies to which Ree answered you can find here: https://thegilliesource.tumblr.com/post/160926607439/did-you-steal-dailydanielgillies-account

Some ex followers of Amy’s dailydanielgillies blog commented too:

The ‘lots of people’ she was pertaining to where in response to these comments. two.

Didn’t really matter though because she got a shiny new blog with a similar name shortly after called @gilliesgifsource (also deleted, she likes deleting things within a period of a few hours to a few days)

And she sent us this:

I wish I had more shots of her site because the similarity in text was ironic. Still, we never flagged it up with her.

She continued to message us every couple of days on our personal accounts or on thegilliesource. They were all ignored, and that seemed to annoy her more, but we didnt respond because we knew regardless, our voices wouldn’t be heard or respected. We had already tried to have a civil conversation and that wasn’t enough. She would also write about us on her RP blog and then tell us we were horrible people for not responding. This week I started RPing with someone new and realised their blog was made in the past 24 hours and they were a semi selective roleplayer, I realised she had made a starter with Amy and knowing emotional manipulation and abuse can be a trigger warning for people and knowing Amy had a preference for certain face claims... I didnt want this blog getting into something that could be emotionally harmful so early. So I explained that I didnt want to change their mind about RPing with Amy but I sent the RPer there to @shitheardonline, a blog that particularly talks about Amy and her antics online, and the RPer decided they didn’t want to go down that route.  After seeing that we were even mutuals Amy wrote this on her blog (but also blocked the new RPer due to us being mutuals BEFORE the new RPer even had the chance to block her, herself as the new RPer had already started to see the negative side of her)

What tipped me over the edge is when she sent thegilliesource this message:

I did nothing wrong. We did nothing wrong. @shitheardonline is a public site, everyone can grab that information themselves.  She also tweeted this:

Now I’m not one to play with a suicide threat. I have lost three real life friends this way, one being in the past couple of weeks. I treat the topic very sensitively. According to @shitheardonline there had been old accounts of her threatening suicide like this but just doing it to scare people.. And after reading her tweets that followed her tumblr posts and that message I made sure I reported her accounts to a Suicide watch. I wanted to make sure she was okay. Because all things aside it's clear she has a mental health issue (I have anxiety, depression and get severe panic attacks to the point where I pass out) So I know how scary and difficult it is. I get help for my mental health, but I feel as if she doesnt have that help or control over it, her emotions change erratically and I would hate for anyone to feel as if they have done something wrong especially when not even responding to someone.

She was offline for a day and came back with this post:

I’m not posting this long ass post to ‘out’ any one, or shame anyone. That’s never healthy. But I know that also the way she can treat people, take things out of context and react to things isnt healthy either, especially to those who are vulnerable and take things to heart. Messaging someone to say they are the cause of their suicide is intolerable. I was worried sick and for what? She was trying to scare me and it worked, which had bought back a flood of triggers from my childhood, but I choose not to be a victim to it at all and I would hate any of the community having to go through that too.   I’ve felt like I was doing something wrong or was in the wrong until my fiancé reminded me that hurt people, hurt people - But that doesn't make it justifiable. To get the message out and protect  others too. I’m writing this post as a psa if anyone is looking to steer clear of Tumblr drama or want to avoid triggers like like suicide, emotional abuse and manipulation. She has a tendency to post and then delete, so that’s why I’ve been taking screenshots, so going on those pages they may have posts missing - this isn't out of the ordinary.  All info I shared are online and public and can be publically shared. The reason I’m sharing  screenshots of PMs is because I want everyone to see that I’m not making this up and/or I’m not lying. Because Amy has called me that. On several accounts. BTW within the last 24 hours she’s also changed her URL from @inspirationromance to @theheartofromance, then to @characterarchiving. I woke up this morning to a notification of a follow/unfollow from phoebegillies. After inspecting the account  and realising the rest had been deleted (including gilliesgifsource) I’ve realised she signed up with a new email (because she was blocked on the other accounts too so she couldn’t have followed me.) So she’s deliberately come and found me again to follow me then unfollow me. It was like a little dig at me. So I blocked her. If you choose to do the same its: http://www.phoebegillies.tumblr.com URL changes and account changes arent uncommon either. Bare in mind. I still haven’t responded to her since. She’s now harassing me by constantly reaching out despite my efforts to stop her. If you’re interested in more info about her you can find it on @shitheardonline That blogs over a year old and Amys history has been tracked that far. There you can find a list of aliases she’s used over the years as well as URLs she been under, horrible tweets she’s sent out and tagged TO writers in etc...

As of today (the 31st of May) she’s also made her Twitter account private so I’m glad I screen shotted what I could when I had the chance. I wish this girl the best and hope she gets the helps she needs, but its not okay to point the finger, victimise, harass and manipulate people online. And I want all of us to stay safe. Please reblog this so others can know. Take Care, Jolie x

#psa #the originals #daniel gillies #phoebe tonkin #tw: suicide #tw: emotional manipulation #tw: emotional abuse #tw: guilt tripping

[vitaminhwang]

Winter StrawVerry’s Donation Project Result

i just read about a project that one of taehyung’s fansites did and i want to share it with you. the original post is made by kateheartskpop on kpop amino so thank her for gathering this information and spreading this, she worked hard!! yes i got permission. Taehyung’s fansite named Winter StrawVerry raised money for an organization called Operation Smile that helps kids who have a defect called “ clef palate or clef lip “. This defect causes a gap in the roof of the mouth or upper lip (or both) which can lead to problems related to feeding, breathing, speaking, hearing and even dental problems.

With the help of ARMY’s everywhere they were able to donate $855 to gift little girl a beautiful smile in the name of Taehyung!  

This certificate will be sent to our Taehyung where he will be able to see this little girl showing off her beautiful smile. She will remember all those kind people who helped her smile. “ This whole gift brings me to tears because his beautiful smile has inspired a whole group of people all over the world to form a movement to change another’s life forever “ - kateheartskpop

Winter StrawVerry worked extremely hard to make this project possible, so please send her your thankful messages and support. She takes so many fancams and beautiful pictures for us for our tae. So go give her all your love and support for being such a generous person and a role model for all of us. Taehyung is truly lucky to have such generous people loving and looking after him.

“ Please support Winter StrawVerry with all of her fansite activities, and I urge you that if this cause has touched your heart in any small way to please look further into how you can help Operation Smile change the lives of people and children everywhere  ~ we all have the opportunity to be able to make another smile “ -kateheartskpop 

I hope that in the future there will be more projects like this and I hope all of us can help one day or even just supporting the cause :) I’m so touched seeing how generous people can be and how much dedication they have. To everyone who participated, thank you, you are truly angels and you are my role models. It warms my heart knowing the power of fans to make a difference. 

Thank you to kateheartskpop for spreading the word for army’s to know and support the cause. we should all be proud to call our selves army’s, look what we can do if we work together. BTS & ARMY FIGHTING

#when i see these kind of projects it just warms my heart like :)) #taehyung #v #bangtan #tae #my love #text #bts #bts v #bts taehyung #shut up diana

[botanistlester]

The Summer (15/30)

The Summer (15/30) | Dan Howell has spent the last three summers at Camp Bergamot, but it’s never been quite like this before. This year, he faces a summer full of new friends, a new relationship, and an entirely new view on his own sexuality. Perhaps Camp Bergamot should be renamed camp self discovery for all the changes Dan has gone through, but one thing’s for sure - despite all the hiccups and the drama, he just might have found the love of his life. | Phan | Mature | Smut, Misunderstandings, Insecurity, Panic Attacks, Bullying, Minor Violence, Physical Fight | 300,000+ Words

Disclaimer: In no way do I claim that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil.

This Part: 10,509 Words

For reference, @botanistlester is Dan, @snowbunnylester is Phil.

(Previous) (AO3) (Masterlist)

Warnings: Frottage

Chapter Fifteen

Phil had never intended to find himself in the library all alone while the rest of his friends and his boyfriend were off doing their own thing, and yet here he was on a Saturday afternoon, holed up with a book by himself, and he couldn't have been any happier. The week had been a long one, far too many late nights with Dan in the woods making out under the stars, slowly learning control of themselves and their ridiculous desire for each other, but too afraid to move along any faster than they already were. Now, the week was coming to an end. Tomorrow they'd have another bonfire with their friends, and maybe, just maybe, they'd actually tell them about their relationship. They'd talked a little bit about it when they weren't making out, telling each other stories about their lives back home, their pets and families and friends, and how they wanted to be able to do this all day every day sometime soon. Some of the pressure was lifting off of them, with both boys far less awkward and terrified to talk about their feelings and what was going through their heads. Phil loved it. He'd never had so much fun with someone before, and Dan made him happy, happier than he'd ever been. They talked about everything with each other. It just felt good, and it had only been two weeks since they'd met each other. Phil already thought he'd made a friend for life, if not a partner, and he dearly hoped this love would last. Now though, they really were taking a small break from each other, tired of having to tiptoe around their friends, and with Phil desperately just wanting to lose himself in a good book for once. Tonight, after dinner, he'd have his chance to see Dan alone again anyway, and that was enough to settle him as he read.

