Remember when the world was a simpler time and place?

Hard to imagine the idea of peace when most people nowadays are caught in a panic over pandemics, polarizing politics, and personal problems. Things are slowly progressing back to normal. At the very least, they're trying to be normal despite growing tensions, built-up anxiety, and rising prices. Communities all over the world attempt to come together and cooperate to build a better world filled with beauty and wonderful colors. They want to live, laugh, and love like it's a bunch of fun and games. Regardless of their good intentions, there's bound to be an opposing force that wants to take over and obliterate the wishes of the masses. Conflict is inevitable. War never changes. Just like in the old times, everyone must unite to stop a giant common enemy from owning the whole place. To bring balance to the world again, they must defeat—

"France! Can you, like, chill with the bots? I swear you've gone too far!" Spain yells in exasperation on the Discord call, glaring at the bottom of an interactive online canvas filled with hundreds of pixelated art on his computer screen.

Taking up most of the mural's lower-left corner is the Eiffel Tower in front of a vertically-elongated tricolored flag. It looks okay and inoffensive, however, it's completely unnecessary. The French have already established three flags elsewhere on the canvas. One of which details the faces of three comic characters from Asterix. Daft Punk and a bloody guillotine are some of several decorations on the second flag. Most notable is the third flag with its own Eiffel Tower being smaller yet more detailed compared to the colossal eyesore in the lower-left corner. One flag is nice. Two flags are enough. Three is a crowd. But four of the same flag on a canvas dominated by country flags is just distasteful. Arguably, the biggest reason against a fourth French flag is its sheer size compared to surrounding smaller artwork creatively constructed by other Reddit communities. At that point, it's just arrogant and unfair.

Of course, France doesn't believe he has committed any wrongdoings. "Mon Dieu (My God). For the millionth time, quit accusing me and my people of using these things called bots to cheat. What we're doing is fair game. Besides, I still haven't forgiven you for setting fire to the Notre Dame Cathedral."

"Well, I say it's fair game!"

"Too soon! That was uncalled for!"

☆☆☆☆☆

While France and Spain squabble over tiles, America coordinates his followers on relocating his flag to the lower-right corner of the recently-expanded canvas. "Okay, dudes! This is the place!" He plants a pixel on the exact coordinates (1776, 1776). "Time to rebuild and make it great again!"

"Fuck yeah!" His states and territories cheer on the voice channel of their Discord server as they contribute pixels in the name of patriotism. Alongside thousands of American Redditors, they manage to recreate the beautiful stars and stripes of their national flag in less than a few hours.

"Everything looks good," says Massachusetts with a nod. "Hopefully, it won't get bombarded relentlessly by griefers."

"They shouldn't be a problem anymore," New York assures him. "I already went ahead and made diplomatic relations with The Blue Corner community. They agreed to help defend our turf as long as we do the same for them."

"Sweet! We got ourselves some allies," New Jersey beams.

"Beautiful. Just beautiful," Maryland utters in awe.

"Indeed," Pennsylvania smiles in satisfaction, "it's amazing to see us put our differences aside to create something extraordinary that unites us all—"

"I was referring to my flag."

"Oh."

"It's so beautiful. I'm proud to see it still there untouched." Maryland admires the red, white, black, and yellow flag at the upper-left corner of the canvas, just above the replica of Edvard Munch's The Scream.

"Same!" Puerto Rico shouts with pride swelling in his chest. "Qué bonitas banderas (What beautiful flags). I'm so happy to see my flags on display."

"Flags? You made more than one flag?"

"¡Sí (Yes)! I made two flags."

"That's nothing! I made a total of six flags from what I can see," Texas brags. "Some of them look weird because Mr. Chile keeps messing with them, so I gotta correct them constantly."

"That sounds so excessive," New Mexico mutters.

"Totally," Colorado agrees, eyeing his flag on the left edge of the canvas while chilling in his gaming chair.

"It's tiny, but at least it's on the canvas," Arizona expresses with a shrug. "That's good enough for me."

"I wish I can relate," Utah sighs sadly. "My current flag isn't cool enough to add onto the canvas."

"Good. That's one less flag on this pixelated hellscape," Michigan grumbles. "I get the sentiment, but I'm seriously getting sick of all these flags. This is supposed to be a canvas for art—real art."

"Like university and sports team logos? You think that's real art?" Ohio sneers. "Don't think you're better than the rest of us. I know deep down you're jealous of everyone else's flags looking more awesome than yours."

