#based on a true story (not clickbait)

[ifwebefriends]

Me in the car alone at 9:45pm driving 75mph on the interstate to my mom’s house while blasting Choose Your Fighter by Ava Max at max volume on repeat while thinking about this IHNMaIMS oneshot fanfic (TW: Everything.) that I read out of morbid curiosity: hey so I think I just invented a new emotion guys

[the-travelling-witch]

My tumblers down :( WHAT DID I DO TO THE TUMBLER GODS

it’s probably because you didn’t like, subscribe and ring that bell so you get notified every time i post :( /j

i hope whatever issue you have gets resolved fast though!! (asks seem to work fine though hshsh)

[danystargaryens]

I was just watching based on a true story.

(Not really spoilers, but atlas dont read further if you dont want more information about this show)

But the couple go to crimecon ? Like a true crime convention? That’s not a thing right, RIGHT!?

[pucksandpower]

Clickbait

Toto Wolff x Ferrari team principal!Reader

Summary: in which a reporter learns not to mess with the power couple of Formula 1 … the hard way

Based on this request

The bustling newsroom of BusinessF1 magazine hums with activity as Graham Lowell, a junior reporter with more ambition than scruples, hunches over his laptop. His fingers fly across the keyboard, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth as he types out what he believes to be the scoop of the century.

Conflict of Interest in the Pit Lane: Ferrari and Mercedes’ Love Affair

Graham leans back, admiring his handiwork. He’s certain this article will catapult him to journalism stardom. Little does he know, he’s about to learn a harsh lesson in the dangers of sensationalism.

As the article goes live, the Formula 1 world erupts into chaos. Social media platforms light up with speculation and outrage. Within hours, the story spreads like wildfire, reaching the very subjects of its scandalous claims.

In the Ferrari motorhome, you stand before a group of wide-eyed team members, your voice steady despite the storm raging inside you. “I assure you, these allegations are completely false. Our team’s integrity is not, and will never be, compromised.”

Your phone buzzes incessantly in your pocket, but you ignore it. You know who it is, and you know you’ll need to face him soon enough.

Across the paddock, in the sleek confines of the Mercedes garage, Toto Wolff paces like a caged lion. His usually calm demeanor is nowhere to be seen as he barks orders into his phone.

“I want our legal team on this immediately,” he growls. “This is slander, pure and simple. They’ve gone too far this time.”

As the day wears on, the pressure mounts. You find yourself fielding increasingly hostile questions from reporters, their microphones thrust aggressively in your face.

“Is it true that you’ve been passing Ferrari’s secrets to Mercedes?” One shouts.

“How long have you been manipulating race results?” Another demands.

You maintain your composure, but inside, you’re seething. The blatant sexism in their questions is not lost on you. They seem all too eager to believe that a woman in your position must have achieved it through nefarious means.

As you push through the crowd, a familiar voice cuts through the chaos. “That’s enough!” Toto’s commanding tone silences the mob instantly. He strides forward, placing a protective arm around your shoulders.

“My wife and I will be making a statement shortly,” he announces, his steely gaze daring anyone to object. “Until then, I suggest you all refrain from spreading baseless rumors.”

The crowd parts reluctantly, allowing you both to escape to the relative quiet of a nearby hospitality suite. As soon as the door closes behind you, Toto’s fierce expression melts into one of concern.

“Are you alright, liebling?” He asks softly, cupping your face in his hands.

You lean into his touch, allowing yourself a moment of vulnerability. “I’m fine, Toto. Just ... frustrated. They’re so quick to believe the worst of me.”

Toto’s jaw clenches. “It’s disgraceful. But we’ll fight this, together. I promise you, they won’t get away with it.”

A knock at the door interrupts your moment. Toto’s assistant pokes her head in. “Sir, the lawyers are here.”

What follows is a whirlwind of legal jargon and strategy discussions. You listen intently as your shared legal team outlines the plan of attack.