Dan was so fucking bored. There was a bit of free time between activities and none of his friends were available to hang out with him. How rude. Phil was off reading in the library after they'd agreed to have a bit of self time, Caleb was talking to his mysterious new crush, and Mariah and Kim were having some 'girl time'. Whatever the fuck that meant. So this left Dan by himself, sulking in the cabin while everyone else had fun doing their own thing. What was he supposed to do? The entire week had gone by in a blur, and Dan could feel himself falling more for Phil each and every day. He absolutely adored how Phil's mind worked, loved how Phil made butterflies erupt in his belly, and how his kisses made Dan feel as if he were flying. It was so refreshing and new, and Dan was sinking into the stomach of disgusting romance. He loved it though, and wanted to tell everyone else just how happy he was as well. On top of that, he and Phil had also been working on controlling their emotions. It was actually going pretty well, to the point where they could make out for more than five minutes without sporting an uncomfortable erection. Dan was slowly getting more comfortable with his sexuality and with this came curiosity about, well, sex. What was it like? Would he enjoy it? What did it involve? He knew there was only one way that could soothe his curiosity, but it was beyond risky. He needed to steal one of the camp counselors' computers and look up how to safely have sex with a dude. Which brought Dan to now. Lucky for him, Brittany had left her laptop in her suitcase, and Dan had sneakily grabbed it and brought it into the bathroom. He assured himself that he wasn't going to take a long time and that he'd replace it before anybody noticed. Quickly opening an incognito tab, Dan bit his lip, thinking. What should he enter into the search? How to have gay sex? He shrugged and typed it in. Millions of results popped up and Dan clicked on the first link, excitement in his chest. By the end of this, he was going to be a gay sex master.

Sinking into a novel was all well and good, especially just before dinner when Phil knew that he could wind down and head for bed as soon as he was "ready to sleep," - by which he really meant wind down so he could go and see Dan and spend the rest of the night laughing and making out, groping Dan because he'd been given permission for that but also trying to control himself a little more - but part of him was also just wondering where Dan was now. Phil hadn't really gotten a sense of what everyone else was going to do after lunch because Phil had dismissed himself early from lunch to began with, smiling softly at Dan and giving him an extra wave before he'd gone off, so he had no idea what Dan was doing or if he was even alone. His novel was fizzling out though, losing his interest, and Phil couldn't help wondering if Dan was alone, and if he was alone, if Phil couldn’t just sneak off with him for a cheeky make-out session before dinner. Better yet, Phil thought maybe they could go and have a cuddle. He missed the way Dan settled into his side, often with his head on Phil's chest. Sighing, Phil closed his novel with a small smile and put it away to finish at a later time, deciding he'd had quite enough of a break from his boyfriend, and determined to go and find him.

Dan was actually learning some very good information. He’d learned that they should still use condoms, that they had to go pretty slowly until the person on bottom had adjusted, learned what fingering was, that you had to properly stretch a person before you put a dick up their ass - apparently you had to use a lot of lube or else that could seriously hurt the bottom - and that you still had to use lube when you were fingering. The website told Dan that there was actually a proper 'timing' to fully inserting the penis, where the top should put in only an inch per minute to make sure the person on bottom wasn’t seriously hurt. "This is like a fucking art", Dan mumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes at the computer. Last but not least, he found out that men actually have a prostate which is supposed to feel really good if it's hit. Dan shut the laptop with a huff and pursed his lips. Would he like having fingers up his ass? A sudden knock on the door had Dan scrambling to his feet, caught red handed with a stolen laptop. He cleared his throat, panicking. "Yes?" he squeaked.

It took a while for Phil to locate any of his friends, running into Caleb first who directed him to Kim and Mariah who directed him to Dan's cabin where he met a guy who directed Phil to the bathrooms, something confused in his eyes, like he wasn't entirely sure why Dan was taking so long in there. A little bit awkward and a lot worried that the person inside the bathroom wouldn't be Dan, Phil tentatively made his way over to the door and stood there for a minute. What if Dan was like... having private time, or taking a dump? Phil didn't really want to interrupt him in that case, so he stayed there for a while just curiously waiting and hoping that Dan would come out on his own. He never did, and Phil found himself moving into the lounge of the cabin to sit down, bored, for another good five minutes before he saw the boy from earlier leave. Biting his lip, Phil finally re-approached said bathroom and stood awkwardly out front of it. "Uhm," he said, clearing his throat. Slowly, he lifted his fist, and knocked. The sound of someone scrambling around echoed through the door, and then a tiny questioning squeak managed its way through, sounding just enough like Dan that Phil relaxed. "Hey. It's me. Uhm. Phil. Are you alright in there? I was just coming to find you," Phil called awkwardly. "You are Dan, right?"

Dan relaxed at the sound of Phil's voice and let out a relieved sigh. "Yeah I'm alright," Dan called. He glanced down at the computer in his hands and furrowed his eyebrows. What would he do with his crime? Obviously he couldn't tell Phil what he'd been looking up, but he also didn't want to look like a crook. He ran a hand through his hair. Fuck it, he thought. He opened the door, coming face to face with curious blue eyes and a perfect black fringe. "Hey Phil," Dan said nonchalantly. He wasn't going to mention the laptop, but then Phil was glancing at his hands with a small question of, "how did you get that?" Clearing his throat, Dan laughed nervously. "I may or may not have stolen it from Brittany. I wanted to check up on my... social media." He’d hesitated and grimaced. He was never the best at lying. Before Phil could call him out on it, Dan was shoving the laptop back in Brittany's bag and slinging his arm around Phil's shoulders. "Let's go explore, yeah?"

Phil didn't have any more time to question Dan before the other boy was slinging his am over Phil's shoulder and depositing Brittany's apparent laptop back in her bag before leading them both out of the cabin, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind that Dan hadn't sounded quite right. It seemed odd to Phil that Dan would be lying, though. Phil could hardly blame Dan - an internet person such as the likes of Phil - for wanting to check in on his social media accounts. They'd already talked about their shared love for youtube and fansites like tumblr, so Phil just tried to shrug it off, glad to have Dan's arm wrapped around him at all. "Where did you want to go? I was thinking if I was lucky, you might go have a cuddle with me?" Phil asked hopefully, dropping the subject of Dan's strangeness moments before immediately in the hopes of getting what he wanted out of this situation.

Dan hummed, trying to wrack his brain for what might be the best area to cuddle. The lake was off limits because it wasn't night time yet and it was too risky. So where did that leave them? "Let's go to the clearing," Dan said, smiling warmly at Phil. He wanted cuddles more than anything, and to do that would make him the happiest person alive. He did feel slightly guilty from what he'd looked up, but he told himself it was all in good interest. There was nothing wrong with trying to ensure they had safe sex. When the time came, at least. After they'd gotten away from the wandering eyes of fellow campers, Dan allowed himself to link their fingers together, swinging their hands between them happily.

Dan always made Phil feel good, and now was no exception as the other boy lead him to the clearing where they'd first cuddled. Those early butterfly feelings had yet to fade, and so when Dan took his hand under the cover of the trees, Phil chuckled and grinned, turning his gaze down and away in embarrassment that Dan could still do that to him. He liked it, though, and he was glad that Dan was willing to go for a quick cuddle with him. They didn't have enough time for that, in Phil's opinion, when they spent long summer days together but only got to touch under cover of darkness. As soon as they were in the clearing, Phil tugged Dan down until they were both settled down in the grass, and then manhandled Dan into the position he wanted, resting his head on Dan's chest for once instead of the other way round. Phil pressed a light kiss just over Dan's heart and linked their fingers together again, his long, lanky body sprawled out along the line of Dan's side. Dan was warm, a space heater, and so soft to the touch. Phil loved everything about this boy and just how gentle he was. "Missed you. Always miss you," Phil complained. "Although I was enjoying my book until I couldn't stop thinking of you. You have to stop interrupting everything I do."

It was a bit surprising for Dan when Phil decided to cuddle up to Dan instead of the other way around. It was usually Dan who took the initiative to bury his face into Phil's chest, to have Phil's arms around his torso, but Dan decided he liked this position as well. Of course he did, considering he liked everything he did with Phil. He let out a happy hum as Phil kissed his chest, and Dan wrapped his arms around Phil like Phil usually did to him. He turned his head a bit so he could bury his face into Phil's hair, inhaling the sweet scent of his boyfriend. Phil was so warm against him, so comfortable, and Dan loved the feeling that came along with being Phil's boyfriend. "I'm sorry for interrupting your reading," Dan laughed, kissing the top of Phil's head. "But at the same time, I'm also not sorry because I like when you think of me."

Phil's heart was never going to be calm or still when he was around Dan, was it? Phil laughed at the way Dan's voice sounded - soft and fond and adoring, and all because of Phil's lavish attention on him. He liked the way that Dan was burying his face in Phil's hair, as well, like he couldn't get enough of having Phil so close to him. His arms were comforting too, and Phil was just glad to have this with Dan at all. "Yeah, well, you better be thinking of me as well," Phil teased. "What did you do while I was gone? I ran into the others and it doesn't seem like any of you had spent any time together today?" Phil really wanted to ask about the laptop, but he was refraining because Dan didn't seem to want to own up to whatever he’d been doing right now.

Dan snorted, rolling his eyes. Maybe he was a bit salty at the others for ditching him but that was alright. He was just a clingy friend who wanted to be with his friends twenty-four seven and who got offended when they didn't want to hang out with him. At least he could admit he had a problem. "Mariah and Kim said they needed girl time, and Caleb was apparently stalking a new crush of his." Dan brought his hand up to start brushing his fingers through Phil's hair, smiling when Phil made a noise of content. "So I just lazed around. Stole Brittany's laptop to look at my social media. Nothing new, nothing exciting." The lie made Dan cringe but he tried to hide it. He'd tell Phil sometime, but even the thought that he'd looked that stuff up when they hadn't even talked about having sex made Dan feel as if he were spoiling Phil's innocence.

