just remembered a fic on AO3 (or more likely LJ because it had that distinct late 00's experimental vibe) that appeared double-spaced oddly, in that some paragraphs would be spaced normally and others would have double or even triple spaces in between. it was about one half of the otp getting over the other's death (or coma, can't remember which), so all the comments were about how poignant the use of visual spacing was as a means to convey all the emotional holes in the character's life.

and then the author replied like... *giggle* guys it's NOT double spaced. try selecting the whole text

and we were all like "no WAY"

but we selected the text, and yes!!!

the "holes" in the story? they were actually lines and actions from the dead/coma character's ghost, rendered invisible to the eye by the simple trick of coloring the text the exact same as the background, revealed by nothing more than a click and a drag of the mouse

a story about the profound loneliness of losing your the partner of your life and having to make do without them, without anything to fill the holes they'd left behind, suddenly became a story about the profound helplessness of seeing someone you love suffer from your absence while you are right there, unable to do anything about it, unable to communicate that you love them enough to suffer unseen and unheard with them, just to keep them company they'll never know about

it was then that I truly realized how *superior* the digital medium is to plain printed paper, how the medium and the format can add to a story.

I think about that fic about once a year. I wish I could find it again

EDIT: FOUND IT!!!! UPDATE HERE

A little self indulgent look at my old Laughing Jack fanart to see general patterns/evolution of how I draw him

The Early Years

These are some of my earliest LJ drawings I could find, but I know I have some older works lying around the blog somewhere. Most of this art is from like 2020-2021? I still often draw him with a simple flat/square face

Next up: the Big Nose Era

At some point I just started drawing LJ with the most massive fucking honker I could. Partially for stylization, partially bc I rly love his nose.

then there is the Thin Nose Era

I mean none of these are really an "Era" since I do still draw him with a big honker from time to time, but there's definitely small shifts/progression in how I draw LJ. This is some of my more recent LJ art.

Shit I Forgot to Mention:

Again these are patterns that often but don't always show up in my art. I wish I had more examples to show but most of those are in my sketchbook and will die in my sketchbook

anyway thanks for taking this journey with me. I still can't tell if I have an actual art style or not but at least I have a million drawings of LJ to make up for it

he's a 10 but he'd kill you for his brother

the horror of our love by ludo... it's one of them. one of them i just know it. do i know who? no, but it fits someone here.

Yes! Another Creepypasta writer! Can i please request LJ with a Fem!Virgin!Reader? Headcanons please 🤍

Of course beloved Anon </3 your sins are my command 🙏

— ❝ 11 Laughing Jack x Virgin!Fem!Reader headcanons

NSFW tags: Corruption kink, praise kink, teratophilia, fingering, p-n-v sex, dacryphilia, marking/biting, mentionings of aftercare

There is not much warnings on this, but either way viewer discretion is advised.

At first, Jack would be giddy at the prospects of him being your first time. The way your innocents sputters as he playfully toys with you, teasing you with corrupted prospects of losing your time with such a monster like him.

Since it would be your "special" moment, Jack would go easy on you. Rather than being rough and hard on you, he'd spoil you with soft praises and experimental touches. He would love to watch what makes you tick, what makes you melt into his claws.

He would love to use and mutter adorable pet names for you such as "Doll/Dolly", "Princess", and "Sweets" as he gets your body adjusted to him. The way you feel a pool of arousal in your stomach as he gives you such sweet names made him extremely happy.

Lowkey, Jack would be a service dom. He would definitely value your own pleasure over his as he gets you fixated on him.

As he goes easy on you, he would love to stretch you open with his elongated fingers. Watching you mewl and moan out as you get used to the stretch, along with the pleasure that comes with it. Its fascinating watching how much you can handle just by his fingers.

Jack would love to watch you moan and squirm as his cock presses inside of you, twinges of pain and pleasure erupting from you. Watching as he slowly thrusts into your adjusting cunt as he makes you adjust to his stripped length. He would groan and bite his lip as you clench around him, digging his claws into the mattress as he attempts to go easy.

