#cult methods

[unwelcome-ozian]

When faced with contradictory evidence, members experience cognitive dissonance, resulting in anxiety, guilt or confusion. To resolve this tension, they employ coping strategies to fortify their commitment. Some of these strategies include:

Dismissing or rationalizing conflicting information as misinformation, deception or bias from external sources, thereby maintaining the integrity of their beliefs and identity as loyal followers.

Seeking reaffirmation by consuming propaganda or attending indoctrination sessions led by the cult leader. This creates an echo chamber that shields them from contradictory information and reinforces their allegiance.

In extreme cases, they resort to self-persuasion or self-justification by distorting or reinterpreting memories and experiences to align with the cult’s beliefs, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. This conviction helps ease their cognitive dissonance and maintain psychological equilibrium.

[pest-lady]

I told you I would make a normal version! I made!!!!

Swap clothes with @neon-virus

And bonus ;)

[pinkiepig]

Dang this has got to be one of my favorite blorbos of the decade

[jellynotbees]

Since I drew Hooters Narinder, for equality I drew Lamb in the Megan Thee Stallion bunny suit (minus the ears because it clashed with the horns) I will not apologize for this I love the way it came out. Live Narinder reaction below.

Reference under cut (forgot to add earlier)

[myfootyrthroat]

I think there are two totally valid sides to weaponized incompetence that often talk past each other.

I've totally had partners who did stuff like "How was I supposed to know that the vacuum would burn out if you try to vacuum up a ball of yarn and keep running it while it's squealing and smoking. I guess you'd better do all the vacuuming from now on! 🥺"

But I've also had roommates who would be like "Ugh, you said you cleaned the counter, but it looks like you just brushed the crumbs off, wiped it down with 409, and then wiped again with water to remove residue! You have to use this special 17 step routine that involves accounting for barometric pressure & star sign, takes 48 hours, and is based in a very specific family trauma." where the results is "Ok, if you require the counters to be cleaned that way, you have assumed counter-cleaning duty."

[jesncin]

What are your thoughts/takes on General Zod and other Evil Kryptonians of that ilk? Zod's been characterised and backstory'd very differently across the different iterations and I was wondering how you'd approach him (and associated characters like Ursa, Non, Astra, etc), especially in relation to your ideas of Krypton as a socialist utopia struck down by arrogance - where does the mean military man fit into this paradigm?

While I don't have a solidified idea for Zod and evil Kryptonians yet- I personally prefer imagining groups like them as a fringe movement within utopia-Kryptonian society. I'm even tempted to remove the idea of any organized military entirely and just have it so a few Kryptonians believe (because their society is so great) that Krypton should expand- but this is a small group and not something backed by Kryptonian leaders/government.

I was really into what CW Supergirl did with Reign (I'm not familiar with her comics version so the show is all I know), where she's this product of a Kryptonian cult and it's basically the horror version of "ordinary person discovers they have superpowers" in a fascinating way. Basically just because Krypton is a utopia, doesn't mean its beliefs are a monolith followed by all Kryptonians and I think you can get really interesting characters out of that set up.

[fray-bird]

got Cult of The Lamb yesterday and promptly nosedived into a new obsession sooooo…

Alas one drawing could not sate my bloodlust…

[pitspawned]

Made the squidboy bishop for my sibling! I think he came out pretty good :D

[unwelcome-ozian]

The group and its leaders oppose or deny mainstream research findings and what is accepted and taught at leading universities and research institutes. For example, they deny the overwhelming evidence for climate change and evolution. Instead, they share alternative ‘research’ and arguments from their own far less qualified and heavily biased sources, which would not stand up to rigorous external peer-review processes. Group leaders do this to keep members ignorant and suspicious of wider networks so that they can be more easily brainwashed and controlled.

[fate-defiant]

These four wormed their way into my head last night and would not leave me until I spat something out so here's some assorted headcanons, a comic that I'm not sure I understand the punchline of myself and the youngest inn-bling(ba dum tss) in ten to fifteen years.