Phil hummed as Dan spoke, enjoying the way the other boy carded his fingers through Phil's hair. "I'm sorry. When we agreed to have some time apart I didn't imagine you'd be alone. Like. I don't know of that's what you wanted, but I'm sorry if you were lonely," Phil murmured, Dan's touch making him drowsy. They;d had a lot of late nights and not very much sleep this week, so Phil wasn't even surprised he was on the verge of sleep when he was wrapped up so cozily with Dan. "But we'll have some more time alone tonight, right?" Phil murmured, yawning. "One of these days we need to sneak off for a movie date of our own..." Phil's eyes were dropping. Dan's hand felt so nice...

"I promise it's not a big deal. You needed some alone time and I know that. It wasn't as if I was alone for too long though. I ended up getting quite a bit of internet in there before you came and found me." Dan could hear Phil's voice getting more and more drowsy, and he chuckled lowly. Poor Phil. Dan was bringing his boyfriend away from a good sleep schedule for his own selfish desires. Oh well. As long as Phil was alright with it, Dan couldn't bear to quit. "A movie date sounds amazing. We should definitely do that." It was then that Phil let out something that sounded like a snore, and Dan rolled his eyes. Phil had fallen asleep. "You spoon," he murmured fondly. He couldn't bring Phil out of his slumber though, instead letting him take a short nap while Dan pet his hair.

Phil wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he was disoriented when Dan did eventually end up waking him up, shaking Phil lightly and pressing a kiss to his cheek. It was the sweetest most gentle feeling that Phil had ever experienced, and he was certain he’d crave it many times again, probably even attempting to force it like a child pretending to be asleep so his parent would carry him. Phil opened his eyes to stare up at Dan blearily, soaking in the way his face looked, all soft and kind, and then Dan was flicking him on the nose and declaring dinner. Embarrassed, Phil groaned and sat up, shoving at Dan. "It's your fault I'm so tired all the time," he complained. "But thank you for letting me nap."

Dan managed to steal one more kiss before they headed to dinner. Phil's lips were warm and welcoming, so soft that Dan didn't want to pull away, but he knew he had to so he resisted the urge to initiate an entire makeout session and pulled away. Dinner was the same as usual with Mariah and Caleb making fun of him, and Kim smiling warmly at Phil. At one point, Valerie walked past and said something about how Dan needed to stop "flaunting his sexuality" which confused him until he realized that he'd been making heart eyes at Phil while he was speaking. Dan blushed and looked down at his hands while Mariah told Valerie to "Stick it up your vagina and stop teasing him". Dan loved her. When he looked back up, Phil was gazing at him, smiling softly, and Dan realized he didn't care that much. Phil made him the happiest person in the world, why should he be ashamed of that?

Phil's favorite thing was Dan's friends, and the way they came out and defended Dan when he was being made fun of without hesitation, and without question. It made Phil feel less afraid of coming out to them as a couple, and he even considered bringing it up to Dan again as a very real possibility. For now though, he was just making heart eyes at Dan because Dan had been making heart eyes at him, and it made Phil feel all warm inside that Dan was feeling safe enough to do that in public. For a short while, Phil had feared Dan wanting to be in the closet, but he was being proven more and more wrong every day, with each increasing subtle request to one day be more open about their relationship. The group joked and made fun of Valerie after the exchange, and Phil got up to move next to Dan with a sudden surge of confidence. Without saying a word, Phil allowed his head to fall sideways onto Dan's shoulder, and closed his eyes with a tired sigh and short yawn in a fake attempt of exhaustion that really wasn’t there, heart racing as he waited for the reaction of their friends. Maybe this could be another way to reassure Phil that they could stop hiding and they would always be there to defend them.

Dan's eyes widened as Phil rested his head on his shoulder. His heart was beating fast, so loud that Dan was sure everybody in the room could hear it. Their group of friends were completely quiet, staring at the two with raised eyebrows. Dan didn't know what Phil was planning, but his friends knew him well enough that he always reacted to some affection with his own, so he drew an arm around Phil's shoulder and laid his head on top of Phil's. It was a position that he'd done with Mariah before, so he didn't think it'd be too weird. Kim was the first to make a noise, a soft cooing sound as if she were going 'aww' to a baby. Apparently, they were babies now. Mariah and Caleb soon followed, Mariah saying something to the effect of how they were too adorable for their own good. The reaction made Dan's stomach flip, and he grinned, squeezing Phil's shoulder with his hand. They were so nice about just this simple gesture that Dan felt his chest swell with happiness. Maybe they didn't have to hide for much longer after all.

Despite having intended to feign exhaustion for laying on Dan's shoulder, when Kim cooed and the others called them cute, Phil began to smile, skin prickling as Dan squeezed his shoulder lightly. Phil took advantage of their situation to snuggle even closer, done eating as it was, and decided to just go ahead and stay here, though his heart was pounding far too hard and loud for him to even attempt an another nap. Instead, he was hyper aware of their friends who lowered their voices as if Phil really were napping, while Dan rubbed small circles against Phil's skin, seeming able to tell that Phil was tense and nervous as all hell. He appreciated the notion, though, and enjoyed it for a good fifteen more minutes before the others decided that they were done and ready to go hang out at the big bonfire with the rest of the camp. Dan was gentle as he jostled Phil awake, and Phil turned to peer up at him with a soft smile. "You're a good pillow," he murmured, uncaring as their friends seemed surprised at the comment once again.

Phil was so tense as he rested on Dan's shoulder, but Dan couldn't say that he blamed him. Dan was nervous as hell too, feeling as if their friends were watching them intently, and as if he had to be careful of every move he made. Even so, he enjoyed having this closeness with Phil, and he was beyond thankful that their friends weren't teasing them for once. Mariah was smirking at Dan the entire time, but he pretended not to notice. When Dan jostled Phil awake and Phil claimed Dan was comfortable, their friends' eyes got as big as saucers so Dan just chuckled. "I'd hope I'm comfortable considering I eat far too many sweets. Makes me squishy." To iterate his point, he pinched his stomach where it was the most pudgy. "See? I'm a good pillow." As their friends rolled their eyes, they stood and made their way to the bonfire. Dan didn't feel like going to the bonfire, not when Phil was so fucking adorable when he was sleepy and he had to wait until tonight to kiss him again.

Phil frowned, lowering his voice as their friends walked away to say "I like you squishy. It makes you extra cute," and then reached down and linked their fingers together, carefully but brazenly. Dan's head whipped around to stare at him wide-eyed, but Phil didn't bother to even acknowledge the look; instead, the minute their friends were out of view, and the majority of the campers were out at the bonfire pit, Phil took off running, dragging a bewildered Dan behind him who at least had enough sense not to question Phil when they were out in the open with the potential of being seen. Phil was grinning as he heard Dan laugh behind him, fingers tightening around Phil's as they ran, and he could feel the adrenaline pumping through him, excitement at what he had planned propelling him forward despite his exhaustion. When the two finally came to a stop, it was just outside of the movie theater like room, and Phil turned to Dan with arms outstretched to say "Time for that movie date, I'd say."

The adrenaline running through Dan's body was enough to made him screech out a laugh, giggling as he allowed Phil to pull him along as he pleased. The idea of a movie date with Phil was more than Dan could have ever wanted. Some alone time with just the two of them and nobody else? That sounded like Dan's own personal heaven. Dan squeezed Phil's fingers and smiled softly at him. "You're my favourite person, you know that?" he said, leaning over to give his boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. They headed inside, and Dan was quick to choose a movie. He ended up picking 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and Phil made fun of him for wanting to watch something with such a long name. Dan rolled his eyes and swatted at him as he sat down next to Phil, basically curling into his side. "You'll be sorry when you realize how amazing this movie is."

Phil's heart was still fluttering. Dan had been more than happy to have a movie date with Phil, and Phil had been partially afraid he'd be mad that Phil had just kind of... taken off with him without explanation when they were meant to be spending time with their friends and the rest of the camp. Dan kissed him on the cheek instead, grabbing Phil's hand again to drag him into the movie theater room. All the lights were out, and they turned on the dimmer to set the mood slightly, which made Phil giggle as Dan picked out a movie with an insanely long title. That made Phil giggle as well, and he settled in on the sofa as Dan put it in. There were butterflies in his stomach again because this was going to technically be their first date, and Phil was beyond excited, wrapping an arm around Dan's shoulders as Dan curled into his side. What Phil wasn't expecting was for the movie to be a tear-jerker, and as it started, he felt his heart twist at the premise. A break-up, and a girl's absolute need to forget the man who'd broken her heart. Phil couldn't imagine going through such a procedure, but he could imagine her pain well enough, and he stared down at Dan with sad eyes. Would that be them one day? Were they going to break each other's hearts? Phil's arm tightened around Dan, and he settled his head on top of the others, closing his eyes for a second to pull himself together.

"You okay?" Dan murmured to Phil as his boyfriend tightened his arm around him. Phil's answering hum wasn't very convincing, so Dan pulled away a bit to look him in the face. Phil met Dan's eyes with watery blue ones, an expression of sadness on his face. Dan frowned. So maybe he hadn't done a very good job with picking a movie, even if this was one of his favourites, and he felt a bit guilty despite the fact that Eternal Sunshine had a happy ending. "Aw, Phil," Dan cooed and took his teary boyfriend into his arms. Phil's face was hidden in his chest, and he kissed the top of his head in comfort. "Don't cry, the movie ends up happy!" He pulled Phil's face from his chest and rested his hands on both of Phil's cheeks, using his thumbs to wipe the wetness from his eyes. He smiled gingerly at Phil and then leaned in to give him a sweet kiss on the lips. "I'm here, everything's alright."