“We’ll issue cease and desist orders to every outlet that’s republished the story,” the head lawyer explains. “And we’ll be filing a defamation lawsuit against BusinessF1 magazine and the reporter responsible.”

Toto nods approvingly. “Good. I want them to feel the full force of our response. This ends now.”

As the lawyers file out, you turn to Toto, a hint of worry in your eyes. “Do you think this will be enough? The damage to my reputation ...”

Toto takes your hands in his, his gaze intense. “We will rebuild it, stronger than ever. I won’t let them tarnish everything you’ve worked for.”

Meanwhile, back at the BusinessF1 office, Graham Lowell is beginning to realize the gravity of his mistake. His editor storms into the bullpen, face red with fury.

“Lowell!” He bellows. “My office, now!”

Graham follows meekly, his earlier bravado evaporating with each step. As he enters the office, he sees his editor isn’t alone. A grim-faced man in an expensive suit stands by the window.

“Sit down,” the editor growls. Graham complies, his legs feeling like jelly.

The man by the window turns, fixing Graham with a steely glare. “Mr. Lowell, I’m representing Mr. and Mrs. Wolff in this matter. I’m here to inform you that you and this publication are being sued for defamation.”

Graham’s mouth goes dry. “But ... but I had a source! They told me-”

“A source you failed to verify,” his editor cuts in. “Did you even attempt to get a comment from either party before publishing?”

Graham’s silence is damning. The lawyer continues, his voice cold and precise. “The damages we’re seeking are substantial. Your reckless journalism has caused significant harm to my clients’ reputations.”

As the full implications of his actions sink in, Graham slumps in his chair. His dreams of journalistic glory crumble before his eyes, replaced by the stark reality of legal consequences.

Outside, the F1 paddock buzzes with new excitement. Word of the impending lawsuit spreads quickly, and suddenly, those who were so quick to believe the scandal are backpedaling furiously.

You and Toto stand united before a sea of cameras, your hands clasped tightly together. Toto speaks first, his voice resonating with controlled anger.

“The allegations made against my wife and me are not only false but malicious,” he states. “We have always maintained the highest standards of professionalism and integrity in our respective roles.”

You step forward, your head held high. “I’ve worked tirelessly to earn my position as Team Principal at Scuderia Ferrari. To suggest that my success is due to anything other than my own merit is not only insulting to me but to every woman fighting to make her mark in this sport.”

The press conference continues, with you and Toto presenting a united front against the baseless accusations. As you field questions, you can see the tide of public opinion beginning to turn.

Later that evening, in the privacy of your hotel suite, you finally allow yourself to relax. Toto wraps you in a warm embrace, pressing a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“You were magnificent today,” he murmurs. “I’m so proud of you.”

You smile up at him, feeling the tension of the day start to melt away. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

Toto chuckles, a mischievous glint in his eye. “The best. Although, I must say, I’m almost disappointed we don’t actually have any juicy secrets to share. It might make things more exciting.”

You playfully swat his arm, laughing despite yourself. “I think we have enough excitement in our lives, thank you very much.”

As you settle into each other’s arms, you know that whatever challenges come your way, you’ll face them together. The storm may rage outside, but in here, in this moment, all is calm.

And somewhere across the continent, in a small, cluttered apartment, Graham Lowell stares at his laptop screen, watching his career and reputation crumble in real-time.

Social media is ablaze with backlash against him and support for you and Toto. As he scrolls through the endless comments condemning his shoddy journalism, one thought echoes in his mind.

“I am so, so screwed.”

[embracing-the-ineffable]

Beware clickbait accusations

Hi fandom, here's what happened yesterday: A reporter named Rachel Johnson, who is the sister to Boris Johnson and a big terfy supporter of JK Rowling, released a 4-part true crime podcast featuring two women accusing Neil Gaiman of SA. Yesterday. The day before the UK elections. This post explores the possible political links in more detail.

CW: this post is free of graphic details, but if you follow these links, there may be explicit descriptions of sex, kink, and bdsm, plus mentions of mental illness and suicidal thoughts.

