#some of the theories seem so incredibly true but how much time are people spending on scraping thru every. piece. of media.

[swagyna]

ok so im tentatively still a gaylor, but after the last few days of thinking hard on it.... tbh i can't help but wonder if it's just a PR stunt.

she knows her fans look for hidden meanings in her songs and she knows we look for clues. it doesn't seem to be too far fetched for her to simply set a trend and have her friends follow suit.

on top of that as well, it's mainstream to be ~kWeEr~ rn, so simply hinting at being not straight is enough to get you a new label; a massive new fanbase, which means new revenue.

and even before getting into the gaylore, ive been a heavy critic of TS because of how capitalistic she is. taking her private jet EVERYWHERE, giant mansions, midnight having FOUR different vinyl releases??? i do enjoy her work, but that doesn't mean she's free from criticism.

pretty much, unless she comes out as SSA, i can't help but think there's a shitload of baiting going on. i mean, we don't know who she is?? she's clearly an amazing business woman, very intelligent. it just wouldn't shock me if she's being disingenuous to make more money. but at this point, why does she need more LOL she's projected to gross $1 billion with this tour.

[nohoperadio]

I feel like I don't take enough advantage of the faculty of imagination. I have the option available to me, at every moment, to imagine any kind of wacky scenario I want, like maybe, like what if I was on some sort of different planet or something... whatever the details aren't important. But I never do basically! (<- look at that I can't even be bothered to come up with something good to imagine for illustrative purposes in this post)

My ex had aphantasia (I was in the room with her when she first figured this out) and was really upset about it, like almost kind of traumatized by it, in part because making art was a big part of her identity and it seemed to impose a skill cap on that, but also because of the feeling of suddenly finding out everyone except you has this amazing superpower and thinking of how great it would be to conjure whatever images you want at any time. And part of what I responded to her was like yeah I can see how it sounds like this incredible thing but it's way less exciting than you think, people don't actually spend their time sitting around playing all these cool movies in their head, that's not really a thing.

Which I think is true, it's true of myself anyway, I guess I don't know how much it's true in general? People daydream, I daydream, but most of my daydreaming is about interactions with people, like conversations that I'm anticipating or remembering or dreading or desiring, which don't require much in the way of cinematic presentation. I guess sexual fantasy is the other category of daydreams I have, which admittedly involves somewhat more graphical processing, although even then less than one might expect. I think those might be the only two things I actively use my imagination for? Reading fiction uses it a little bit, although again less than you'd think, and that's obviously a more passive kind of thing. Just seems kinda depressingly limited when I spell it out like that! Given that in theory there are like infinity possibilities.

Am I unusually boring here, are other people having better daydreams than me? Obviously some people, like writers (most obviously but not exclusively writers of fiction and poetry (actually does poetry even deserve a mention here, do poets actually try to describe things these days?)) and many kinds of visual artists are doing this in a very disciplined way, although plausibly they wouldn't bother doing so if it wasn't in service of some concrete finished product. Dunno. If you have interesting daydreams I wanna hear from you.

[just-promise-me-jm]

An essay no one asked for

It was a long stressful day today so when I was taking a break from work I decided to do a quick scroll through social media to see what had been going on today.

Unsurprisingly, I almost immediately came across a number of posts trying to shade Jimin or make fun of his fans along with the typical "fuck solos" type narratives that seem so popular these days. All I really wanted to see were cute pictures of Jimin on his way to Hungary or hear some theories on what he might be doing there.