Phil hadn't intended to get teary, but when they tears came, he couldn't stop them. He just felt really emotional about it all, and as the movie went on, he couldn't help his own sense of heartbreak. The whole story was a little gut wrenching, and for as much as Phil enjoyed it, wanted to like it because Dan so clearly did, he was having a tough time separating himself. He'd always loved movies that could really make him feel, and this was no exception. Dan made him look at him, though, and, embarrassed, Phil tried to hide his face, but Dan didn't let him, wiping away his tears and reassuring him that everything was going to be just fine before kissing him very sweetly on the lips. "You had to pick a tear-jerker, didn't you?" he teased, sniffing a bit.

Dan laughed apologetically. "Sorry. I guess I didn't think about it." Dan grinned at Phil and leaned back in to press kisses all over his face. He started with both of his cheeks, then moved to his forehead, his nose, and finally his lips. Dan sighed into the kiss and was vaguely aware that he was rubbing the small of Phil's back soothingly. He felt absolutely terrible that he'd caused Phil to be so sad, but he was also pretty happy because he now had a reason to hold Phil and comfort him through his tears. "We can turn on a different movie if you'd like?"

"You sure you didn't plan this?" Phil murmured as Dan peppered his face with kisses, eyes closed and smiling at how gentle he was. Dan really was the softest person Phil had ever met for how loud he tended to be, and how exuberant he was. It was comforting and good, though, knowing that Dan was such a gentle soul, knowing things about Dan that other people didn't know. He loved that they were vulnerable with each other. Phil's mouth opened to Dan's easily, but Dan didn't linger long on tongues - instead, he just kind of nudged his mouth alongside Phil's, and even that was amazing until he pulled away.

"I may have planned this a little bit," Dan murmured between kisses. He could tell that Phil was going pliant beneath his touch, mouth parting as if he expected Dan to deepen the kiss. He didn't, though. Dan didn't know if Phil wanted to actually watch the movie or not, so he pulled away after a few more pecks and smiled at Phil.

"No. This one's fine," Phil replied, a little breathless. They'd gotten much better about their hormones, but that didn't mean Phil didn't still love kissing Dan, didn't still crave the chance to make out with him. "Come here," he whispered instead, and kissed Dan again.

Dan opened his mouth to say something in response, but then Phil was pulling him back in, lips a bit more feverish against his than they were before. This was one of Dan's favourite types of kisses from Phil, where they were both desperately clinging to each other as if they were a source of air. Phil's mouth moved expertly against his, and Dan sighed at the feeling, biting at his top lip and then allowing Phil to slip his tongue into his mouth. His heart was pounding in his ears, blocking the noise from the movie, as he reached up and tangled his fingers in Phil's hair to pull him closer.

Movie entirely forgotten for now, Phil made a small moaning noise as Dan's fingers tangled into his hair, drawing him closer and tugging lightly on the strands. It didn't turn Phil on as much as he knew it turned Dan on, but it was still good. Phil's skin was hypersensitive to all of Dan's touches, after all. He sighed as Dan bit at his lip, licking into his mouth and pressing his tongue up against Dan's. The feel of them sliding against each other like that was intoxicating, and Phil's mind was a little fuzzy as he reached up and tangled his own fingers in Dan's hair as well, pulling gently before his hands trailed down to cup Dan's neck instead, lightly tracing patterns there as Phil grinned and sunk into the way Dan felt against him.

Phil was absolutely intoxicating. Dan didn't know how Phil could make him so needy so quickly, or how kissing him could make Dan so damned turned on in just a matter of seconds. Dan was one lucky son of a bitch. When Phil ran his fingers down Dan's neck and cupped them there, Dan let out a moan. Phil had easily found that touching Dan's neck was an instant turn on for Dan, and he used it to his benefit quite a lot. It made Dan a squirming mess underneath his touch, opening his mouth just a little bit wider so he could push his tongue against Phil's and taste all of him. He was getting turned on - way too turned on - and Dan didn't know how much longer he was going to last before he'd have to pull away. But, what if he didn't pull away? He pulled at Phil's hair, tilting his head so Dan could get impossibly closer, and he was basically on Phil's lap by now but he didn't care.

Somehow, things were getting far more heated than they normally did, and Phil wasn't even sure how. He'd thought he'd managed to learn some self control, but everywhere Dan touched him sent sparks of pleasure through his body. Their lips felt sealed together, and Dan was shifting against Phil, trying to get closer to him. Phil embraced that, liking that Dan wanted to be touching more, and moved his hands all the way down Dan's neck and his sides until he was grasping Dan’s hips and shifting his own body sideways so he could lay back against the sofa they were on. Dan came with him, following him, straddling him, until suddenly Dan really was in his lap. This wouldn't be the first time, but as Dan kissed him deeper, trying to taste every part of Phil's mouth and making it terribly difficult for Phil to breathe, Phil realized that his head was becoming very fuzzy. How was he meant to make this stop if Dan didn't stop soon? Phil made a muffled humming sound against Dan's mouth, and then pulled away, gasping for air with his hair all mussed up. He was sure he looked a mess as his fingers tightened on Dan's hips. "We should stop," he gasped. He could feel himself straining against his jeans again. Dan just felt so good.

Phil was pulling away all too quickly, and Dan swallowed his disappointment. He felt as if he could just stay like that all day and the hardness in his jeans definitely wasn't helping his case. He was gasping for breath, matching Phil, and they were both completely wrecked. A single glance down told Dan that Phil was just as turned on as he was, and he almost wanted to lean in and continue on what they'd started. "If you feel like we should stop, we can," Dan told Phil. He licked his lips to wet them a bit, clearing his throat and trying to clear his mind at least a little bit. He wasn't going to force Phil into doing anything he wasn't comfortable with, no matter how badly Dan wanted to. He liked Phil too much for that, respected him, and he wasn't the type of person to force anybody into something sexual. So he sat back on his thighs and began to move off of Phil.

Phil bit his lip. Dan looked so reluctant, so turned on, like he wanted to continue this and never stop, and his movements were hesitant but certain as he began to climb off of Phil. The only problem was... Phil didn't really want to stop. He was just afraid that he wouldn't be able to stop later if they didn't stop now, and he didn't know how far Dan wanted to go. He didn't know if Dan... wanted to... wanted to... maybe have that grinding session now. Honestly, Phil at this point would be happy to shove his hands down Dan's pants, but he wasn't sure if the other boy was actually ready for that, yet. "I -" he said, hands tightening around Dan's hips to stop him from climbing away. "I just don't know if I'll be able to stop, I - don't know if you wanted..." Phil closed his eyes. His head felt so full, and his dick was throbbing, and honestly he really just wanted Dan's mouth back on his - maybe on his neck, even. They'd never done that before. "Did you - want to continue?" he asked. "I just don't want us to ... get caught up in the moment."

Now the question was, did Dan want to continue? Was he ready for that step? He thought about what he would be comfortable with, what his boundaries were, and when they should stop. Did Phil even want to continue? Judging by the way he was asking Dan, voice so fond yet full of arousal, Dan was betting on yes. Phil would tell him if he wasn't ready for anything else. "I'm not ready to go all the way," Dan told Phil, and he was biting his lip, eyes raking down Phil's face and torso. Phil's hands gripping his waist were burning a hole through his clothes, making Dan want to scream. "If- if you want to, we can continue? I obviously don't want to go... too far tonight, but I think we have the self control not to." Dan racked his brain, trying to come up with what they could do if Dan didn't necessarily want to go all the way. Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Remember when I suggested that grinding session? Would you be comfortable with that?"

God. Would Phil be comfortable with that? Fuck yes. Phil groaned, eyes falling shut at the question, and nodded his head quickly while biting his lip. He would like that quite a bit. His fingers tightened on Dan's hips. "Just. Wanna touch you some more. Get you off," Phil mumbled. "You have no idea, Dan," he said, and then opened his eyes to find the arousal in Dan's. "Come here," he whispered, letting go of Dan's hips the reach up and throw his arms around Dan's neck, drawing him in until they were kissing again. Phil shifted his body underneath Dan's until Dan was properly straddling him and Phil could feel him, hard and big against Phil's own arousal. He gasped into the kiss at the sensation, completely new to it all, and rocked his hips up very lightly, experimentally, to Dan's apparent delight as he moaned against Phil's mouth. Phil trapped his bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling teasingly before sucking gently, and rutted his hips up again just as slowly. The feeling sent sparks up his spine like he'd never felt before, made him feel weak at the knees, and he groaned quietly. Dan was so hard against him. The friction was so fucking good - better than anything Phil had ever felt before, and he suddenly wondered what it would feel like to be naked against each other, really touching, as his hands moved to thread up through Dan's curls to tug lightly.

Dan nearly couldn't believe it. The feeling was so much better than he'd expected, one that made his entire body light up in flames and his toes curl. He pressed his body closer to Phil, feeling one of Phil's hands tangle in his hair while the other scratched lightly at Dan's back. Dan moaned into Phil's mouth again, seemingly unable to stop himself, and ground down onto Phil's crotch. It was a strange feeling having another guy's dick rutting up against his own, but it was like nothing Dan had ever felt before and it was so good that Dan wasn't able to shut up. He was making small noises into Phil's mouth each time he rutted against him, and the way Phil's tongue was massaging his own was making him weak. He pulled back from Phil, panting, and rested his head on Phil's shoulder, beginning to grind against him in a slightly faster pace. He kind of wanted to know what it'd feel like if Phil had those beautiful hands all over his body, around his aching cock, making him feel good. Like he’d heard Dan's thoughts, Phil was suddenly gripping at Dan's ass, pushing him down against him, and Dan could have sworn he saw stars. If this was how mere grinding felt with Phil, he wondered how good everything else would feel.