"Shut up! Your flag is shaped stupid like your face!"

"Well, your flag is ugly like your face."

"Bastard! I'm about to make my way over to you and slap your face like Will Smith!"

As things escalate between the Buckeye State and the Wolverine State, America suddenly gets a private message from France about wanting to talk to him. "Hey, dudes. I gotta go take care of something," he informs his states.

"Okay," says New York. "We'll keep an eye on things, making sure Old Glory doesn't get— Florida! Rhody! Cut it out with the tiny penises! Wash, this is your last warning! Tell your followers to quit turning the stars into those obnoxious Amogus bastards, or I'm banning you from the server!"

America laughs, "Sweet. Sounds like you have things under control." He backs out of the server before starting a video call with one of his fellow nations. "Yo! What's up, French dude—"

"I need a negotiator," says France in an exasperated tone.

"Oh, shit. That's a first. Usually, it's the other way around."

"Euh-hein (Uh-huh). Ouais (Yeah), I'm getting bullied by Spain."

"Whatever you did, you probably deserve it."

"Don't be absurd! Do you see what's happening in the lower-left corner of the canvas? I was minding my business when that Spanish-speaking SOB ordered his asshole armada to cover the tip of the Eiffel Tower with a cursed picture of Hasbulla!"

"Hasbulla what? Are you still talking about pixels or...?"

"Yes, I'm still talking about pixels!"

"Hang on, dude. I'm getting some messages from Spain. I'll invite him to our call so that we can smooth things out." Soon after, America gets the Spaniard to join the conversation. "Yo! What's up, Spanish dude!"

"America, I need your help. I'm trying to create a picture of Hasbulla, but France refuses to give me any space. He and his bots keep attacking me."

"Uh-huh. I can see that."

"Quit disrespecting me!" France groans. "Don't believe that salty salaud (bastard)! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"I have proof you're using scripts and bots!"

"Menteur (Liar)! I don't even know what bots are! I just know what I'm doing is earnest fun. Nothing wrong with that."

"No te creo (I don't believe you)." Spain pouts.

"America, you gotta believe me. You know I'm not computer savvy, nor am I the kind of person to stoop that low."

"Well, I don't know about the bots. I do think Spain makes a fair point."

"Seriously?! You're taking his side?"

"Dude, you're clearly taking up 5% of the canvas. Plus, you've already made shit elsewhere."

"So is Germany, yet nobody is ganging up on him!"

"Yeah, but have you seen the screenshots of his server? That dude made a super elaborate flow chart. Like, holy shit! They even have a fucking night watch and a morning cleanup crew! You have to be totally insane to fight him."

"I'll give Germany some credit," Spain grumbles. "He's stringent like his fiscal policies, but at least he shows some leniency with other people putting unrelated art on his flag—unlike you."

"Nique ta race (Fuck off)! You don't have my consent to put Hasbulla here. I've claimed this whole area for my ginormous Eiffel Tower—fair and square. If you want to make Hasbulla, you can make it elsewhere."

"Come on, dude," America groans. "Can't you downsize it a little bit? There's still a lot of space below this Hasbulla-dude. If you want, we can help you build your thing elsewhere on a smaller scale. Sounds good, yeah?"

"No, I refuse to give up this place," France huffs.

"You're making a grave mistake, mi amigo (my friend)," Spain scowls. "If you don't do what we ask, we will attack you relentlessly without mercy."

"We?" America cocks his head.

"Sure. At your command, we attack him or leave him be. Either way, I accept your judgment."

"Aw, man. Do I wanna start World War III though?" America contemplates for a moment. "... Sorry, France. I gotta do it for the content."

He sneers, "Very well. Try to take me down, mes amies (my friend). You won't win. Because I, General France, am not afraid of you. My people and I will never surrender. We will defend ourselves, destroy Hasbulla, and flourish for freedom and fraternity!"

"Bring it on!" Spain shouts.

"Oh, shit! Oh, fuck!" America stands up from his chair, hyped for the international drama. "This is it! World War III is about to go down!"

~ Hours Later... ~

Elsewhere, the only French part of Canada known notoriously as Quebec continues to fortify her claim to the former Blue Corner—now the blue center of the canvas—while eating a bowl of Kraft Dinner for, well, dinner at her desk (mainly to save money during inflation). "Ostie de merde (For fuck's sake)! How many times do I have to fucking say this? Leave Ti-Poil alone. He's not that fucking idiot Russian dictator. Estie de maudit de tabarnak (Fucking goddamnit fuck)." She finally finishes cursing into the mic of her headset. Just as she's about to resume her cheesy meal, she gets a call on Discord from one of her other Canadian provinces.