Watching tears well up in your gaze would be perfect for the clown to watch. Whether it be pain or pleasure, frustration or overstimulation, he wants to see you cry because of him.

Jack would make marks on you, watching you moan under him as he bites and sucks at your pretty neck. He would definitely leave faint scratches into your tender skin, watching you wince and adjust to him.

As you both kiss, Jack would adore to see the surprise reaction as he snaked his long, stripped tongue into your mouth. He moans as you gently suck on his tongue as he thrusts into you, making sure you take all of him.

He would definitely be possessive over you. After all, you would be his new toy. How could Jack ever break his favorite toys anyways?

He would spoil you with aftercare. Mumbling how good you were as he gently slides out of you, rubbing your sides with a paitent expression. He would wait as you wind down from your high, asking if you would need anything.

Cuddling w/ Various Creepypastas 1/2

Notes: some characters have shorter sections but that's mostly due to me already writing cuddling hcs for said character! Reader is GN, this entire post can be read as either platonic or romantic! Save for the usual characters I dont write romantic for. Depending on the reception of this post I might do a part two with other characters.. do feel free to ask for anyone specific who wasn't in this post!

Characters: Slenderman, Splendorman, Eyeless Jack, Laughing Jack, Masky, Hoodie, Jeff the Killer

SLENDERMAN

Physical affection with slenderman is fairly rare. Sure, he gives you the mock kiss every now and then and might even snake a tendril around you to pull you close to him if you start straying in the woods... but to actually cuddle? Good luck with that! Though.. I feel it would be likely in a moment of much needed comfort- perhaps you're sick or you just point blank ask him to hold you.. hes cold, and you can feel bones but you dont care all that much. Hes stiff as a board, though. By default hes the big spoon, will likely never be the little spoon ever. Sometimes wraps his tentacles around you if you need to get even closer 4/10 because I love him but cuddling with him would be so so rare

SPLENDORMAN

Runs more on the warmer side! Loves being the big spoon, and of course hes very tall! Sometimes hums when you two lean into one another. Rocks you too as well, if you ask him to. Very touch starved so he attempts to seek you out every now and then.. not very soft though thanks to being very thin. He likes carrying you around! Hope you're not afraid of heights! 8/10

EYELESS JACK

I've mentioned a few times that hes very cold to the touch.. like ice cold. So unless you're into that, cuddling him might be a little.. hmm.. not that some blankets cant fix though! My headcanon is that hes on the shorter side, but kind of chubby buff. Soft! Switches between being little and big spoon. Hes not too keen in physical touch so you're going to have to wait for him to initiate.. I'm biased but I give him a solid 7/10

LAUGHING JACK

In contrast to the other Jack, Laughing Jack is actually pretty warm! It's like snuggling up into a heated blanket! His torso isnt very soft, but the puffs on his shoulders are nice and soft- as are his arms! And he purrs so that just makes it more relaxing! Switches between being big and little spoon, he doesnt seem to show much of a preference! Hes a total cuddle bug, if he could he would be snuggled up against you all day every day! 9/10, and hes very large! 8 feet tall is his default! Loves snaking his arms around you

MASKY

Adverse to touch, mostly in the beginning of your relationship (whether platonic or romantic, it doesnt matter), so its best to leave the initiation to him. Even then he rarely seeks you out. Unlike some of the other characters, outright asking him to cuddle you for comfort wont.. work.. the most you'll get is him rubbing circles into your back while he sits next to you. On the rare occasion that he does pull you against him, hes pretty warm. More so than Hoodie but not as hot as LJ. Firm grip but you can tell he doesn't know where to put his hands. Incredibly stiff against you, 5/10 hes doing his best :(

HOODIE

Tall and strong, and his hoodie is very soft when you convince him to let you wash it. If he takes his mask off his facial hair can get a little itchy, but it's rare that the mask is off. Loves being big spoon but sometimes craves being little spoon sometimes. Smells like... leaves and campfire smoke. Not bad, actually. Loves drumming his fingers on you 8/10

