The internet is ritualistically murdering Discord's cartoon mascot

Discord's mascot, Wumpus, visibly weeping. — (Image credit: Discord)

Last week, Discord finally pulled the trigger on the global rollout of its age estimation systems, which require users to provide age verification through an ID scan or selfie if the company's estimation model can't confidently surmise that you're older than 18. While Discord estimated that 90% of users wouldn't need to prove their age, accompanying bugginess drove the company to address the emerging issues by posting on X with the air of being just a little guy.

Nobody liked that. Discord's ill-advised smol bean-posting has become a flashpoint for the internet's collective frustration over being forced to swallow what's widely perceived—with good reason—as the prelude to an inevitable exposure of private information. To vent that simmering resentment, X users have turned to creative outlets. By which I mean they've been drawing Wumpus, Discord's mascot, meeting a variety of grisly ends.

when you launch an extremely popular age assurance update that everyone on Discord was really looking forward to and it has bugs https://t.co/I9dVu9ZhET pic.twitter.com/BLAz9fWTSnSeptember 24, 2026

While I don't recommend you browse the full selection of ritualized Wumpus-slayings—some of them are pretty gnarly—here's a survey of how the internet is processing its feelings about age verification.

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Wumpus being annihilated by a Sinanju, as illustrated by X user @Cassius_comm.

Wumpus gets the Daguza Mackle treatment, by @Cassius_comm.

A recreation of Saturn Devouring His Son, with Saturn instead eating Discord mascot Wumpus.

Saturn Devours His Chat Application, by @Ph4nt0m3nby.

An illustration of a situation that would result in Wumpus being brutally compacted by the violent forces of fluid dynamics.

Wumpus encounters the cruelties of fluid dynamics, by @Lizardbrainiak.

And, in emulation of that moment from the 2014 Godzilla that made me say "Jesus, Godzilla, who taught you that," there's this work from X user @Atlanticaph0tic:

Godzilla firing an atomic ray into Wumpus's mouth by X user @Atlanticaph0tic. — (Image credit: X user @Atlanticaph0tic)

There are more, of course: There are illustrations of Wumpus being drawn and quartered in historically brutal fashion, and .gifs of Wumpus being squished in a space pod by a legendary super saiyan before being exploded—both of which have been amassed a combined 400,000 likes and 8 million views.

I'm not an expert, but when the masses are cheering for your company mascot's cruel unmaking, I suspect there's been a PR misstep somewhere along the way.

Lincoln has been writing about games for 12 years—unless you include the essays about procedural storytelling in Dwarf Fortress he convinced his college professors to accept. Leveraging the brainworms from a youth spent in World of Warcraft to write for sites like Waypoint, Polygon, and Fanbyte, Lincoln spent three years freelancing for PC Gamer before joining on as a full-time News Writer in 2024, bringing an expertise in Caves of Qud bird diplomacy, getting sons killed in Crusader Kings, and hitting dinosaurs with hammers in Monster Hunter.