Much to her displeasure, it's Ontario calling her.

"How have you inept idiots not made a maple leaf in three days?" Quebec scowls contemptuously, shaking her head at the bright red pixelated blob at the center of the primary Canadian flag.

"Fuck off, eh! Making a maple leaf isn't the issue! Griefers are the issue!" Ontario groans. "Get your simps to lend us a hand, eh. We're getting griefed up the caboose while you're busy pretending to be an independent country."

"Why should I lend you hand?"

He scoffs, "Why not? You're a Canadian province!"

She rolls her eyes. "J'm'en calice."

"English, please!"

"Ugh! I said I don't give up a fuck! Esti de câlice de tabarnak!"

"Quit acting like you're bigger than Canada—"

"Au revoir (Goodbye)~" Quebec abruptly ends the call, placing a single white pixel within her flag shortly afterward. She continues to chow down on KD until she gets another Discord call.

This time around, it's Michigan calling her.

"Bonjour, my little American sister," Quebec smirks. "Have you finally forgiven me?"

"No, I still haven't forgiven you for destroying the Star Wars poster, but that's not why I'm calling you." Michigan pouts.

"Is it about the 'war' between France and the Spanish–American alliance?"

"Yeah. I know the war hasn't been going great for us. France may have destroyed Hasbulla and rebuilt his giant Eiffel Tower. Still, we can't give up." She explains, "Our next course of action is to conduct a huge raid when France goes to sleep. We'll try to pull an all-nighter, but it's going to take more people than that to combat the French and their bots."

"You're asking me to help you again?"

"It would be nice to get you and the rest of Canada to help us."

"Well, I highly doubt Canada will be of much help. He and the other English-speaking provinces are struggling to maintain anything resembling a maple leaf. It's quite pathetic, honestly."

"Yeah. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered asking you about them."

"That's alright. You don't need their help anyway. Because I, alone, can provide more than enough support for your noble cause."

"Really? I mean, you don't mind attacking France again?"

"My stance remains the same. As much as I love and respect big brother France, I do think he went too far. Besides that, I'm feeling a little bored, and I've been itching to stir up some drama again."

"Oh no."

"Oh yes," Quebec chuckles menacingly. "This time, I have something planned for the lower-left corner."

"What do you have in mind?"

"This." She sends her an image over Discord.

Michigan's eyes grow big. "Is that...?"

~ Honhonhonhon! ~

"Canada, can you hurry up and finish your flag already? We need more allies to put France in his place," America complains over the direct call.

"I-I'm trying, eh! Things haven't been easy for me!" Canada whines.

"Come on, dude. Just look at the Germans and see the cool shit they made. Drawing a maple leaf shouldn't even be that hard."

"No shit, eh! It isn't hard to draw when people aren't deliberately turning it into a banana or a cannabis leaf!"

"Sure, Banana. LOL."

"Don't call me a banana! It's not funny!" He cries out of frustration. "Sorry, but I won't be helping you anytime soon."

"Uh-huh. I figured as much." He ends the call before returning to his server to communicate with his states.

"Any luck with Mr. Canada?" New York asks.

"Nope," America sighs in disappointment. "Is France still awake?"

"I don't think so. It should be past midnight over there. Regardless, his followers are enduring without him despite our efforts to blacken out the French Tricolor, even with extra support from Latin America."

"Well, that's fucking fantastic," he grumbles. "With over half of our allies going to bed soon, I doubt we'll be able to fully conquer the French corner."

"Fear not! I have great news!" Michigan raises her voice upon returning to the voice channel. "I spoke to Quebec, and she agreed to help us again on one condition."

"Awesome!" America beams. "What's their condition?"

"Uh, well, she wants us to help her replace that area with this..." She shares a borderline NSFW image of 2B from NieR: Automata climbing a ladder, stunning her country and the other states. "It's fine, right? Everyone likes asses, yeah?"

"Oh my gosh! How obscene!" Utah squeaks, quickly scrolling away from the picture.

"Dude, you're overreacting. You can't even see her butthole," Colorado chuckles.

"But you can see her fine assets." California ogles. "Quebec has good tastes. I love me some android ass."