JEFF

Very lanky and tall, string bean build basically. Average body temperature. Does not like cuddling; probably sees most acts of physical affection as "yucky" regardless of if they're romantic or not. The closest you're going to get is the two of you huddling together for warmth or something within that ballpark. His skins a little rough, but that's too be expected. Very tense throughout the entire interaction, 2/10 he does not make a good cuddle buddy

I found AO3 pretty intuitive. Took me like 5 minutes to realize how all the little buttons work. They're pretty straightforward. Apart from the AND filters - took me a while to realize what type of filters AO3 used. Beyond that, I'm not sure why people have a hard time? Wattpad and FFnet are way more of a pain in the ass.

--

It's all about familiarity.

I mean, look, AO3 works how my brain works. When we first set it up, it was what we were all used to, more or less, but an upgrade. It was hard to even see how it could ever be unintuitive because this was just How Things Were. From the style of trope tags to the fact that there's an index of fandoms by media type, it was all familiar.

But that thinking is a trap.

It's easy to say "Oh, well, that person's just an idiot", and sometimes, the problem really is laziness or sleep deprivation, but a lot of the time, it's different cultural context.

By the time we were designing AO3, I'd had many rounds of formal instruction in how to use library catalogues of various sorts, familiarity with Delicious, years in LJ slash fandom whose assumptions form the metadata structures of AO3, etc.

There's nothing strange about going "Why are ship types a top level system of organization?" or "How do I search for genre X in any anime fandom but not in non-anime fandoms?"

It's strange to me, but it's not strange in the context of people who read fanfic overall.

It's not just about learning the search features that do exist: it's about unconscious assumptions about what metadata must exist.

If you don't know to look for something and you aren't coming from a culture where poking buttons is encouraged, you're going to take a lot longer to find things than if you already have a good idea of what's probably there somewhere.

To pick two very obvious examples:

If I were designing a gen-focused archive, I'd make genre a top-level organization system, like on FFN.

If I were designing a more x-reader-focused or One True Character-focused archive, I'd make the ship searches work like Character X/Anyone instead of having to click on each ship of your blorbo or each ship with Reader.

If someone has years of experience searching for some bullshit 'trickyfish' style nonsense ship name because they're on sites with garbage searches, they'll go to AO3, plug some words into the search bar at the top, and then feel like they can't find any relevant results because everything that turns up is just that word in author's notes on an irrelevant fic. They might even go to advanced search...

...and then totally miss that the sidebar filters are the best part of AO3, and they don't appear when you do a search search as opposed to starting from a tag.

Isn't Advanced Search the most... well... advanced search? On every other website, it is, but not on AO3.

--

Each new site/technology/culture/etc. a person has to learn takes time and attention. If you're exhausted and burnt out, that's hard. Even if you're not, it takes at least some effort. It doesn't Just Happen, not for every person and every new thing.

We should tell people to read the damn FAQ, yes.

But I can't say I always do that myself on every site unless I'm both having a problem and invested enough to care about solving it.

--

On an average day, most of us don't need to care why some people have a hard time figuring out AO3.

But if anyone is planning to design a site or needs to teach a bunch of kids how to use the library or something, it's worth keeping in mind just how many unconscious assumptions are hiding behind the idea of something—literally anything—being "intuitive".

"Even then, with my eyes open, there were times when I wasn't even sure if we were friends. But when I closed my eyes, it felt like a concert just for me." Gee Noelle sure does seem to have a secret livejournal and she sure did make this very pretty post about Kris coming over when the two of them were kids and using her piano while she laid down in the living room so they wouldn't stop playing and she could listen. It sure was an incredibly striking image that I super wanted to illustrate. Sooo this is what I've spent my time doing in between bouts of illness, irl busyness and general brain junk, yay! Uuuhhh that's it I sure do love Noelle and Kris I think they're pretty neat and I love content dispensed via fake LJ posts it’s a genre made specifically for me, someone who is roughly five hundred years old.

