Page 111 of Level Up
I nod. “He was a really bad kisser.”
It’sa Friday morning when I find out.
When our little sub-niche of the internet starts buzzing like it’s Christmas and the Apocalypse all at once—though I’m agnostic, so maybe I’m wrong about that.
In any case, it does feel like the world has just been flipped upside down.
Helmi is the first one to point it out to me. A private message on Play’N with a link to a recent forum post that just went up last night, and as soon as I click it, I know the spit is about to hit the fan.
Some user by the name of SconesIsFascist—a brand new account, by the looks of it—posted a photo of Damien along with his full name and city. But the photo isn’t just of Damien; he’s with his whole family—I recognize his sister—though his head has been circled. Along with the man to his left.
SconesIsFascist:
Damien Iverson, or@SconesOfAyoras he’s most well-known on some corners of the internet, is the son of Conservative MPP Mark Iverson, who supported legislation that would require Ontario teachers to out their trans students to their parents, along with other anti-LGBTQ+ policies. Damien—who recently made a flippant homophobic joke on stream—is pictured here with ol’ Dad, and below I’ve attached a screenshot of Scones wearing the exact same hoodie afew weeks ago on his stream. Just keep this in mind when you go to hit that tip jar button. You’re giving money to the son of a fascist, and apples don’t fall far from trees.
What.
The.
Fuck.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to call this my favourite game of all time already. I’ve never sunk so many hours into a game in a single month of playing. I think I’m gonna flunk Calculus.
I haven’t played the first two games in the series but I don’t think you need to in order to love this game. It’s so easy to get into it and character creation is so much fun. I’m already on my second play-through because there are tons of side quests I missed the first time around.
Even if RPGs aren’t really your thing, I think there’s a lot to get out of this game. It’s not all combat and dungeon-delving. You can become a craftsperson or a healer or go any number of routes to make money and level up.
Just make sure you bring Hadley everywhere. Trust me.
— Review ofThe Stones of Ayor 3by@OddlyAdoredon Play’N (January 16, 2015)
twenty-eight
absolutely nothing
It’s notlike I didn’t know Damien’s last name, exactly. He did tell me, at some point, but it never clicked for me that he could be related tothatMark Iverson. Mostly because I don’t pay that much attention to provincial politics.
Then again, he also told me that his family were a bunch of conservative assholes. I didn’t realize he meant anactualConservative politician, though. Somehow that seems worse, but maybe it’s the same. Assholes are assholes, right?
In any case, I know he doesn’t share any of those values, and he barely tolerates time spent with his family, besides his sister. So it’s not like I’m buying into the wholeSconesIsFascistthing.
But some people are.
I only had a brief chance to speak to Damien before work, and he hasn’t been responding to my texts all day, but it seems that people have been hounding him to do a face reveal and prove that this doxxing is a scam. Although many are already sharpening their torches and pitchforks—yes, these people sharpen their torches because they are thorough—waiting for him to prove itright.
I finish up orders early and get to my computer just in time for his afternoon stream to start. Only it doesn’t.
It’s not like he never takes a day off, but there’s usually an update on his channel’s community board to let people know the stream is cancelled for the day. Today there’s nothing. He hasn’t made a single online appearance since yesterday, at least not publicly. He’s not replied to anyone or made any statements or defended himself.
This morning, he told me there was nothing to defend, and I thought it was because he knew these accusations were stupid and he was going to ignore them like all the rest, but now I think he’s just giving in. Letting them win.
There’s nothing to defend because they’re right. Mark Iverson is his father. And since Damien hasn’t committed patricide yet, then he, too, must be cancelled.
Except he’s the one cancelling himself. Refusing to show up. Refusing to stand up for himself, to make things right.
I send him a text now—aphonetext—to call me, but he doesn’t respond.
Not until I’m about to start my own stream, and he texts me a curt,sorry, and then wishes me luck on my stream. Because, yeah, I’m probably going to take some heat on this, too, asScones’s girlfriend. But it’s not like I’ve ever met his father—and at this point, I don’t intend to, if I can help it.