I want to believe and support survivors, and I also want to base my thoughts and actions on facts. I thought the xitter livestream commentary from Not Becky for all 4 episodes was very insightful. There's also a first episode transcript without extra commentary. (Edit: released after I wrote this post: the full audio plus transcripts for all four episodes of the podcast are now available to download here, or you can read all four transcripts in your browser.) I have since concluded (pending more time to think and read and learn, or any new information, of course):

This seems like the worst kind of clickbait, an unjustified mess that will hurt everyone involved (except possibly a few politicians who might benefit somehow, we'll see). The evidence the "reporters" present directly contradicts their accusations. They're counting on people reading headlines and not digging any deeper.

They tried to make something sinister where there was apparently consent and a caring relationship. Have they exploited one or both of these women? S, in particular, is described as vulnerable and with a history of unspecified mental illness. They have all of the message history between S and Neil, and her messages make the sexy stuff between the two of them sound enthusiastically consensual. There are even messages (multiple!) where she specifically says everything was consensual. Here's one:

They're playing horror music in the background to try to make us feel horrified, even as S reassures us that things were consensual. It's emotional manipulation by the reporters.

The times S sounds upset during the interview are the times she talks about Neil leaving her behind or not paying attention to her. Not the times she talks about consent violations. Her stories during the interview are inconsistent, and they contradict her messages with Neil and with others. Maybe we'll get better information from a more reputable news source, or maybe not, I don't know. I also don't know why anyone who cares about her would have advised her to do this interview.

Then they tracked down lots of other women who know/have dated Neil and they all had glowing things to say, except one other lover from 20 years ago, K. She described some bad sex, and then pointed to a time in their 2-year relationship when she felt something wasn't consensual and he thought it was. And after their breakup, they continued to text and flirt, for decades.

This podcast "exposé" feels like explosive clickbait with political ramifications. The evidence here doesn't support a pattern of poor conduct so much as establish Neil as a fellow well-meaning human with imperfect judgement. That doesn't mean the accusations are all made up; intimate partner violence is complicated, and the responsibility for checking in and getting regular enthusiastic consent from partners is very real, especially when kink or bdsm are involved.

I don't know what the right balance is here between supporting survivors, thinking critically, assuming good intentions, and waiting for better information, but I feel confident that this podcast alone is not enough to condemn anyone aside from the irresponsible journalists who inflicted it on the rest of us.

PS/edit: I'm tagging my relevant posts (mostly reblogs) with #ineffable grief, and you can see all of them here.

[didalexiabreakupwitholgaisback]

Those Barca fans are at it again for Mario on twitter. Just because a journalist published a sentence about Mario saying she’s crying when leaving Barca from her book

i presume you are talking about the commentary about this interview from marca that was just released yesterday.

well, in this instance, you have to blame the media a bit too, no? the thing is that mariona has just published a book. of course, she is going to use the winter holidays to promote the book and do interviews about it. and her leaving barça was one of the most important topics covered in the book.

we expect the media to cover these promotion events, too. and let's not forget that they are the ones asking the questions and writing the headlines. and they are the ones who are staggering the release of articles and interviews over a few days and weeks, as to generate content and clicks.

and this is a pointed (clickbait) headline that they chose to use for the story. even though if you actually read the article, mariona talks about a variety of topics. and not just barça...

anyway, that's one of my main issues with twitter. it promotes knee jerk reactions based on reading headlines or a few lines in a tweet.

but how many people actually stopped to read the article? it's literally nothing new from what she has said before. it's not like she is complaining all of a sudden now. 🙄

well, like i said above, it's not like mariona is doing these interviews out of nowhere. it's tied to her book release where a significant portion of the content deals with her leaving barça. 🤷‍♀️

now, i agree that mariona was very clumsy when talking about irene and the selection and should have handled her talking points better. there was a lot of valid criticism around that interview.