Could you do sully and poly lj and Jason's reaction to seeing how someone makes their Y/N cry?

You see, I'm a person who usually has trouble expressing my anger or discomfort, so people tend to take advantage of that and take out their frustrations on me, and a few days ago I really got screwed emotionally, so could I get some comfort please?

Sully:

Listen... Fists are gonna be flying. Sully tries to promise you he'll handle it like an adult if someone ever upsets you, but the second someone makes you cry his fists are connecting with their face, and it's game over. Sully will quite literally beat the shit out of anyone that makes you upset, and he sort of blacks out during the whole thing, only coming to by the time they're on the ground begging for mercy and you're trying to get him to stop. Of course, it's not always that bad, sometimes he just gets a bit threatening and gets them to fuck off, but today he just couldn't take it and let loose on them. He turns around quickly, scooping you into his arms and carrying you somewhere that the two of you can be alone, checking in on you and making sure you're alright. He'll kiss your cheeks and assure you gently that it's okay, a very stark contrast to how he was just a few minutes ago, and he'll hold you close and tight until you're able to stop crying. Sully gets very protective over you, and he cannot stand the sight of you crying, it just hurts his heart too much, so he'll do whatever he can to cheer you up, whether it's spoiling you with some yummy food, or just holding you close and cuddling with you. Today it's cuddling, and he rushes you quickly back to the mansion, curling up with you in bed and snuggling you until you're both on the cusp of falling asleep. He'll reassure you, comfort you and remind you that none of the negative things people might tell you are true, and that you're alright, and loved and cared for and needed. Sully adores you so much, and he'll do anything to put a smile back on that captivating face of yours.

Jason/LJ:

While these two can get just as boiling hot and angry as Sully does, they tend to prefer to try to be a bit more subtle, although it doesn't always work. When Jason outright demands for the person who upset you to apologize and retract their statement, LJ holding you close and whispering to you that it's okay and they're there for you, Jason expects them to apologize, and if not, that's when he blows his top. Assuming the person apologizes Jason lets them off with a warning and some harshly coded threats before going off with you and LJ. Assuming the person doesn't apologize, LJ is instructed to take you home, and Jason will beat them up worse than Sully had. Jason has a no tolerance policy in the Underworld for people making you cry (something pretty well known), and he won't hesitate to remind people just who it is you're dating. Regardless of what happens today, when the three of you are finally home together, it's time to get comforted and spoiled. You've got both of them cuddling up to you, holding you and pressing kisses to you, reassuring you and making sure you're alright. LJ grabs some snacks and Jason prepares some delicious drinks, and they'll sit with you and do whatever they can to make you laugh and feel better. If you really need to unwind, Jason is also always ready to prepare a nice luxurious bath for the three of you to relax and calm down in. They'll wash away your worries and make sure to love on you and spoil you a whole lot in the next few days, as both of them just want you to feel safe and happy and loved, so they'll do for you whatever they can to keep you that way.

I like to dig up old fandom content since I didn't had internet at the time, so here's some P3 related ones.

I'm pretty sure I made a post about it some months ago, but I seem to have lost it

New finds:

LParchive - Archived 2008 P3 liveblog

Old Persona cosplays (One, Two, Three)

Tegaki blog 1 - Old P3 fanart (mostly at the final pages)

Tegaki blog 2 - Old P3 fanart

Scantyxxx - Personal site with old DeSu & Persona art.(you can close the ads btw, fc2 adds them to inactive sites/blogs)

Old:

Chuuni (One | Two | Three | Four) - Various Moonlight Trio art logs from the same person

Chuuni (One | Two) - This person again, reviews/summaries of two P3 novels

Gekkoukan High.- The old LJ P3 community

Megaten - SMT community.

