Yellowface
by R. F. Kuang
Contents
Thirteen
Overview
June visits her sister and recruits brother-in-law Tom to help identify her anonymous accuser. She builds a honeypot site and baits @AthenaLiusGhost into clicking. Meanwhile, a new thread turns the internet against Athena, muddying the narrative. The captured IP traces to Fairfax, leading June to suspect Geoffrey Carlino.
Summary
June escapes online chaos by attending a backyard cookout at her sister Rory’s home. During small talk with Rory and her husband, Tom, June asks if Tom can trace an online harasser. After clarifying legal limits, Tom agrees to geolocate any IP June can obtain, motivated by concern for her safety.
Back home, June builds a simple WordPress site filled with supposed “proof” and creates the Twitter handle @LazarusAthena to bait @AthenaLiusGhost. She DMs the link, setting a trap to log the visitor’s IP when the page is opened.
While waiting, June doomscrolls and watches the discourse pivot as a new anonymous account, @NoHeroesNoGods, posts a long thread criticizing Athena’s politics and alleged misrepresentations. Pile-on reactions follow—book-destruction TikToks, a critical YouTube breakdown—shifting attention and, to June’s relief, complicating the moral clarity of the accusations against her.
Later, @AthenaLiusGhost responds. June sees a single visit to her site, captures the IP, and sends it to Tom. Tom’s geolocation points to Fairfax. Connecting the city to shared history, June concludes the likely culprit is Athena’s ex-boyfriend, Geoffrey Carlino.
Who Appears
- June Hayward (Juniper Song)Author and narrator; recruits Tom, sets a honeypot, and baits @AthenaLiusGhost to capture an IP.
- TomJune’s brother-in-law, an IT technician; geolocates the captured IP to Fairfax.
- RoryJune’s pragmatic sister; hosts the grill and nudges Tom to help June.
- @AthenaLiusGhostAnonymous account accusing June; clicks June’s trap link, revealing an IP traceable to Fairfax.
- @NoHeroesNoGodsAnonymous poster whose thread attacks Athena’s politics, triggering a broader pile-on.
- Athena LiuDeceased author; becomes the target of posthumous cancellation that diffuses outrage against June.
- Geoffrey CarlinoAthena’s ex-boyfriend; June suspects he runs @AthenaLiusGhost after the IP points to Fairfax.