but for these other ones, i think a lot has been blown out of proportion too. realistically, there's no way she's going to publicly say 'yes, i left barça to join my girlfriend at arsenal.' 😅 and it's also true that the wsl is doing a lot of positive things in marketing and running the league that liga f is not doing, and mariona wanted to take advantage of those as well.

as long as mariona is criticising the league and not barça, i honestly am not that bothered. liga f and i are mortal enemies after all 😤

[rockybloo]

I'm a normal and well behaved person until people bring up fairy tales around me and try the good ole internet shtick of "um actually" but they wind up sharing information that is not entirely true but is shared like it is so please beware that this post turns into caps lock halfway through

I've been working on Beanstalked for a good 10 years so I think I am allowed to have this be where I shove my feet into the sand because I whenever people drop fairy tale fun facts in my inbox or comments, they are the most basic fun facts you can get off surface level clickbait articles, first page Google results you don't even click on and just view from a preview point (or just using Gemini AI at this point) or "TOP TEN DISNEY MOVIES WHERE THE ORIGINAL STORIES ARE SUPER DARK"

I NEED PEOPLE TO DIG DEEPER

IF YOU'RE GONNA TELL ME A FUNFACT ABOUT A FAIRY TALE YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO TELL ME WHAT VERSION YOU ARE PICKIN FROM BECAUSE CHARLES PERRAULT AND THE GRIMM BROTHERS HAVE VERY DIFFERENT OUTCOMES FOR THEIR LITTLE REDS! CINDERELLA IS ANCIENT AS FUCK! SOME OF THESE TALES WERE ORALLY TOLD INITIALLY AND GOT WRITTEN DOWN FOR A COLLECTION OF SORTS WHICH MEANS IN MANY CASES WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A TRUE ORIGINAL AND JUST HAVE TO GO OFF WHAT HE EARLIEST DOCUMENTED RETELLING IS

IF YOU ARE SAYING A NURSERY RHYME IS BASED OFF SOMETHING, YOU GOTTA BE ABLE TO BACK IT UP AND NOT JUST TELL ME SOMETHING THAT I LOOK UP LATER ONLY TO SEE IT SPECIFICALLY STATED IN ONE SINGLE ARTICLE WITH A FOOT NOTE THAT SAYS "this is just a theory and has no supported basis"

AM I A FAIRY TALE EXPERT?

No

BUT BASIC FACTS THAT ARE OFTEN JUST THEORIES OR HALF TRUTHS AIN'T ENOUGH FOR ME

GIVE ME NAMES, SOURCES, ACTUALLY READ THE FABLES AND NOT JUST WIKI SUMMARIES

AND IF YOU TELL ME SOMETHING THAT ONLY APPLIES TO DISNEY I WILL MANIFEST SPIDERS IN YOUR HOME

"Did you know that Cinderella's sisters get their eyes pecked out by birds in the original story"

IS PARTIALLY TRUE!

There are MANY versions of Cinderella because it is an OLD story and has been called many different names. THIS STORY IS SO OLD IT CAN ACTUALLY BE CALLED ANCIENT WITH CONFIDENCE! The Grimm Brothers have said bird attack event happen in their retelling which is a LOT more violent than Charles Perrault's which is the one that MANY think of when they hear the name "Cinderella" (if you don't just think immediately of Disney)

Now, this ain't an open invitation to just start dropping fairy tale fun facts in my inbox. I've been working on Beanstalked for 10 years and there is a rock solid chance I probably have already heard your fun fact. This ain't even meant to be a "I KNOW MORE THAN YOU" because it's just because I have heard the same basic facts over and over again at this point 😭 a bitch is TIRED MAN! I won't doubt there is stuff I don't know since I ain't a folklorist but I beg that people make it worth my while and credit a source they got their info from, say where the retelling (if it is one) originates from (like if it's from a collection), and at least say something Beanstalked related.

ACTUALLY that last part is mandatory. I've seen how y'all do people that do Greek Myth based adaptions - YOU AIN'T DOING THAT SHIT TO ME! YOU GOTTA PAY THE ROCKY TOLL AND SAY SOMETHING RELATED TO MY OCS OR I CHUCK YOU OFF THE BRIDGE!