[txttletale]

if you are a revolutionary communist but have no answer to the question 'what political action could you take tomorrow' you are not doing revolutionary marxism, you are doing eschatology

[dxsole]

I have so many muses that kill that now as I am developing yet another bad guy oc, I am struggling to give them an m.o. that does not overlap the others

[taishaunavan]

i hate coffee shop aus but i’m obsessed with the idea of the girls mostly not knowing each other before college and shauna working part-time as a barista because she just needed the extra cash and it’s an easy enough job and it’s near if not on campus but she hates every second of it, it’s just a means to an end, if the customers hate her attitude that’s their problem

but then the local celebrity that she knows only by name and sight and little else, charlotte matthews, starts showing up with her regular laura lee (who she doesn’t hate she’s just...exhausted by the peppy and devout personality) during what shauna has only ever assumed were bible studies, and lottie doesn’t stop staring and shauna watches as their little group grows to include van and misty and mari and tai and more and more until she finds herself picking up more shifts at the job she hates because she needs to figure out what the fuck is going on with those girls in her coffee shop

[swordmaid]

I think ina is very family-oriented… being able to protect her family (and her community) is a really big thing for her…!!! she’s willing to stand up against a human lord and kill (prob her first kills tbh now that I think abt it ….) to save her cousin and she’s like what … 16…!!!! and she loves her family a lot and I think she feels bad that she had to leave them behind even though it wasn’t her choice. she’s doing her heroic stuff and getting recognition for it, and she’s experiencing things she would’ve never experienced if she still lived in the alienage (like being able to afford fancy clothes and proper food, etc.) and she feels bad that she can do all that stuff knowing that her family is still back in the alienage, living off of rats and whatever they could find. and even though she had that encounter with that spectral shianni in the temple of sacred ashes, she still hasn’t reconciled with the fact that she did leave them behind, and her life will continue without them. like I think throughout the origins plot she gets sooo homesick and she misses her family a lot..! like that was her whole life you know, and she’s still young despite everything that has happened. and I think tabris would’ve wanted children too — obvs not in her current age, but some day in the future she would’ve wanted her own kids and I think she would’ve grown to love nelaros too I mean I make her wear the wedding ring you can loot off of him until zev gives you his earring, but now she can’t have them bc she’s a grey warden, and she can’t even look out for her own family bc she’s a warden and she’s not supposed to have those ties anymore…. like it’s so bad for her! but she has to make her own peace with it … and I think she has enough sense of responsibility to take up that mantle of being a warden, and she’s willing to save these people (the very people who looks down on her bc she’s an elf) but it doesn’t mean she has to like it, or she’s happy about it, she just has to do it, u know…. but if such a choice was possible I think she would’ve wanted to go back home. but she can’t go home anymore so it is what it is … 😮‍💨

[unwelcome-ozian]

Self-doubt is encouraged. This is common in both cults and high-control religious and political groups as a means of control. It reinforces their fight against critical-thinking. You are encouraged to doubt yourself and your own moral and/or intellectual ability to discern the truth and you are encouraged to rely increasingly on the leader’s teachings or on a religious/political text and those leaders who can supposedly interpret it correctly for you. Members are frequently reminded of the leaders’ qualifications, knowledge, intelligence and experience and these are often over-played and exaggerated so that members view them as experts and sages. You are encouraged to see them as having a much greater ability to discern the truth than you do.

[critical-skeptic]

Science Is Definitely Not For Idiots

Let’s indulge in a merciless, blistering critique of the shallow, willful ignorance permeating this brand of anti-science rhetoric, dissecting its roots in conspiratorial bias, intellectual laziness, and performative outrage.

Oh, the Tragedy of Basic Understanding

It’s truly impressive—and by “impressive,” I mean depressingly consistent—that the people peddling this kind of hollow, thoughtless rhetoric misunderstand the scientific process at a molecular level. The meme captures, with unwitting precision, their simultaneous failure to grasp grade-school concepts and their smug certainty in misrepresenting those concepts to reinforce their biases.