In fact, here is a cute Jimin pic to thank you for taking the time to even read the rest of this:

credit to @UpdateParkJimin

So here is a short list of a few of the things I saw just today:

Jimin is obviously copying JK by going to film something in Hungary (such a stupid theory and I saw someone post that Seventeen actually went there first)

Jimin isn't as popular as JK because he didn't get mobbed by his fans (tbh they seemed very well behaved and I was proud that they didn't act like absolute fools and put Jimin in danger)

Jimin and the remaining members should just shave their heads already and go to the military so that we can get the promised 2025 reunion (absolute nonsense and a highly problematic take)

Solos are the worst and should be eradicated from the fandom (just because you are a solo it doesn't make you toxic, just like being an ARMY doesn't mean you are a good person)

Obviously I'm sure there is a lot more than that but that is all I had the pleasure of seeing on my break. Now most of these aren't totally new, just the same story with a different font, but it doesn't make it any more fun each time they go around. I could go into detail on any of these but to be honest most of them are so shallow and stupid that it's not even worth bothering.

What I really want to focus on today is the narrative that solos are toxic and something that needs to be removed from fandom spaces. The reality is that almost everyone in the fandom has a self-professed bias that they proudly display in their bio or profile pic. Even if they have a tiny seven somewhere in there, it doesn't make that fact any less true. I think it's natural to be more drawn to one person, one type of food, one pair of shoes, etc. as your favorite and it's incredibly rare that anyone can honestly say that they "love everyone equally" (even if it's your mom saying she doesn't have a favorite child, I don't believe her).

Like I said above, I know that some solos are toxic just like I know some ARMY are toxic. Again, I think that unfortunately it's natural that some people are going to just be shitty people no matter what. What it really all comes down to is how you treat others and how you conduct yourself in these fandom spaces. I said this in my first post but I'll say it here again - you and I don't have to agree on everything to treat each other with respect and decency. But if you come into a space and harass others and generally act like an idiot then yea you should be barred from those spaces. Painting a whole group in broad brushstrokes, however, is not the solution.

Saying you "hate solos" (which let's be real - it's often just a thinly veiled way to hate on PJMs or other Jimin supporters) just means that you are stereotyping a whole group of people that hold a variety of beliefs, feelings and behaviors. If you see something truly problematic that someone is posting or saying do what you are supposed to do - block and report. If it's just that someone doesn't agree with you or if you have some sick obsession with Jimin and his success - do me a favor and turn off your phone for a bit. Calling other people names and harassing them because they don't think your fave is the greatest thing ever is just pathological.

We live in a really messy world and I will never understand the desire to make it messier for others by being a dick. A much better way to spend your time and energy in a fandom is to actually do the things that help support your bias - stream, buy, vote, and share them with others who might not have found them yet. Or be like me and write multiple paragraphs that people may never read in an attempt to call out some real bullshit that is going on.

If you read this, I appreciate really it 💗.

Here is another Jimin for your time:

[darlingunknow]

Theory

I'm a huge fan of Black Clover, and for me, the perfect ending would be Asta becoming the Wizard King. But, can we talk about the possibility of that not happening? There's a small chance this might not come true (I don’t want it to happen, but it's a possibility we need to consider).

You might ask why I think that's a possibility, so here's my reasoning (maybe what I say doesn't make much sense, but bear with me). In terms of hierarchy, Asta is still just a regular knight. Has he saved the kingdom multiple times? Yes. Is he one of the most powerful characters among the Magic Knights? Absolutely. But despite all that, he remains a simple knight.

I believe people underestimate the importance of hierarchy, but it's crucial. It teaches responsibility, organization, and leadership. When you become a vice-captain, you start to feel some of the responsibilities that a captain has, but not to the same extent. You begin learning how to lead. As a captain, you not only have to manage people, money, missions, and everyday tasks, but also motivate, protect, and be someone people want to follow. Yami, for instance, might sometimes seem like he's not the best captain, but in my opinion, he's an incredible leader. He always pushes his squad to surpass their limits (he's not afraid of his subordinates evolving, but rather encourages them to improve every day because he knows they can). He also protects them when necessary—interrupting Asta's trial is a great example of that. He's just a guy with a small stomach problem who likes to spend some money.

Another point is that if you want to be the Wizard King, it’s not enough to be the most powerful; you have to prove you’re a capable leader and will be a great emperor. Power is important, but you need to show everyone you have the leadership skills to be the next Wizard King.