This is why I have a rule that people that enter my inbox with simple fairy tale trivia and nothing else get BLASTED by Beanstalked info

YOU CANNOT AVOID THE LORE - YOU WILL LEARN ABOUT THE OCS!

[orcinus-the-orca]

The scariest thing when you’re treasure hunting in the middle of the night and keep inventory is NOT on. (Based on a true story, not clickbait).

I made this for my amazing friend @switch-shift ! Being able to work on such a large, but honestly very simple, piece was incredibly therapeutic. It took me roughly 3 weeks to complete. 10/10, Would do it again.

For scale, I used a 10 inch hoop.

[transmascxielian]

this is my final fit, my final bellyache....

thoughts and inspiration under the cut! i have not played p5/p5r and this is entirely done based on what i've gleaned about it from my boyfriend

I started this on a whim after I listened to OK Computer by Radiohead in one sitting on my CD player and was struck with a ridiculously strong urge to draw them. No Surprises is SUCH an Akechi song (so is Karma Police, but these lyrics were just too good for this concept). My main aim here was making Akechi just look like he's scared and young and out of his depth, and realising this far too late. the wing shapes of the bloodstains are absolutely intentional <33 Also, I wanted the drawing in the bloodstain to deliberately be quite a hazy and sketchy style in contrast to the very harsh lighting of the 'real world' style-- I'm trying to highlight how unlikely it is that they'd ever manage to get what they want. also that's how it feels kissing a guy with glasses true story not clickbait anyway I asked my gf for what their hypothetical happiest place would be and it said the jazz club so thats what I decided to draw as his like. idk dying dream. Anyway, this is one of the best things I've drawn in a long time (technique-wise and symbolism-wise), and just so happens to be the fanart of the game about which my entire knowledge is secondhand. Alas...

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

Is it true that Blackbeard shooting Izzy Hands in the show was based on real life events? What do you think that means for the show?

So...probably not! I know this was often tossed around after s2 aired but personally I don't think it's likely at all it ever happened. The only source that indicates this ever happened is Charles Johnson's General History, which is an invaluable primary source but it's more a primary source on contemporary British and colonial attitudes towards piracy - think of it as basically a clickbait version of real history that often exagerrates, takes artistic license, and straight-up makes shit up to sound cool and tell good stories (like, three of the pirate biographies in the book aren't even real people, if that tells you the kind of source we're working with here).

The things we actually know about the real-life Israel Hands, corroborated by pirate victim witness statements and trial documents:

he existed

he served under Blackbeard and was given command of a ship, the Adventure

he was on the younger side but, like, not so much so that anyone thought it was crazy wild, a lot of people will tell you he was 16 and he might've been but we have no fuckin clue. might've just had a young-looking face. honestly my bet is that he was probably like 20ish just based on averages

one time Blackbeard ran a ship aground at Beaufort Inlet, was like "oh no" and called Hands for help, and then Hands immediately grounded his own ship too. lol

after Blackbeard was killed a bunch of his crew were rounded up and captured, Hands got out of that one by testifying against corrupt colonial officials Blackbeard had worked with and was granted a pardon

And that's it. We have no idea if he even returned to piracy afterwards, just drops right off the historical record.

However, based on what we know, I'm about 100% confident in saying he was never shot, and if he was, it was a grazing injury at best. If a pirate, especially one in a commanding position, was actually shot point-blank in the leg, that would've been a career-ending injury on a pretty immediate basis (and that's if the infection didn't kill them first), but he was active at least up until Blackbeard's death. The more likely explanation to me is that Johnson was trying to drive home Blackbeard's brutality to the reader and he thought this was a good way to do it.

It may very well be true that the OFMD creative team took inspiration from this story for the show! But it's probably just a bit of creative storytelling.