Let’s start with a fundamental truth that should not be revolutionary to anyone past the age of seven: science is not a religion. It’s not a dogma. It’s not an oracle that dispenses unchanging, eternal truths upon demand. Science is a method. It’s a process of forming hypotheses, testing those hypotheses, collecting data, and refining or discarding ideas based on evidence. Science changes precisely because it is tethered to reality, evidence, and the willingness to abandon ideas when they are proven wrong. This adaptability is a feature, not a flaw.

Why, Then, Is This So Hard to Grasp?

The simple answer is: it’s not. The complex answer is that it serves a rhetorical purpose for those who don’t actually care about science but instead weaponize their misunderstanding as a cultural wedge. This strain of ignorance feeds on QMAGA conspiratorial thinking, which thrives on two key beliefs: (1) everything is a hidden plot against “common folks” and (2) expertise and knowledge are inherently suspicious, because they threaten their worldview of comfortable certainties.

So when science changes because new evidence emerges, these people don’t see that as progress. They see it as “proof” that science is unreliable, elitist, or even malicious. They are not interested in improving their understanding. Why bother, when the real purpose is to bludgeon reality into submission and reinforce their fragile sense of self-righteous superiority?

Irony, Ignorance, and the Ouroboros of Confidence

The layers of irony here are too thick to chisel through without breaking a sweat. These are the same people who, when faced with the implications of scientific evidence—be it climate change, vaccine efficacy, or public health measures—scream, “TRUST THE SCIENCE, RIGHT?” while flailing their arms and huffing with indignation. They misinterpret “trust the science” to mean “accept the current consensus as immutable dogma.” But no. That’s not what it means. It never was.

To any actual adult human being who graduated elementary school, “trust the science” means trusting the process: the peer review, the repeatability of experiments, the transparent presentation of data. Science builds, self-corrects, and grows stronger through this critical, open process. But these crusaders aren’t interested in that. They want science to be a one-time proclamation that aligns with their worldview, or they’ll smear it as fraudulent.

It’s almost poetic how they present themselves as warriors against the shifting sands of scientific evidence when, in reality, they are terrified of change itself. Any new data or conclusion that doesn’t confirm their beliefs is an attack on them personally. It’s a conspiracy. It’s the “elites.” It’s “big pharma” or “big science” or whatever imaginary cabal they’ve conjured this week to feel less impotent.

The Perpetual Victim Complex of Anti-Intellectualism

It must be exhausting to maintain this level of willful ignorance, where reality is a personal affront and facts are pliable things that exist only to inconvenience you. This meme is a snapshot of that perpetual victimhood—the idea that they are somehow being “held accountable” for their past words or actions by a “shifting” science.

Let’s talk about accountability. Accountability isn’t persecution; it’s part of intellectual growth. When the evidence changes, your conclusions must change. Otherwise, you’re not practicing critical thinking; you’re entrenching yourself in dogma. And what’s worse, you’re pretending that this obstinance makes you brave or wise. It doesn’t. It makes you fragile and unfit for complex discussions about society, health, technology, or the future.

A Reality Check (Not That You’ll Accept It)

If you honestly want to challenge science, you can. But here’s the catch: you have to play by the rules of the scientific method. You have to know how to read data, perform tests, and understand statistics. You have to submit your findings for peer review. You have to accept criticism and the possibility that you’re wrong. This isn’t a fucking Facebook argument you can win by memes or shouting louder. This is real life.

And the beauty of science? When you bring legitimate evidence, it changes. Yes, that is how reality works. This is what separates it from your shallow, performative, armchair “gotchas” on social media. “But muh science changed!” you scream. Yes, it changed because it is supposed to. It’s time you grew up enough to realize that clinging to static “truths” is for dogmatists, not for rational adults.

In Conclusion: Unmasking Your Bad Faith

When you smugly meme about “The Science,” you’re not making a brave stand for truth or holding anyone accountable. You’re outing yourself as a coward who cannot handle complexity or self-reflection. You are not challenging a system; you are merely whining that the system expects you to grow and learn. And that, in the end, is the core of this conspiracy-fueled charade. Not the pursuit of truth. Not accountability. Just pure, undiluted fear of a world that will not stay comfortably within the lines you’ve drawn.

Try harder next time. Science demands it. Reality demands it. And frankly, we all deserve better than this clownish drivel.