Kinkfest - Tag fot the P3 kinkmeme fics (despite the name, there are SFW fics as well)

Rose-in-Winter -  P3 fics tag

Vector Space - P3 fics tag

Persona TW - Online & free fanzine about Persona's female characters

Figsona - A Persona figure reviews blog

Agenda - An old blog with TONS of pretty P3 art (mostly Kitaro/Ryomina)

Two in harmony - Digital shrine for Mitsuru

Heart of glass - Digital shrine for Chidori

Ryosyu - Digital shrine for Ryoham

Nabike.blog - Another blog with a good chunk of P3 art

Dear;Julietta Old JP fics for P3/4. I think the P3 ones are ryoham?

HIIII :D can u do LJ, masky, jtk, nina and clockwork with reader who is very energetic and optimistic? Like a smile is on their face 24/7, wears bright cheerful clothes and is overall pretty loud. Something along the vibes of clowncore :]

🗒 ❛ Optimistic/Energetic Reader ༉‧₊˚✧

Featuring: Jeff The Killer, Laughing Jack, Masky, Nina The Killer, Clockwork

#Notes: sorry its kinda short!! hope u like it <3

pronouns used: none, gn! reader

˗ˏˋ back to navigation ´ˎ˗

꒰⸝⸝₊⛓┊Jeff The Killer

Doesn't understand you at first. What are you so happy about? The world sucks, are you that stupid that you don't even know this? Just kind of dismisses you like another child. After a while, though, he grows to kind of appreciate your energy and positive demeanor. It's definitely something that he craves in his life. Hell, he even finds your outfits kinda cute, mr.monochromatic himself.

꒰⸝⸝₊⛓┊Laughing Jack

He's a little suspicious of you at first. There's no way someone that has lived in this piece of shit planet is as happy as you are right now. Also, you kind of remind him of his old self, which makes him dislike yet crave your presence at the same time. Opens up to you as time goes on and learns to genuinely enjoy your upbeat nature. He might even become a little more positive himself.

꒰⸝⸝₊⛓┊Masky

Doesn't like you in the slightest. What in the actual shit are you so happy about? And why are you so loud? Why are your clothes so distracting? This man wouldn't know positivity and genuine happiness if it slapped him in the face. Kind of grows used to having you around, but not without a lot of complaining coming from him. Might find you kinda cute when you smile, but you didn't hear that from me.

꒰⸝⸝₊⛓┊Nina The Killer

Twinsies! She's energetic and all smiles as well, minus the colorful clothes. Speaking of, she finds your style absolutely adorable and wants to talk about fashion with you, if you're up for it. Really happy about having someone around with the same energy as her and is super clingy with you because of it. Don't leave her alone with those buzzkills!

꒰⸝⸝₊⛓┊Clockwork

Your behavior kind of catches her off guard at first, but in a good way, if that makes sense. Having someone so happy around sure is a breath of fresh air from all the morbid things that surround hers and everyone else's lives, so she appreciates you a lot for bringing in that little bit of positivity. Seeing you laugh always brings a smile to her face.

can we get an anthony kissing boys compilation.. either images or audio clips or videos or like anything……

you have asked one of the right people for this. check out wilde's #agbkcu tag as well. okay now onto A History. this is not going to be in order in any way hope you enjoy it though. happy bisexuality

boykissing in 2005. nic newsham from gatsbys american dream. and i think he probably let me kiss him. another show around this time anthony said on stage that "nic from gatsbys is my new boyfriend" just interesting.

another patreon clip. i dont think this one was posted anywhere. before circas first show steve said "right before we started anthony was like... kiss me" which anthony immediately denies. edit: astro has posted it!

now sxsw in 2008. anthony green and craig owens. there are three different angles of this i have seen. gif from here

jon simmons from balance and composure. real passionate one.

david marion from fear before the march of flames. they kiss about 45 seconds in though the entire video is extremely gay. yeah. gif from wilde

sigh. brendan ekstrom from circa survive. about 14 minutes. completely out of nowhere. its so interesting to me.