[yourdeepestfathoms]

Such a gooseworx question but if you could describe each chapter in one word what would they be?

i’m pretty sure this is referring to Whumptober, and if it is, i technically already did that when i posted what each day would vaguely be about, so instead, here’s me describing each day but in the most obscene way possible!

Day 1- Y’all ever heard of a game called The Long Dark?

Day 2- Existential Dread For Dummies!

Day 3-

Day 4- this TikTok audio

Day 5- KFM (Kentucky Fried Moose)

Day 6- Idiot

Day 7-

Day 8- Perrine kins Amicia de Rune A Plague Tale Requiem frfr

Day 9- Local moose 1v5s a group of teenagers! What happens next will shock you!

Day 10- Perrine kins Amicia de Rune A Plague Tale Requiem frfr

Day 11- Get this kid some bupropion

Day 12- “I don’t care,” says Perrine, caring immensely.

Day 13- oatmeal

Day 14- Y’all know that scene at the very start of Tomb Raider 2013?

Day 15-

Day 16- 🪨🪨🪨🪨

Day 17- Personification is a literary device where non-human things are given human attributes!

Day 18-

Day 19- Cute date gets interrupted when some kid toddles in, covered in blood

Day 20- Not even the most potent and powerful laxatives can help the sheer magnitude of this kid’s emotional constipation

Day 21- Body horror

Day 22- Oh my god what the hell you stupid moose why would you ever think that was a good idea are you incompetent

Day 23- Good soup

Day 24-

Day 25- Based on a true story!

Day 26-

Day 27- The most excruciating pain known to man

Day 28- Existential Dread For Dummies! 2

Day 29- Turns out, overstimulation and dehydration don’t mix well!

Day 30- Itchy itchy, scratchy scratchy

Day 31- Perrine asks for help?!?!?!?! (NOT CLICKBAIT) (WATCH TILL THE END) (CRIED)

[transgenderer]

There's this question in philosophy about the semantics of claims about fictional entities. Like, if I say "Mario and Luigi are brothers", is that... true? I mean, Mario and Luigi aren't real. But they're definitely depicted as brothers. If we say that "Mario and Luigi are brothers" is truth-apt and true, then presumably something like "Mario has five heads" is truth-apt and false. What about "Mario likes bananas"? What about "Mario identifies as male"? For a different flavor of edge case, how about "Mario grew up in Brooklyn"? In some Mario media this is what is depicted and in some it isn't.

Anyway, so, you can come to a deliberation on all that, you can decide what you think about that. Mario is a character derived ex nihilo. Now consider Santa Clause, who is (partially?) based on the very real Saint Nicholas. Surely (if we accept the semantics of ordinary claims about the real world as settled and transparent) "The historical Saint Nicholas lived in Anatolia" is true and "the historical Saint Nicholas lives at the north pole" is false. Is "Santa Clause lives at the north pole" true? How about "Santa Clause lived in Anatolia"?

The latter seems absurd to me, but then again I can imagine it actually showing up as the title of a clickbait YouTube video or something. But maybe the semantics there are different.

Santa Clause is loosely based on Saint Nicholas. What about a character with a stronger affiliation to a real entity, like the main character of a biopic? What about the main character of an autobiography? What about this post; if I say "I have a tumblr account", to whom does the "I" refer? Some real person out in the world, or a character present only in this text?

One possible answer is: both, at the same time and independently of each other. The sentence just conveys two separate meanings at once, a "fictional" and "actual" reading. But then, every sentence is a text, so does every sentence have these two independent meanings?

Just pondering this shit idk.

i think youre just confusing yourself with abbreviation. like, there's no weird content here. "mario and luigi are brothers" is just shorthand for "there is a popular set of fictional stories that tell of two brothers named mario and luigi". and then "mario has five heads" is false because "the aforementioned popular set of fictional stories describes the character mario as having five heads" is false.

ditto with santa claus. "santa claus lives at the north pole" is false if considered not as abbreviation, there is no man called santa claus who lives at the north pole, but "in our culture it is common to tell children that there is a man called santa claus who lives at the north pole". the youtube thumbnail that says "santa claus lived in anatolia" is either lying or abbreviating "the man who santa claus is based on lived in anatolia"

i think this all resolves neatly if you say that a story can be false, while a statement about a story, saying it said the false thing, is true, but it's laborious to clarify every time, so you abbreviate.