In my opinion, Asta is a great leader, even without holding an official leadership position. He protects and cares about everyone, and he motivates people without even realizing it (even the captains feel inspired by him). However, as I mentioned before, he’s still just a knight, and we can’t ignore the existence of the hierarchy.

Lastly, we know Julius likely had someone in mind as his successor. Even though he’s now a demon and the villain, he must have mentioned his choice to someone, probably Marx. And even if Julius chose Asta, I don’t think Asta would accept it right away. He’s not someone who would “skip” steps, and he knows there are people more powerful and more prepared than him. His dream is to become the Wizard King, but I believe he wouldn’t accept it if he felt there were others more qualified than him.

[earlgreytea68]

A few years ago, I found that I had to teach Hamlet to a class. I hadn't read Hamlet since senior year of high school, so I re-read it one summer so I would remember enough to be able to teach it.

And I'm sitting there reading this play and I'm like, "Oh, my God, this play is so good." I kept saying to my family, "I don't think you understand, this play is SO INCREDIBLY GOOD." And it seemed so ridiculous of me, like, most people would say that it's the best play ever written in the English language, hands down, without a doubt. But when I read it as a senior in high school, I just...didn't get it. Like, I don't remember being at all impressed with it. The teacher was like, "IT'S THE BEST PLAY EVER WRITTEN," and I was like, "...whatever." And then I read it as an adult and I was just like, NO, IT IS ASTONISHINGLY GOOD, I CAN'T GET OVER IT, and I suddenly understood why people say it's the best play ever written, like, it is REALLY GOOD.

Anyway, that experience stuck with me. It occurred to me that maybe many of the Great Literature we get assigned to read in high school and college we're just too young for. We're not ready yet to grasp how good it all really is.

So I was thinking that maybe I should reread some of the things I read in high school and college that I just didn't like, on the theory that maybe I was too young and didn't get it. And then I learned about this app called Serial that will send you an installment of a public domain book, no more than 20 minutes reading every day. It seemed like a good way to tackle a project like this, made it doable. Like, "Oh, I'm going to read War and Peace," but "I'm going to spend 20 minutes a day tackling War and Peace."

Actually, I didn't start with War and Peace. I did like some Russian literature in college, Chekhov remains one of my absolute favorites, but Idk, I wasn't inspired to do Russian literature. I decided instead to tackle Dickens.

Why? Because Dickens is one of my MOST-HATED WRITERS. I HATE DICKENS. I had to read so much Dickens in high school and I hated every single bit of it. Not true, I remember liking A Tale of Two Cities. But I hated Great Expectations and I hated Oliver Twist and I hated A Christmas Carol, which we read EVERY YEAR from fourth grade to eighth grade, like, ENOUGH WITH THE DOORNAILS VS. COFFIN-NAILS, CHARLES DICKENS, ENOUGH.

But everywhere you look, people are like, "Dickens: one of the best English writers ever," and I'm just like, What is the deal with everyone and Dickens! Maybe I just didn't get it, like with Hamlet.

People recommended Bleak House to me because it has to do with law but given the time of year I decided to start with A Christmas Carol. The first installment came and oh, look, there in the second paragraph is that stupid doornails vs. coffin-nails thing and I hate that whole aside so much and I was just like, WHY. WHY IS DICKENS LIKE THIS. HE IS SO ANNOYING.

Well. I am now three installments in and...this is a good book????? hahahahah I cannot believe it! But I am enjoying it! I am absolutely shocked! Were people right about Dickens, too????

Look, here's the thing: I think the man is bonkers. Like, his comparisons are absolutely off-the-wall. He's always off on some stupid aside nobody cares about. But whereas that annoyed me when I was younger and having to read the book to take a test on it later, now I'm just like, What is this man on about???? What is this man ON?????? Like, Dickens is so tongue-in-cheek, right??? And I missed that the whole time??? Maybe it's just A Christmas Carol, which makes sense, but I cannot believe how hilarious it is. Scrooge is actually funny! He says funny things! And Dickens keeps using droll little adverbs to describe what he's doing and it is cracking me up! But it also legit creepy! But also it is just WILD.