Dan was so loud; louder even than he'd been the last week every time they made a pastry in cooking and he’d needed to verbally approve of it as loudly as he possibly could in the form of a drawn out moan. Phil's cock had always twitched in interest, and he'd always been left to imagine how Dan would sound when he was actually getting pleasured, but this was something Phil could not have imagined. Dan was just as loud as he'd been when he was eating sweets he loved, but not as... real as this. This was something better, something more, and Phil couldn't stop panting himself in reaction, eyes rolled back in his head at the way Dan mewled and moaned into his mouth, the kiss wetter than it had ever been before because Dan wasn't able to concentrate enough to focus on kissing Phil properly. Phil couldn't even bring himself to care - he was far too invested in the way that Dan sounded, and when Dan began to grind his hips back against Phil, only further increasing the sparks of pleasure running through him, he groaned himself, far quieter but just as needy as Dan's sounds. Phil's eyes flew open as Dan pulled their mouths apart to hide against Phil's shoulder, and his hands moved down to grasp at Dan's ass, forcing their dicks together faster and tighter than before. The sensation only grew better, stronger, more intense, and Phil found his jaw falling open as familiar heat began to grow in his belly, coiling there while his balls drew up tight to his body. He wanted release, needed release, but wanted Dan to finish first even more. His eyes dropped to Dan's exposed neck, the way he was swallowing convulsively as he continued to make those pleasured sounds, and then he was gripping Dan's ass tighter, controlling both of their movements to make the pleasure as intense as he could, before lowering his mouth to nip and suck at Dan's neck the way he'd seen done in the movies.

As soon as Phil started to suck on his neck, Dan knew he was gone. There was so much pleasure surrounding him, so much of his body stimulated, that his head was spinning. Phil's lips were so nice on Dan's neck, nipping and biting, and if Dan had to guess, he may have even been leaving behind love bites in his wake. "Ph- Phil!" Dan gasped out, a pool of heat swelling in his groin, hot and propelled forwards by the feeling of Phil's hard cock grinding up against Dan's. Phil's hands gripped tighter on his ass, pulling harder, and Dan was in heaven. He grabbed onto Phil's shirt in tight fists to keep his balance, and he was sure he looked a right mess. Dan moaned out as Phil bit down hard on his neck, his tongue flicking out to soothe the skin soon after. It was all too much, Dan felt as if he was going to explode. "Phil, I'm going to come," Dan moaned, burying his face back in Phil's shoulder. As soon as the words left his mouth, he was coming, and he sank his teeth into Phil's shoulder to stop himself from being too loud. It didn't really work other than to slightly muffle his moans, and he was a panting, sweating mess, rutting against Phil a few more times to ride out his orgasm.

It was such a different experience feeling someone falling apart on top of you. They weren't even having full sex, weren't even naked or anything even close to what would normally be done in sex, and Phil still felt like this was the most erotic and sensual experience he'd ever had. Dan's body was shaking over his, his fingers twisting in Phil's shirt to hold himself steady while he rutted his hips against Phil's, ignoring entirely Phil's controlling movements until Phil was doing nothing more than kneading Dan's ass through his jeans merely as an excuse to grope him. The feel of Dan swallowing around Phil's ministrations against his neck, the sound of his moans and the way he choked out how close he was already, they were all combining to make this the most intense situation Phil had ever felt. He hadn't known how amazing it was going to feel, make him feel, when someone else came on top of him, and even though he couldn't feel Dan's orgasm, couldn't see the result of what they were doing, he could tell he had done by the way he quite suddenly leaned down to bite into Phil's shoulder, hips rutting out of control for a moment before stilling completely, a wet patch forming over Phil's own hard cock. Phil was filled with a sense of sudden euphoria, knowing he'd done that. Even if he'd missed Dan's orgasm face, even if he hadn't gotten to touch, he'd done that - not to mention that the way Dan's body felt rocking lightly against his, the sound of his moans not so muffled and very drawn out, and the way his teeth put pressure against Phil’s skin were literally going to be the death of him. HIs hands were still on Dan's ass, and his cock was still throbbing with the need for release. Shoving his hand very suddenly between their bodies, Phil gripped his cock as best as he could, and started to jerk it, massaging himself through his jeans, and giving himself the simulated feeling of Dan still rutting into him. "Fuck, fuck, fuck Dan," he moaned, throwing his head backwards and trying to push himself over the edge. He could feel it, he was right there, and his ears were ringing with how close he was, blood pumping through him fast and hard. He strained against his hand, felt Dan release his shoulder and learn over, and then they were kissing. That seemed to be what Phil needed, because the next thing he knew, his hips were jerking, cock spasming, and he was coming in his pants just as Dan had.

The way Phil was jerking himself off through his jeans was almost enough to make Dan's spent cock hard again. He stayed in his post-orgasm shock for a moment before he realized that Phil was desperately trying to get himself off to no avail. It was then that Phil started moaning, cursing, calling Dan's name, and he looked so blissed out, so beautiful. Dan nearly considered reaching down and taking over for Phil, to take him into his hand, feel his thick cock and work him through orgasm. Dan shivered. Maybe not this time. While the thought was definitely more than pleasing to him, he thought they both needed a moment to digest what had actually happened before delving into the world of handjobs and - dare he say - blowjobs. So instead, he leaned over and kissed Phil hard on the mouth, open mouthed and wet. Dan's trousers were wet, and he could feel Phil's hand pressing against his own bulge with how close they were pressed up against each other. Dan licked into Phil's mouth, lapping at his tongue, and then pulled back to bite his bottom lip. It was messy, hot, and the most erotic fucking thing Dan had ever done in his entire life, and he was surprised that he wasn't getting hard again from it. Then, Phil was coming. His hips were jerking against Dan, into his palm, and Dan leaning back a little bit to watch the show. He wasn't going to just let this chance of seeing Phil's orgasm face go. And good thing he didn't, because Phil was the most gorgeous sight he had ever seen like this. His mouth went slack, cheeks flushed, fringe pressed into a sweaty quiff, eyes tightly shut. Dan kissed him again, chuckling, because they both literally came in their pants like the horny teenage boys they were. When Phil seemed to have calmed down enough, Dan pulled back. They were both breathing heavily, staring at each other as if they had never seen the other before. Finally, Dan grinned. "You, Phil Lester, are amazing."

Phil felt like he was in heaven, he was so blissed out. Coming because of someone else, with someone else, against someone else was more than Phil had ever imagined it could be, and he was grinning even as he panted, staring up at an equally grinning Dan as they came down from their highs. Phil's pants and boxers were going to be awkwardly stained, and he'd never be able to wear either pair without thinking of Dan ever again. Phil laughed as Dan called him amazing, and reached up to throw his arms around Dan's neck and draw him in, pressing their mouths sloppily together all over again. This kiss was uncoordinated and breathy as they continued to pant against each other, and it wasn't helping that Phil couldn't stop grinning into Dan's mouth. "That was amazing," he finally agreed when they pulled apart again, nuzzling against Dan's face. "You're amazing. I can't believe we just did that. It was perfect." Phil was giddy with his first sexual experience, and he was so glad it had been Dan.

Dan giggled along with Phil, his chest about to burst with emotion. Phil had a huge smile on his face and he was absolutely beaming, making Dan feel as if he were on top of the world. His first sexual experience! He could hardly believe it. Only a few weeks ago, he would have laughed in somebody's face if they'd told him that he was going to be kissing and doing sexual stuff with another boy, but here he was. And Dan was loving it. He wouldn't have had this experience with anybody else. Dan sighed happily and pecked Phil on the lips again before moving so he wasn't straddling Phil anymore. The forgotten movie was playing the last scene, and Dan shifted a bit uncomfortably in his jeans, cringing at the wetness he found there. "I've made a mess," he told Phil matter-of-factly. "All because somebody decided it'd be a good idea to make me come in my pants." He laughed loudly as Phil shoved him, kissing his boyfriend on the cheek in apology.

Phil didn't really want Dan to move, but he let him go when he started to try and shift off of Phil with the realization that they were both getting pretty uncomfortable in their wet jeans. Rolling his eyes at Dan's comment, Phil reached out and shoved him. "If you're lucky, next time I'll swallow," he teased with a cocky wink. He knew it was something he most definitely wanted to try, but he wasn't sure when the next time they were going to do this would be, and he hoped Dan wouldn't feel pressured by it. They hadn't even talked about telling their friends yet, though Phil had been considering it all night, but this was solidifying it for him. They were doing these things on their own because they wanted to, not because anyone had pressured them, and it was amazing. Dan didn't even seem freaked out, which was a plus for Phil. "You don't regret it, right?" He asked, feeling a little insecure.

Dan's body got hot at Phil's words. Phil swallowing? Dan nearly couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He groaned a bit, shuffling in his seat, as he thought about how it would feel to have Phil's pretty pink lips wrapped around his cock. It would truly be one of the most beautiful sights he'd ever seen, that was for sure. Dan pressed himself into Phil's side, trying to ignore how sticky and disgusting he felt. He'd definitely have to change soon or else he was going to have to deal with having soiled underwear for the rest of the night. Dan didn't get a chance to tell Phil how much he liked the idea of Phil swallowing before he was moving on, and Dan turned to gape at him. "Of course I don't regret it," he murmured quietly. How could Phil even think that? This was the best moment of his non existent sexual history. "I could never regret doing something like that with you. In fact, I'd love to do more stuff with you. If you'll have me, that is."