[genericpuff]

I've come to the stunning realization-

-that Lore Olympus is basically to the webtoons industry what Youtube Kids is to Youtube.

And I'm not talking about the general "Youtube Kids" label, I'm talking about those videos - Elsagate, Johny Johny, Cocomelon, Mickey Mouse tattooing Spongebob or whatever other weird example you can think of - which are explicitly designed to game the algorithm, turn views into money, and most of all, gain and keep the attention of the one demographic that won't question what they're consuming - children.

!!!!THIS POST HAS FAST PASS SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

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I mean, this is undoubtedly just a tinfoil hat theory, but think about it:

Bright oversaturated colors that are attention-grabbing.

Meme faces and 'lol rAnDoM' humor even when it doesn't suit the situation at all.

Art that's all around ugly and cheap on a technical level but still stands out due to its color design and prioritized advertising.

Vapid surface level scene-to-scene writing that doesn't connect or have any meaning in any coherent way.

One-dimensional projection characters who are easy to manipulate and sway for audience sympathy or anger even if those opinions change on a dime based on actions in the moment.

Cliffhangers that are less like true cliffhangers and more like clickbait. Episodes nowadays tend to be filled with drawn out plotlines, vague hints that can be applied to just about any school of thought, and non-sequitur memes to fill the time until they can hook the reader with another cliffhanger to keep them coming back next week.

Coin prices have gone up but episode length, substance, and quality have noticeably gone down. Even if they reach the same panel count they usually have, dialogue is minimal and pacing is brutally inconsistent to the point that plot progression is often non-existent.

Banner ads that run constantly, often in the first or second (or both) slots, with push notifications and pop-up ads also becoming more frequent whether you're subscribed to the comic or not.

And underneath ALL of that, we've got blatant objectifying and sexualization of female characters regardless of context, misogyny that claims to be progressive, racist undertones, borderline fetish content that constantly toes the Terms of Services line, normalization of problematic/toxic relationship dynamics, a creator who's more interested in 'getting back' at critics than writing an actual story, and underlying messaging both from the characters' and the creator's behavior that encourage witch-hunting, rejection of accountability, and blind devotion.

All this is essentially why I've given up consuming LO entirely, beyond just on a critical level as of late. There was a time long ago when I stuck around in the hopes it was going to get better, that maybe it was just going through a "rough patch" as some stories do. After that I stuck around because I wanted to see how it could possibly pull off its ending. And then after that, I simply stuck around for the laughs and community banter. But now I don't even find it funny anymore, the punchline of how bad it is has gotten incredibly old. And at this rate, as much as we'd like to believe it's going to end in its third season as it's been mentioned in the past, we also were told it was going to end between 100-200 episodes prior to that - the way it's going, I can't even stick around "for the ending" because LO is going to be around for as long as WT tries to milk it, despite it no longer having a heartbeat.

As much as I've loved talking shit about this comic and it's undoubtedly the main reason so many of you followed me here in the first place, I'm not going to lock myself in some kind of purgatory hell just to be proven what I already know is going to happen - either the comic continues on forever, doomed to be a lifeless mascot for the zombie corporation that is WT, or RS eats shit while trying to stick the landing with a plane that has no functional parts.