jacob lang. merch guy for a few tours anthonys done and a friend of his. they kissed. yeah.

frank iero [and tucker rule] from ls dunes. as you might know.

chris carrabba. need i say more.

again. wilde my beloved.

and with that. alleged geoffthony kiss. there are livejournal users that mention this kiss and the fact that it did or did not happen. idr when this happened. and i think there might have been different moments? there are people that know more than me about this specific one i think wes knows about it. i dont have the lj stuff right now but i do have this tweet. [IIRC. THIS ONE IS VERY IIRC bc i cant verify any of this rn]

this guy. and probably other people!!

okay honorable mention is this peer pleasure clip where he doesnt talk about boy kissing but he does talk about loving all over a guy who im pretty sure is john gourley from portugal. the man. 🫡

edit: astro has mentioned another one here!

edit two: wes talks abt geoffthony here!

edit THREE: kiss on the cheek here!

hi! reading about your preferences when reading fic and also that i loved all of your fics, i think we have really similar tastes! can you rec some of the last ones you read that made you smile? (or clutch your chest in angst lol) hope you are having a great day!

hi anon!! sure!

disclaimer here: i am bad about reccing (and god, commenting); i regularly go spelunking for old fic i missed based on a random list somewhere or a fest that happened or some very specific theme i want to read (someday i dream of doing a "random fics i found on LJ and was shocked to love" list, when i have time and space to organize thoughts).

also, my bookmarks are unhinged, i have no idea how many of these authors are on tumblr/who they are on tumblr (for the most part) and this is an extremely random assortment lol. all that being said: enjoy!

in absolutely no order:

Glamours That Don't Fade by WouldItWere (laugh out loud funny, chaotic, perfect mistaken identity-ish. my favorite part is how draco spends the entire fic just giving harry absolute hell literally before, during and after they have sex. it's magnificent)

When Buds Break by andithiel (angsty hanahaki; this is here because fwb pining is one of my favorite forms of angst)

Death, Dessert, and Dentistry (But Not Necessarily In That Order) by glamourtentia (draco is a dentist, harry is a vampire, and this is so fun and sweet and sharp)

what the body wants is coolness by lastontheboat (such a good new established relationship fic, so awkward and tense and real; draco's sense of humor is pitch perfect to me

Smoke and Sweets by BiscuitBrunch (my favorite 8th year fic of all time, and i'm not a huge 8th year person in general. i'm pretty sure i'm just in love with everything this author writes, though; they've actually got me reading an auror harry wip)

The Tapestry of Kinship by khalulu (kidfic with my favorite dynamic, which is that harry starts seeing dad!draco and makes a family with him. also a huge fan of khalulu and would rec all of their fics)

The Interest Here by disapparater (hilarious, god, harry is so fucking good in this and their dynamic is wonderful. for the third time in a row: huge fan of disapparater)

this is very scattered and random, i'm sorry!! but i hope you like some of these 😊

Hi! Love your writing! If it’s okay, can I request Jeff, Toby, and Jack (separate) in an argument with their s/o and their s/o asks if the creeps are gonna hurt them?

Jeff, (Eyeless) Jack, and Toby’s reactions to their s/o asking if they’d hurt them

Notes: the fight isn’t elaborated on but it is implied

(edit: just realized I read jack and assumed you meant eyeless jack, let me know if you meant LJ!)

Toby

It doesn’t matter how upset he was during the argument, no matter his emotional state he drops it immediately. His first focus is making sure you’re okay. He’s a fairly goofy and upbeat guy but he’s still a serial killer with fucked up hobbies, he knows he can be scary and the last thing he wants is for you to think he’d hurt you, he’s had nightmares about that!

He forgets whatever you guys were arguing about unless you bring it up again, his only concern after that is making sure you’re okay and you know he loves you.