"It's better than another French flag, at least," America remarks with an approving nod. "Very well. We'll help her build a booty."

"Huzzah!" The Americans alongside Quebec and her followers start working together to place pixels over the Eiffel Tower. Together, they create an image that gradually resembles 2B's beautiful thighs and butt.

Quebec smiles gleefully, watching the pixels shape into a smooth pair of butt cheeks. "That's it, baby! Keep it up! This is what I call art!" She takes a moment to read reactions from her chat. Afterward, her gaze returns to the canvas, only to suddenly be confused to see pitch darkness. "What the...? What the Hell has happened?" She zooms out, shocked to see a big black bar replacing 2B's butt.

Similar perplexed reactions are reflected among America and his states on their server.

"Bruh. Are you fucking kidding me? Bruh."

"Dude, I think the moderators censored us."

"Aw, what?! Seriously?!"

"Wait! They censored it!"

"No, they did not."

"The mods censored it!"

"C'mon, man. Why? I swear there are asses everywhere."

"They weren't this quick on the draw when the Mona Lisa got a boob job."

"Hang on. Maybe they're helping us. Maybe they're, like, resetting it, you know. Maybe they like ass. Let's make it again and see—"

"Nope. They censored it again."

"Well, fuck!"

"Ugh! This is so lame!"

Quebec gasps, "Nooo! What the fuck?! They restricted me! I can't put tiles for two hours!"

~ Tabarnak! ~

Despite North America's determination, all their relentless work vanished the moment the morning sun shined into the homes of Western Europe. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other hand, General France got back to his computer and assumed command once again. His awakened soldiers—freshly energized after a good night's rest—were ready to counter in powerful waves against an alliance of sleep-deprived Americans and uncoordinated Spaniards.

"Go, Spring! Clean it up! Clean it all up!" France commands his crew to wipe away the black pixels. "In one minute, Summer, you'll have your turn. Get ready to push back our enemies. Get ready—to reclaim our place!"

Efficiently and without waver, French forces take turns removing the enemies' presence from their rightful place. Americans and Spaniards alike are easily overwhelmed by what feels like a fierce storm relentlessly pummeling them without break. Wave after wave, the seasonal squads keep coming after them, regaining more ground each time. Eventually, not a single black speck is spotted on the French flag. At which point, the French proceed to phase two of their great comeback. They rebuild. They remake. And finally, they relish in the recreation of France's magnum opus—a collage of French icons that make their hearts swell with national pride.

Suffice to say, France has twice proven their might against the Spanish–American alliance.

"Oh my god..." America drops his jaw in astonishment, watching French Redditors place pixels in an area to spell out a single word—HUMAN. "Dude, I don't think France is using bots."

"D-Don't let him deceive you!" Spain chides him. "There's no way he made all this without using bots and scripts."

"I'm afraid it's true, mon ami." France abruptly joins the conversation, wearing a cocky smirk on his face. "It's about time you surrender. You've already lost the war, but you can still save some dignity admitting you're in the wrong."

"But I'm not wrong! I know you're using bots!"

He chuckles, "Ah, mon ami. You take the words right out of my mouth."

"What do you mean?" America cocks his head in confusion.

"One of my provinces showed me a clip of you operating bots —the same kind you accusing me of using constantly. I can ask them to send it to you if you want to see it for yourself."

"Spain, is that true?"

He grits his teeth. "It's not cheating, okay."

"Bruh..."

"Honhonhonhon! You're such a loser!"

"¡Cállate (Shut up)! You're using bots, too!"

"Nonsense! How many times do I have to repeat myself for it to finally get through your dense head?"

"It doesn't matter how you put it. I can't excuse your outrageous control of the lower-left corner. Therefore, I refuse to give up! My allies and I will keep attacking you until there's nothing left for you!"

France sighs, "Very well. Go ahead and attack me. Eventually, you'll grow tired of this and regain some sense of logic." He returns to his server for a moment. "Winter Squad! Prepare to defend immediately! We're about to go to war again!"

"Go, BTS Army!" Spain commands his newly-acquired allies. "I'll promote your cute Korean idols as promised! Fulfill your end of the deal and take down France!"

"What the fuck have I gotten myself into...?" America moans, leaning back in his gaming chair as the third battle gets underway.

~ What the Hell? ~

Amidst the war, France and Spain are stunned to see the sudden restriction of their color palette. No longer can they choose to place red tiles, blue tiles, pink tiles, purple tiles, and so on. The only color available to them is white. "What's going on? What's happening?"