Phil's smile grew slow and big as he turned back to Dan, who'd moved to press his side into Phil's. He was warm, there, comforting and soft. Phil shifted his arm to wrap it around Dan's shoulders, wanting a cuddle and affection after everything that they just done together. He felt closer to Dan than he had felt to anyone ever before. "I definitely want to do this again. And more. I'd love to try more with you," he murmured, shy as he glanced at Dan with a blush on his cheeks "I'm just. Worried because this is newer to you than it is to me. I mean. I've at least... been comfortable in my sexuality for a while," he tried to explain, not wanting Dan to think that Phil was in anyway regretting this or wanting to stop either.

Dan understood what Phil was saying. He didn't really understand why he wasn't more freaked out himself, but he figured that he was just comfortable with Phil. Phil didn't feel like a certain gender to him, which was unbelievably cheesy. Phil felt like home. Dan relayed this much to Phil, cuddling closer to him and trying to calm the erratic beating of his heart. Even after they'd been dating for a week already, he still felt the butterflies in his chest. "I think I'm a lot more relaxed because I've had time to think about everything. We didn't rush into anything and we both made a decision to do this stuff when we were ready for it." Dan grinned and kissed Phil on the cheek, loving the way the skin heated up against his lips. "If we'd just jumped right in, I might have had more of a problem. But I'm comfortable with you and I trust you. Don't worry about me, okay?"

It made Phil feel warm and fuzzy all over. Dan's lips had been soft against his cheek, and the fact that he was so comfortable with how slow they'd taken things, waiting until they were both comfortable, was really comforting, calming Phil until he was able to roll into Dan and tuck his head up under his chin. They rarely cuddled with Phil being the instigator - that was always Dan - but Phil wanted the affection now when he was still processing what they'd done, still trying to come down from feeling so amazing. He hummed against Dan's chest, and murmured "I'm glad you're comfortable with me. I always want you to be comfortable with me." It was cheesy and maybe a little bit stupid, but Phil was feeling incredibly sappy. Apparently, he became a bit of a cuddle monster after sex, then.

When Phil was like this, Dan could literally feel warmth swelling throughout his entire body. He was in a state of euphoria, post-orgasm, with Phil cuddled to his chest. This was the best feeling in the world. He made a noise of happiness, and buried his nose into Phil's hair, kissing the top of his head. He was glad that Phil liked to cuddle after doing sexual things because Dan was definitely all for that, loving the feeling of Phil resting his face in his chest and holding him tight. He was glad they could be cheesy together. "I'll always be comfortable with you," Dan murmured, shutting his eyes. He couldn't explain how happy he was in that moment, cuddled up to Phil and feeling like he was on top of the world.

Phil never wanted to leave this moment. It felt too good and perfect, like all the planets were aligned and he needed to take advantage of all the time he had with Dan. He knew they had to get up eventually though, sneak back home before anyone really noticed they'd snuck out in the first place. Phil wanted to stay here so badly though. He wanted to hold Dan forever. Pushing himself up, Phil leaned in to kiss Dan again, melding their lips together in a sweet but definitely not chaste kiss, humming into Dan's mouth to show just how much he'd liked it - one thing they'd definitely learned today was that Dan was intensely vocal while Phil was less so, and he wondered if Dan even had room to listen to any sounds that Phil made.

The one thing that Dan liked about Phil being not very vocal was that it sent a shiver down Dan's spine whenever he let out any sort of noise. It was such a turn on like that, a gift that showed just how much pleasure Phil was getting from him. Dan swallowed the sounds up as if they were his lifeline. Their lips moulded together like puzzle pieces, Dan running his hands over Phil's arms and trying to drink him in the best that he could. He wished they could just stay like this forever, but after kissing lazily for a few more moments, the end credits of the movie started rolling and Dan knew they had to make their way back to their cabins. "I had a question," Dan murmured, pulling away and looking his boyfriend in the eye. He was a bit embarrassed, like Phil had seen so much more of him than he'd initially realized. He liked it though, liked feeling as if there was something Phil had seen that nobody else had. "Would you consider telling our friends? Y’know, about us... soon?"

Dan's hands were running all over Phil's body, and it was the best feeling. They hadn't gotten to even try exploring each other yet, but now Dan seemed to be taking a little bit of advantage of that, running the flats of his palms up and down Phil's arms, winding around his back to press against the flat expanse there - it was nowhere they hadn't touched before, no more intimate than normal, and yet it still felt like more because they'd just had sex. Well, kind of. Phil was still giddy with the knowledge that they'd done anything, and he wasn't going to let that go for a while. His cheeks were pleasantly flushed with desire again when Dan finally pulled away, looking at Phil with the gentlest of gazes. "Definitely," Phil agreed quietly, grinning. "Thought I made my intentions kind of obvious earlier today, and... and just like. After all of this, I feel safer about it. If that's something you'd want as well," Phil added quickly. Despite Dan having brought it up, Phil didn't want Dan to think they had too.

Phil's skin was warm against Dan's hands, and he wanted nothing more than to explore the rest of him. He allowed his hands to wander, caressing the skin of Phil's back as he slipped his hands under Phil's shirt just to feel him. He liked the way Phil shivered at his touch, the way Phil was so hot against his freezing cold hands. "I've been thinking about it a lot," Dan admitted. It was something that'd been itching in his mind for a few days now. While it was fun to be able to keep this to themselves and to sneak around, he also wanted to kiss Phil in front of his friends, to hold his hand, to be a proper boyfriend. He was ready. "I keep thinking about how it'd feel to hold your hand in front of them. Now that I've come to terms with my sexuality, I think I'd be comfortable with telling them as well."

Phil couldn't help feeling overwhelmingly happy to hear that Dan did want their friends to know, at the very least so that he could hold hands with Phil in public, and they wouldn't have to hide their affections anymore. It had been a mutual decision to kind of hide the whole thing, but Phil had always been that little bit afraid that Dan would never want to come out. He thought he was starting to know Dan quite well, thought he had a good idea of who he was as a person, and that definitely didn't include him being the type of person afraid to face himself or who would never want to come out, but Phil had never quite been able to still the niggling fear. Now, though, there was nothing to worry about, as Dan was feeling comfortable enough to come out. Phil ended up giggling and leaning in to kiss Dan again, sighing into his mouth and just kind of... breathless with affection. "Alright. Then let's tell them," Phil agreed when he pulled away again, grinning up at Dan.

Dan grinned back at Phil and kissed him again. He seriously didn't think he would ever get used to kissing him. Phil was addictive, a drug, and Dan was the person lucky enough to hold and kiss him whenever he pleased. To tell their friends about their relationship would just make that easier for him to do so. Plus, his friends were some of the most supportive people he knew. He had no doubt in his mind that they would be as excited as he was about his and Phil's relationship.

They ended up kissing for a little bit longer before they decided to head off for bed. It was surprisingly early for them, as they usually were out later, but they were both so exhausted that their eyes were drooping the longer they stayed up that night. Considering their plans for tomorrow, Dan figured they needed as much sleep as they could get. He ended up falling asleep full of nervous energy, barely able to hold still. Tomorrow would be the day he would finally be able to hold Phil as he pleased. He could hardly wait.

(Next)

#phan #phanfic #phanfiction #fanfic #fanfiction #the summer #insanityplaysfics #phansdick #phan fluff #phan smut #phan drama #chaptered

[wolfenm]

The Problems with Reposting

Recently someone reposted my work -- as in, downloaded it and then posted it from their computer -- on their Insta and their Twitter. I politely but firmly pointed out that they did not have my permission, that they really should reblog / retweet an artist’s work rather than repost, and asked them to take it down. They BLOCKED me without responding on Twitter. I THINK they took it down from Insta, but I'm not 100% sure it’s *their* gallery that I'm seeing (which would mean they didn’t block me there), or one with a similar name and theme, because the one I saw before had less images. Anyway, I'm betting they did indeed remove it.

To their credit, they DID @  me on both posts, which I do appreciate. I know what some of you are thinking: Wolfie, that’s like a link, and you’re getting exposure -- why are you still upset? Except it’s really not.

Keep in mind that I am not some mega-corporation -- I don't have a huge following, I don't make tons of money (practically none, really -- I do it mostly for the joy), and my work is not instantly recognisable (although, really, if a famous artist posts their work, you should hit that reblog / retweet / share button in those cases, too). And for those who are thinking, “well, posting on the internet means you give up your rights” -- NO. That is 100% false. Read these:

https://sarafhawkins.com/copyright-online-photo-etiquette/

https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-protection/

https://about.deviantart.com/policy/copyright/

Here are some of the problems with reposting instead of reblogging/etc.

1) With it reposted in someone else’s space, if I want or need to change or even take the work down ... I can’t, because I don't have access to their account. 

2) It adds a level of distance between the artists and the work, with dangerous potential for further separation. Even if the one who reposted gives the link to the artists’ site, that doesn’t guarantee that someone who then takes it from THEM will share that credit.

Once, someone took an image of my Grootmas tree, stripped my credit from the photo, and posted it on their page, saying nothing about who it was by, so as far as anyone knew, they had made it. It was shared by over a thousand people before I learned about it. I contacted the poster, and he laughed and said “You didn't make it -- it’s not yours.”) So I showed him the original, with my credit still on it (meaning it had the part of the photo that his version was missing, not just the credit) -- and he insisted that proved nothing. So I took a pic of myself with Grootmas, with a sign saying who I was. *Finally*, he conceded and took the post down, but those people who reposted it would never know who really made it.

3) Too many people only link to the parent page of the artist, not the display page of the image. For artists like myself who post on DeviantArt, if a person does actually follow the link (many do not!), they then have to hunt for the image in the gallery -- if they don't find it, we don't get the pageviews. That makes it a lot harder to judge the success of a work, because we're not aware that people are even seeing it in those cases.

4) Not everyone who sees a repost speaks the same language as the reposter. This means they may not get that the reposter isn’t the originator, and is crediting someone else in the description, rather than just tagging a friend they want to show the work to, or a client who paid for a commission, etc -- context is lost.