Jeff

If Jeff is pissed enough he’d reply with something like “I fucking might if this keeps up.” Then he looks and sees you genuinely scared and realizes he might be the asshole here. He’s not quite ready to admit that though so he’ll mumble something that might’ve been an apology and head into his room for the rest of the day. He simmers in anger for a while before he finally calms down.

Jeff finally comes out of his room to find you the next morning. He’s not great at apologies, but he actually seems genuine. If you sit down to talk things out with him he’ll discuss it with you, but otherwise his default is to apologize and then pretend the fight didn’t happen after.

Jack

He’s not quite ready to drop the argument like the other guys are, but he very quickly tones it down. He’s a little hurt you’d think that but he doesn’t blame you, he’s generally pretty chill but he knows he’s a monster. He was also, admittedly, getting a little more heated then he normally would in an argument. 

He might need a few minutes to cool off and clear his head, but when he comes back he’ll sit down beside you to sort out whatever you guys were fighting about. He’ll also stress that he’d never even think of hurting you. Even in his more feral demon-y state if you even look scared it’s enough to bring his more rational brain back to him.

"And in many ways, that complaint has only gotten louder over the decades. Stop talking to each other and start buying things. Stop providing content for free and start paying us for the privilege. Stop shining sunlight on horrors and start advocating for more of them. Stop making communities and start weaponizing misinformation to benefit your betters.

It’s the same. It’s always been the same. Stop benefitting from the internet, it’s not for you to enjoy, it’s for us to use to extract money from you. Stop finding beauty and connection in the world, loneliness is more profitable and easier to control.

Stop being human. A mindless bot who makes regular purchases is all that’s really needed.

Over and over again since that prodigal moment of shame and hurt and confusion, I’ve joined online communities, found so much to love there, made friends and created unique spaces that truly felt special, felt like places worth protecting. And they’ve all, eventually, died. For the same reasons and through the same means, though machinations came from a parade of different bad actors. It never really mattered who exactly killed and ate these little worlds. The details. It’s all the same cycle, the same beasts, the same dark hungers. [...] And while Twitter hurts, I’m not sure anything will ever hurt as much as Livejournal did. It feels like no one even remembers anymore what happened to lovely, flawed, dog-eared, wacky old LJ in the twilight of the aughts and the dawn of the tens. Even though in this year of our lord 2022, when there are some pretty fucking good reasons to remember it, and learn its lessons...

So when Livejournal was sold, not to Viacom or Google, but to SixApart, a company no one had ever heard of, it was confusing. As was its refusal to develop anything like a usable mobile app. When fanfic communities started getting banned for gay content in the name of “protecting the children,” it was alarming and confusing. When it started going down regularly due to constant DDoS attacks, the new owner accused the community of trying to blackmail and destroy him for questioning what the hell was going to happen to all of us, when the Russian Prime Minister was commenting on fucking Livejournal, and when Russian users started put posts in English to let others know what was going on…we all just felt so helpless. It was sold to SUPMedia, a Russian company, and by 2016, had moved its servers to Russia and changed the entire site to conform with that good old very free and inclusive Russian law, but by that time, the community had long fled. Which was the point. Make it unusable and unreliable, bleed off the Westerners and the eye of Western media, and use the database to find and shut down dissenters.

And as hard as it was for us to lose that space where so many of us found family and work and connection, I cannot begin to imagine what those brave dissidents lost. What Russia lost. What they are still losing.

It was a small piece of what was to come. Like Gamergate and the Puppies, an experiment to practice taking apart a minor but culturally influential community and develop techniques to do it again, more efficiently, more quickly, with less attention. To lay out a reliable pathway to commit harm and lie about it for so long and in so many ways that by the time the truth is available, it doesn’t matter, because the harm is a foundational part of the system we’re living in. The harm is the new status quo.

Lather, rinse, repeat."

As someone who's been online nearly 30 years (I'm 18ish months younger than the author) who cut his teeth on dialup BBSses, Fidonet et al rather than Prodigy, I cosign this and beg you to read the whole thing.