There's a quote from Caddicarus that I couldn't help but think of as I typed this up, from his nearly-decade-old review of Dalmations 3 (oh god, it's nearly been a decade since that video came out what the actual fuck-)

"And this is where I officially lost all fucking care. I realized it wasn't going to end anytime soon. It's one of those rare instances where the novelty of how awful everything is actually gets really tiresome and unfunny." - Caddicarus

[satansfavoritestripper]

So was anyone going to tell me Bridge to Terabithia was based on the true story of an 8 year old who was struck and killed by lightning or was I supposed to just see that in a clickbait article by myself

[power-handmaiden]

Day 208: Not Pounded By The Conspiracy Theory That I Just Shared Online Because It's Not Real

Here's a tingler first: the living object on the cover never even shows up in the tingler! Alright, it might sound silly that this surprised me. It's stated in the title that he isn't real, after all. The formula of tinglers is so etched into my mind by this time, though. Over 200 times experiencing variations on the same structure will do that to anyone. No-sex tinglers deviate a lot more than most from the structure, sure... but this is the farthest we've gone off the tingler path.

Even if the theory itself isn't true... it still is a construct that exists. It wouldn't be outside the possibilities of the Tingleverse for an untrue theory to have a manifested form. "Pounded In The Butt By The Sentient Manifestation Of My Own Ignorant Climate Change Denial" comes to mind. From that tingler, what I expected from this one is that the conspiracy theory would eventually show up, and through getting to meet him the protagonist would learn of his false nature. Instead of what I expected, I got the story of a man simply having to confront the way his perspective on reality is affecting the people around him, and coming to his own conclusions based on how the conspiracy never shows himself. Contrasted with other tinglers about false or dubious concepts, it's an effective commentary on just how insubstantial the claims of clickbait conspiracy videos really are.

[nontrivialproof]

I posted this and then quickly decided it was too embarrassing to not put under a readmore anyway here's 500 words about what I've observed from reading way too many AITA posts

At this point, AITA posts feel like the krill of the internet, this type of popular, free, rapidly-replenishing content collected and monetized by podcasts, TikTok accounts, YouTube channels, and clickbait news sites. In the reddit ecosystem itself, the subreddit has spawned a ton of spin-offs either for external discussion or for the same type of post with less moderation. The most obvious and worst of these is AITAH, which is the same as AITA except that it allows posts about general relationship drama as opposed to discrete interpersonal conflicts. (To be transparent this post is mostly about AITAH over AITA because that's what gets recommended to me by the reddit algorithm.)

IMO the interesting thing about AITA is that it's this specific form that has evolved across thousands and thousands of posts. Almost all AITA posts feature at least one person acting completely out of line; to suffuse yourself in the world of AITA is to live in a world where a huge percentage of people are, if not straight up evil, then susceptible to begin acting completely unreasonably at any time. Within this setting have emerged a lot of recurring tropes of types of assholes: golden child siblings, bridezillas, cheaters of all kinds, etc, almost certainly in part because these stories get a lot of rage-based engagement.

And I think it's mainly this evolution of tropes that enables the biggest problem with the culture of AITA(H), which is that its posts are frequently used to launder various prejudices (misogyny, fatphobia, and transphobia being the ones I see the most). For example, people on AITAH are convinced that paternity fraud is big deal because they are constantly reading posts about paternity fraud. Posters are extremely quick to jump to the conclusion that the women in the posts they read are cheating because they are constantly reading stories about cheating women.

This is all sort of side-stepping the question of whether all this content is fake or even AI-generated. Kind of regardless, one of the most interesting things to me about AITAH is the way that even commenters who believe the posts to be true kind of engage with them as works of fiction. Writing this post made me think that some AITA posts read essentially like mystery stories; commenters are invited to use the details of the post to try to "solve" the conflict and then have their theory of the case either confirmed or subverted when the OP updates the post. For example, I read a post recently where the OP was concerned that his wife had cheated on him, and he mentioned that she had been sleeping on the couch, supposedly because the AC was better in the living room. And people came into the comments to be like, "She could be doing that to avoid being intimate with you" as though the OP would need that to be explained. Like in fiction, there is a feeling that details cannot be meaningless, but unlike in fiction, it almost feels like a faux pas to point out that details are included by the author for specific effect because doing so ruins the conceit that the audience is elucidating the situation for the OP.

Anyway, the conclusion to this post isn't that AITA posts are like ruining the culture I just don't like their vibe I think there's a dark energy there...