5) Sometimes those credits get lost by the way the social media site displays on certain devices -- people may not see the actual credit at all, as it gets hidden behind a “see more” link.

6) It’s basically stealing “likes”. I mean, if someone reblogs my work, MY numbers go up, and helps my work to be seen more. It’s pretty much the same at Twitter. But if someone ELSE posts it directly to their social media, as a separate post not connected to me, it’s only THEIR numbers that go up, THEIR exposure that increases, not mine.

Putting a lot of work into something, only to see someone else get more recognition for it than myself, doesn't exactly encourage me to make more art, ya know? If you like an indie artist’s work, SUPPORT THEM, in the best way possible: share THEIR posts. Don't take control of their work out of their hands. If you want to use it for something outside of just a simple post, GET PERMISSION.

Once, some fanzine informed me, *after* the fact, that they had used art of mine in a post of theirs, but added that they would take it down if I wanted them to. Let me say right now that, even if I had been okay with the post it was included in, I still would have been hella annoyed that it they hadn't asked permission FIRST. As it was, I was even more upset when I discovered HOW it was used: it was art of Harry and Petunia that I had done for a fanfic of mine, and they were using it as a header for a ficrec of someone ELSE’S fanfic. (Seriously?? They used my work for my story to celebrate someone *else’s* story?? HOW could that be anything but rude??) At any rate, I saw on their site that you have to fill out a form to opt *out* of your stuff being used!! Outraged, I pointed out that inclusion in their zine should be opt-IN, not opt-OUT ... and they replied that it would take too long then for them to gather content, so they wouldn't be able to share artists’ works with the world, framing it like they were doing people a favour and we should be grateful, even if we never asked them to do it. 

Don't be like that, please. You aren't loving the artists when you act like this; you’re acting entitled and using them for your own benefit.

I know, I know,  “Wolfie, you hypocrite, you do fanworks! You aren't getting permission from the original artists!” Putting aside that I tend to gravitate more towards creators who welcome and encourage fanworks than ones who don’t .... you're right, and I entirely understand if you lump me in with the very people I'm complaining about. Any justifications I make are, in the end, me rationalising and excusing, whether I’m right or not.

So what are my justifications? I'm remixing hella well-known works, often owned by corporations (ones that I likely have given more than a little money to). I'm taking something that has become part of the fabric of our society, a touchstone, and participating in the conversations about it. I’m sharing my own thoughts about the stories by framing those thoughts in the form of new stories -- save for occasional quotes, I'm not sharing the actual original text. I give credit to the originators. When I do portraits, I typically use promo art, and often compile multiple images and otherwise put my own spin in things. My brain forms the words that my versions of the characters speak, and the actions they do, and my hands lay down the lines. (And I don't sell the fanworks, but that’s a whole other discussion.) 

I don't make gifs, but yes, I do share them -- these soundless, quick scenes that are used on the internet as a form of conversation, as well as a means to  study, re-experience, and share favourite moments of a show. They’re no substitution for the real thing, In fact, I have started watching shows BECAUSE of gifsets! (And showrunners aren’t, unlike me, ever going to need or want to take down old versions -- presumably they have put forward the best version they ever expect to do. Once a work is distributed en masse, that ship has sailed.)

There is no risk whatsoever of anyone mistaking me as the creator of the franchises I make fanworks for. Everyone knows where to find the source material. Everyone SHOULD be smart enough to understand that the originators are not actually participants in fanworks; if the reader / viewer doesn't like something, they should know not to hold the originators responsible for what a fan does with their characters (and if they aren’t smart enough, gods help us; we’re doomed).

(Also, if I know that a creator has forbidden fanfic, I *respect that and don’t do it*. And as I said, some of the fandoms I indulge in have even actively welcomed fanworks, rather than simply turning a blind eye. Like, Sony sent me a bunch of stuff for being “Fanartist of the Month" for October of 2004 on their Spider-Man website, and my Iron Man / Tony Stark painting ranked #1 for a while on the movie site for the first film, and James Gunn shared my Grootmas -- yes, he reposted, but I let the content-originators slide on that point. Hell, Warner Bros actually had a fanfic thread on their Harry Potter website years ago, Rowling having given her blessing, and had files for fans to use to make fansite graphics ....)

#mine #fandom #essay #fandom issues #artists on tumblr #creators #creator issues #social media #social media issues #fandom etiquette #reposting #reblogging #retweeting #2020

[trendingnewsb]

How Email Open Tracking Quietly Took Over the Web

"I just came across this email," began the message, a long overdue reply. But I knew the sender was lying. He’d opened my email nearly six months ago. On a Mac. In Palo Alto. At night.

I knew this because I was running the email tracking service Streak, which notified me as soon as my message had been opened. It told me where, when, and on what kind of device it was read. With Streak enabled, I felt like an inside trader whenever I glanced at my inbox, privy to details that gave me maybe a little too much information. And I certainly wasn’t alone.

There are some 269 billion emails sent and received daily. That’s roughly 35 emails for every person on the planet, every day. Over 40 percent of those emails are tracked, according to a study published last June by OMC, an “email intelligence” company that also builds anti-tracking tools.

The tech is pretty simple. Tracking clients embed a line of code in the body of an email—usually in a 1×1 pixel image, so tiny it's invisible, but also in elements like hyperlinks and custom fonts. When a recipient opens the email, the tracking client recognizes that pixel has been downloaded, as well as where and on what device. Newsletter services, marketers, and advertisers have used the technique for years, to collect data about their open rates; major tech companies like Facebook and Twitter followed suit in their ongoing quest to profile and predict our behavior online.

But lately, a surprising—and growing—number of tracked emails are being sent not from corporations, but acquaintances. “We have been in touch with users that were tracked by their spouses, business partners, competitors,” says Florian Seroussi, the founder of OMC. “It's the wild, wild west out there.”

According to OMC's data, a full 19 percent of all “conversational” email is now tracked. That’s one in five of the emails you get from your friends. And you probably never noticed.

“Surprisingly, while there is a vast literature on web tracking, email tracking has seen little research,” noted an October 2017 paper published by three Princeton computer scientists. All of this means that billions of emails are sent every day to millions of people who have never consented in any way to be tracked, but are being tracked nonetheless. And Seroussi believes that some, at least, are in serious danger as a result.

As recently as the mid-2000s, email tracking was almost entirely unknown to the mainstream public. Then in 2006, an early tracking service called ReadNotify made waves when a lawsuit revealed that HP had used the product to trace the origins of a scandalous email that had leaked to the press. The intrusiveness (and simplicity) of the tactic came as something of a shock, even though newsletter services, salespeople, and marketers had long used email tracking to gather data.

Seroussi says that Gmail was the ice breaker here—he points back to the days when sponsored links first started showing up in our inboxes, based on tracked data. At the time it seemed invasive, even unsettling. “Now," he says, "it’s common knowledge and everyone’s fine with it.” Gmail’s foray was the signal flare; when advertisers and salespeople realized they too could send targeted ads based on tracked data, with little lasting pushback, the practice grew more pervasive.

“I do not know of a single established sales team in [the online sales industry] that does not use some form of email open tracking,” says John-Henry Scherck, a content marketing pro and the principal consultant at Growth Plays. “I think it will be a matter of time before either everyone uses them,” Scherck says, “or major email providers block them entirely.”

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That's partly to do with spam. "Competent spammers will track any activity on your email because they tend to buy entire lists of addresses and will actively try to rule out spam traps or unused emails,” says Andrei Afloarei, a spam researcher with Bitdefender. “If you click on any link in one of their messages they will know your address is being used and might actually cause them to send more spam your way.”

But marketing and online sales—even spammers—are no longer responsible for the bulk of the tracking. "Now, it’s the major tech companies," Seroussi says. "Amazon has been using them a lot, Facebook has been using them. Facebook is the number one tracker besides MailChimp." When Facebook sends you an email notifying you about new activity on your account, "it opens an app in background, and now Facebook knows where you are, the device you’re using, the last picture you’ve taken—they get everything."

Both Amazon and Facebook "deeplink all of the clickable links within the email to trigger actions on their app running on your device," Seroussi says. "Depending on permissions set by the user, Facebook will have access to almost everything from Camera Roll, location, and many other logs that are hidden. But even if a user has disabled location permission on his device, email tracking will bypass this restriction and still provide Facebook with the user's location."

I stumbled upon the world of email tracking last year, while working on a book about the iPhone and the notoriously secretive company that produces it. I’d reached out to Apple to request some interviews, and the PR team had initially seemed polite and receptive. We exchanged a few emails. Then they went radio silent. Months went by, and my unanswered emails piled up. I started to wonder if anyone was reading them at all.

That’s when, inspired by another journalist who’d been stonewalled by Apple, I installed the email tracker Streak. It was free, and took about 30 seconds. Then, I sent another email to my press contact. A notification popped up on my screen: My email had been opened almost immediately, inside Cupertino, on an iPhone. Then it was opened again, on an iMac, and again, and again. My messages were not only being read, but widely disseminated. It was maddening, watching the grey little notification box—“Someone just viewed ‘Regarding book interviews’—pop up over and over and over, without a reply.

So I decided to go straight to the top. If Apple’s PR team was reading my emails, maybe Tim Cook would, too.

I wrote Cook a lengthy email detailing the reasons he should join me for an interview. When I didn’t hear back, I drafted a brief follow-up, enabled Streak, hit send. Hours later, I got the notification: My email had been read. Yet one glaring detail looked off. According to Streak, the email had been read on a Windows Desktop computer.