"Dude! Oh my god! Dude!" America exclaims. "I think it's a glitch from the mods. Everything you place is now white."

"That's kinda cool— Wait." Spain gasps. "That means we can now attack France!"

"Oh my god! We can actually win this!" America laughs. "Everyone! Now's the time! Attack France! Attack them!"

"What?! Are you kidding me?!" France gawks in astonishment.

"Everybody, go to France! Everybody spam white! Go, go, go, go!"

Thousands of American and Spanish Redditors alongside thousands of allies from various communities get together at the lower-left corner of the canvas to take advantage of this unique opportunity to gang up on the French while they're powerless to defend themselves.

"Look! France is surrendering! They're putting up their real flag!" Wisconsin cracks jokes about the white rectangle at the French's expense.

"LOL! Get fucked, France!" Michigan laughs hysterically.

"I wonder if France actually hates us," Minnesota giggles mildly.

"FR!" Quebec quickly grabs everyone's attention, getting them to zoom out to see France's initials displayed enormously across the entire canvas.

"This is my final act!" France declares loudly, making his final statement to the whole world. "If this is the endgame, I'm going out with a bang!"

"No fucking way!" America shakes his head. "Everyone! Make it spell 'FAIL' instead. Change the 'R' into an 'A'— Actually, make it spell 'FRAIL'. Yeah! That's even worse for him!"

Voids of white pixels consume and erase colorful pixel art all across the canvas without a care in the world. The final hours of r/place have been nothing less than amazing. Though nothing is left, everyone can still appreciate the social experience of this creative Internet experiment.

"Well, guys. It was a beautiful battle," says Spain with a satisfied smile.

"You cheated," France laments. "But yes, it was a beautiful battle."

"In the end, I think France won, but it has been fun talking to you guys," America chuckles.

Everyone agrees. No one knows when r/place will be back. It may return next year, in five years, or even ten years later. However long it may be, everyone will be looking forward to its return. Until then, they take this beautiful moment to admire the neat stuff they've accomplished over the past four days. 

"W-We did it! We finally did it, eh! We sorta made a maple leaf in the end!" Canada and their English-speaking provinces cry tears of joy, admiring the final screenshot of all their hard work.

~ O Canada... ~

Hey, hey, daddy, get me Faygo!
Hey, hey, mommy, hey, hey, mommy!
I cannot forget the taste of that
Cherry pie I ate so long ago!

Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Hey, I'm Michigan!

Draw a circle, that's the Earth!
Looking closely, that's the Earth!
Or maybe, that's the Earth?
I'm the Wolverine State!

Ah, with just a brushstroke,
A wonderful world can be seen!
The Trolls love the taste of pączki!
I'm Michigan!

☆☆☆☆☆

+ r/place was a collaborative project and social experiment hosted on Reddit. Registered users were allowed access to an online blank canvas for a few days where they could place one colored pixel and wait for a certain time before they could place another. To create pixel artwork in a short amount of time, groups of users would communicate with each other to coordinate the placement of pixels. These diverse communities would then transform the empty canvas into a colorful collage within hours. For some communities unable to find enough space on the limited-size canvas, they would have to replace the pixels of a previously established art piece with their own. With exceptions against bots and inappropriate imagery, there were no rules against this type of behavior. Communities "under attack" would either have to protect their art, make their art elsewhere, or negotiate to share the same area. Arguments between communities were commonplace. Alliances were sometimes formed in favor of either raiding or defending a piece of art. Whatever remained after a few days would eventually get erased, thus bringing the experiment to an end. 

- r/place returned exactly five years since its original launch on April 1, 2017. What set this reboot apart from its predecessor was its greater size. It lasted for four days instead of three days. Over those days, the canvas and its color palette were expanded to allow for more creativity except for the last day when only white pixels were allowed to be placed. Most notably, the reboot had over six million participants—six times the number of users involved in the 2017 experiment. While users in 2017 initially struggled to create images, users in 2022 who were familiar with the concept immediately got together to coordinate and design pixel art, frequently using Discord and Twitch for communication. Streamers with large followings often played a major role in creating drama and controversy. Overall, the experiment was viewed positively as a close-to-accurate representation of Internet culture.

+ Fun Fact: The concept of r/place was conceived by Josh Wardle. Years later, he would go on to publish a web-based word game called Wordle that became highly popular in December 2021.

~

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