Aleena’s A-list

#PutTheMaskBackOn

Dream is a 23-year-old Minecraft YouTuber whose online presence has been shrouded in complete anonymity since he began posting on YouTube in 2014. During the pandemic, Dream gained a large following, with his YouTube channel now having 31 million subscribers. 

On Sept. 19, Dream teased a face reveal on his YouTube community tab. On Oct. 2, Dream finally revealed what was behind the mask in the video “Hi, I’m Dream.” Within one hour of being uploaded, the video garnered 1.1 million views, and the video now has 42 million views.

On the day of the reveal, the hashtag #DreamFaceReveal trended number one in the United States on Twitter. His first selfie on Twitter accumulated 800,000 likes. 

Despite this support, #HESUGLY and #PutTheMaskBackOn trended alongside the positive hashtags. This has led to an outpour of support for Dream, with people calling critics baseless and mean.

Although Dream started his Youtube career in anonymity, he did not intend for it to be part of his branding, as he was launched into fame when everyone was online during quarantine. 

Dream, alongside his friend and fellow YouTuber GeorgeNotFound, was known for the

invite-only Dream SMP (survival multiplayer) Minecraft server.  As described by fans, the Dream SMP was known for mostly improvisation plots, with a long history of alliances, wars, factions, eras, and characters. 

With there now being a face to the voice, Dream can bolster his career and chase after opportunities without fear of his identity being leaked.

Twitching in Pain

Twitchcon is an annual event that brings together professional and amateur streamers to network and socialize, as well as allows fans to meet with their favorite streamers. This year, TwitchCon took place from Oct. 7 to 9.

On Oct. 9, the last day of the event, it was reported that there were multiple injuries at the event. These injuries were allegedly caused by a foam pit in the Lenovo and Intel sponsored booth. 

This pit was part of a game of knocking opponents off of a raised platform onto foam blocks with a foam noodle. This game was live streamed to audiences, so the moments that caused these injuries were caught on camera. 

Adriana Chechik, an adult performer and streamer, participated in the foam pit. Once the game was done, Chechik had leaped from the platform, made a split in the air, and landed on her backside before rolling over in pain.

This leap caused her spine to break in two places, needing a five and a half hour surgery to insert a metal rod.

LochVaness, another streamer who was in the pit with Chechik, has sprained her ankle and dislocated her knee, now needing a wheelchair.

According to voluntary ASTM guidelines, the booth had not followed proper safety protocols, with there only being less than two feet and lack of proper padding between the pit and concrete. 

Despite multiple reports of injuries, Lenovo and Intel continued to keep the foam pit open and accessible to everyone.