Maybe it was a fluke. But after a few weeks, I sent another follow up, and the email was read again. On a Windows machine.

That seemed crazy, so I emailed Streak to ask about the accuracy of its service, disclosing that I was a journalist. In the confusing email exchange with Andrew from Support that followed, I was told that Streak is “very accurate,” as it can let you know what time zone or state your lead is in—but only if you’re a salesperson. Andrew stressed that “if you’re a reporter and wanted to track someone's whereabouts, [it’s] not at all accurate.” It quickly became clear that Andrew had the unenviable task of threading a razor thin needle: maintaining that Streak both supplied very precise data but was also a friendly and non-intrusive product. After all, Streak users want the most accurate information possible, but the public might chafe if it knew just how accurate that data was—and considered what it could be used for besides honing sales pitches. This is the paradox that threatens to pop the email tracking bubble as it grows into ubiquity. No wonder Andrew got Orwellian: “Accuracy is entirely subjective,” he insisted, at one point.

Andrew did, however, unequivocally say that if Streak listed the kind of device used—as opposed to listing unknown—then that info was also “very accurate.” Even if pertained to the CEO of Apple.

If Tim Cook is a closet Windows user (who knows! Maybe his Compaq days never fully rubbed off) or even if he outsources his email correspondence to a firm that does, then it’s a fine example of the sort of private data email tracking can dredge up even on our most powerful public figures.

"Look, everybody opens emails, even if they don’t respond to them," Seroussi says. "If you can learn where a celebrity is—or anyone—just by emailing them, it’s a security threat.” It could be used as a tool for stalkers, harassers, even thieves who might be sending you spam emails just to see if you’re home.

"During the 2016 election, we sent a tracked email out to the US senators, and the people running for the presidency," Seroussi says. "We wanted to know, were they doing anything about tracking? Obviously, the answer was no. We typically got the location of their devices, the IP addresses; you could pinpoint almost exactly where they were, which hotels they were staying at."

This is what worries Bitdefender's Afloarei about malicious spammers who use trackers, too. “As for the dangers of being tracked in spam, one must keep in mind the kind of people that do the tracking, and the fact that they can find out your IP address and therefore your location or workplace,” he says. Just by watching you open your email, Afloarei says spammers can learn your schedule (“based on the time you check your email”), your itinerary (based on how you check mail at home, on the bus, or so on), and personal preferences (based on where they harvested the email; say, a sports forum, or a music fansite).

Because so many people can be looked up on social media based on email addresses, or their jobs and locations, Afloarei says it’s "pretty easy" to correlate all the data and track someone down in person. "Granted, most spammers are only interested in getting your credit card or simply getting you infected and part of their botnet, but the truly devious ones can deduct so much information besides all that."

"I always wonder when a big story is going to come out and say that people broke into a house because they used email trackers to know the victims were out of town." – Florian Seroussi, founder of OMC

There’s one more reason to be wary: Email tracking is evolving. Research from October looked at emails from newsletter and mailing list services from the 14,000 most popular websites on the web, and found that 85 percent contained trackers—and 30 percent leak your email addresses to outside corporations, without your consent.

So, if you sign up for a newsletter, even from a trusted source, there’s a one in three chance that the email that newsletter service sends you will be loaded with a tracking image hosted on an outside server, that contains your email address in its code and can then share your email address with a “large network of third parties.” Your email address, in other words, is apt to be shared with tracking companies, marketing firms, and data brokers like Axiom, if you as much as open an email with a tracker, or click on a link inside.

“You can have tens of parties receive your email address,” says Steven Englehart, one of the computer scientists behind the study. “Your email hash is really your identity, right? If you go to a store, make a purchase or sign up for something—everything we do today is associated with your email.” Data brokers have long stockpiled information on consumers through web tracking: browsing habits, personal bios, and location data. But adding an email address into the mix, Englehart says, is even more reason for alarm.

“This kind of tracking creates a big dataset. If a dataset leaks with email hashes, then it’d be trivial for anyone to go see that person’s data, and people would have no idea that data even existed,” he says. “You can compare it to the Experian data leak, which exposed people’s social security numbers, and could cause fraud. In my mind, this leak would be even worse. Because it’s not just financial fraud, but intimate details of people’s lives.”

Given the risks, perhaps what’s most striking about the rise of ubiquitous email tracking is how relatively quietly it’s happened—even in a moment marked by increased awareness of security issues.

"It’s shifted. It’s more and more used in conversational threads. In business emails. This is what scares us the most," Seroussi says. "One out of six people that emails you is sending a tracker, and it’s real life"—not marketing, not spammers. “It could be your friend, your wife, your boss, this number is really mind boggling—you give up a lot of privacy just opening emails."

After the Great Tim Cook Email Tracking Incident, I left Streak on. I’d found, grudgingly, that it was useful; it was sometimes more efficient to know when sources had read my email and when I might need to nudge them again. But because I was using the same Gmail account for personal and professional use, I ended up tracking friends and family, too. That’s when I saw how starkly tracking violates the lightly-coded social norms of email etiquette. I watched close friends read an email and not respond for days. I saw right through every white lie about email (about not receiving it, or it getting stuck in the spam folder). Sure, it’s occasionally nice; you can get a rough sense of how many people read the latest update to the weekend plans on a thread, and you can feel confident that your brother isn’t blowing you off, he’s just really bad at reading email. But it mostly serves to add yet another unnecessary layer of expectation onto our already notification-addled lives, another social metric to fret over, and another box to click on feverishly whenever it arrives. Not to mention a tinge of surreptitious digital voyeurism.

"Most consumers don’t understand just how much information they are giving up." — marketing consultant John-Henry Scherck

Clearly, this is a situation that the tracking outfits want to avoid. They’ve kept mostly to the shadows, harvesting useful sales data and email open rate info without causing too many ripples; the last thing they want is for their products to be deemed invasive or spyware. This, however, puts them in a deeply awkward position: In order to stand out amongst a burgeoning field of email tracking services, they need to tout their accuracy and ease of use—while somehow giving the public the impression the data they’re soaking up isn’t a threat.

As the number of easy-to-use, free tracking products proliferates—some email clients are beginning to simply ship with tracking features, as Airmail did in 2016—we’re going to have to contend with a digital social landscape where there’s an insurgent mix of trackers and trackees. And, increasingly—anti-trackers.

If you don’t want people to know your precise whereabouts whenever you glance at a specially priced offer for a cruise featuring your favorite 90s alt rock bands; if you’d rather Facebook not harvest your device data every time a former high school classmate inveighs against Trump in a comment on one of your vacation pics; if you’re the CEO of one of the top technology companies in the world and you’d rather not be associated with using a rival’s product—you have options.

A host of anti-tracking services have sprung up to combat the rising tide of inbox tracers—from Ugly Mail, to PixelBlock, to Senders. Ugly Mail notifies you when an email is carrying a tracking pixel, and PixelBlock prevents it from opening. Senders makes use of a similar product formerly known as Trackbuster, as part of service that displays info (Twitter, LinkedIn account, etc) about the sender of the email you’re reading. Using these services, I spotted more than a few acquaintances and even some contacts I consider friends using tracking in their correspondence.

But even those methods aren't foolproof. Tracking methods are always evolving and improving, and finding ways around the current crop of track-blockers. “It’s a fight we’re having over the last couple of years,” Seroussi says. “They can’t counter all the methods that we know—so they get around the block by setting up new infrastructures. It’s a chase, they’re doing a job.”

To prevent third-parties from leaking your email, meanwhile, Princeton’s Englehart says “the only surefire solution right now is to block images by default.” That is, turn on image-blocking in your email client, so you can’t receive any images at all.

OMC has found dozens of novel methods that newfangled trackers are using to get your email open info. “We found 70 different ways where they use tracking,” Seroussi says, “Sometimes it’s a color, sometimes it’s a font, sometimes it’s a pixel, and sometimes it’s a link.” It’s an arms race, and one side has an immense advantage.

When Seroussi debuted Trackbuster in 2014, he was expecting a few hundred downloads. Within hours, he’d had 12,000. People who knew about email tracking—often trackers themselves, ironically—were eager for a way to quash it. Still, other trackers are furious with what the track-blockers are doing. “We receive death threats,” he says, more agitated than angered. It’s the wild west, after all. “They’ve been trying to destroy us for two years.”

Scherck, the marketing consultant, thinks that Google could up and kill email tracking altogether. “I do think public opinion could turn on email tracking, especially if Gmail started alerting users to tracking by default inside of Gmail with pop ups, or some native version of Ugly Email,” he says. “Just look at how consumers have turned on Facebook for their advertising. People absolutely hated that Uber was buying data on who was using Lyft from Unroll.me.” It would only take a strong enough nudge. “Most consumers don’t understand just how much information they are giving up,” he says.

If Google and the other big tech firms won’t budge, though, Seroussi believes the problem is serious enough to warrant government intervention. “If the big companies don’t want to do something about it, there should be a law defining certain kinds of tracking,” he says. And if nothing is done at all, Seroussi thinks it’s only a matter of time before email tracking is used for malign purposes, potentially in a very public way. “I always wonder when a big story is going to come out and say that people broke into a house because they used email trackers to know the victims were out of town,” he says. “It’s probably already happened.”

As for me, I was tired of all the tracking. After a couple months of ambiguous insights, I didn’t want to know who was opening my emails and not replying anymore. I didn’t want to wait, strung-out-like, for a notification to ring in a response from a crucial source. I didn’t want to feel like I was breaking the rules of whatever slipshod digital social compact we’ve got; my semi-spying days were done. I deleted Streak, and left Senders running—and kept a screenshot of Tim Cook’s Windows on my desktop as a souvenir.

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