Like, look at that simile above. "Like a bad lobster in a dark cellar." What the hell does that even mean???? I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW, because it is absolutely hilarious, I'm just like, "Go on, Chuck, it was like a bad lobster in a dark cellar, uh-huh, what's next?"

I think when I was younger I thought being told, "This guy is one of the best writers of all time," meant that he had to be SERIOUS. Like, my impression of literature is that it was SERIOUS. And that is something that really annoys me now, but as a young person, that's what I thought. And now I'm like, no, actually, you can be one of the best writers of all time specifically because you know how to use words in all sorts of ways, not just serious ones, and it feels like it took me a long time to realize it, but maybe I like Dickens? I'll see how the rest of the story goes.

I WILL NEVER LIKE EMERSON AND THOREAU, THOUGH, THEY REMAIN MY NEMESES.

[breakerwhiskey]

209 - TWO HUNDRED NINE

Please visit breakerwhiskey.com for more information or to send a message to Whiskey's radio. Breaker Whiskey is an Atypical Artists production created by Lauren Shippen. If you'd like to support the show, please visit patreon.com/breakerwhiskey.

Transcript under the cut. For more episodes, click here.

[click, static]

You know, it’s so funny how people don’t change, even in the kind of extraordinary circumstance we’re in. The apocalypse, an empty world, seven years of trying to find each other and Donnie still cannot wake up before ten AM.

I don’t know when I became an early riser. I thought it was one of those things that just happened as you got older, but it clearly doesn’t happen to everybody. Donnie’s older than me and he still sleeps like a teenager.

I…I’m not sure where to begin in talking about him. We spent hours yesterday, sitting at the kitchen table and shooting the shit. We had a hell of a lot to catch up on.

I know you might be curious, whoever you are, what Don was up to all this time. But that’s another thing he wants to keep to himself. I’m not sure why—from what he’s told me, it’s not like there’s anything particularly of note from the last seven years, aside from the particulars of surviving—but I’m going to respect his choice. I guess that’s another way that he hasn’t changed—you spend decades keeping certain information siloed from one part of your life and other information siloed from another part and that just becomes…normal.

That was a bit of a theme among the crew, I guess. Pete was incredibly secretive about his home life—where he lived, who he lived with. He could’ve had a wife and kids for all we knew. Don didn’t talk much about his family, even though he saw them all the time, and they didn’t know about us; even Harry’s parents were still around, in New York no less, but I didn’t even know that until we were here. As far as they were concerned, she was a up-and-coming painter, which wasn’t untrue just…incomplete.

But besides being nostalgic about Chicago sometimes, Richie seemed to be like me — his whole life was one complete piece. Maybe that’s why we always got together at his place. And I guess we each had people—girlfriends, mostly—who we didn’t introduce to our…professional life, but I’m not sure either of us really took pains to hide it. Or, ever got very serious or committed in those parts of our lives.

I’m not good at compartmentalizing I don’t think. I guess that goes hand in hand with the way I tend to fixate on a particular thing or person, but I just don’t know how all of them could stand to lead such different lives depending on who they’re with. I don’t share Don’s inclination toward privacy, even knowing that talking on here might eventually lead to my ruin.

Not that I’ve told you everything. Not everything I have told you is true. But I don’t feel like I’m hiding when I talk on here.

That said…god, it is different talking to Don. (laughs) I mean, christ, it’s—it’s so good. To talk to someone who talks back, to talk to someone who knows me. I don’t have to explain certain things, I don’t have to make excuses for who I am or what I do. Not that I—well, I think I have done that a little, to you. Not knowing who I’m talking to, well, it makes me want to be a better version of myself, one who had a…I don’t know, dignified job. One who contributed to the world in a positive way instead of breaking it.

Don, god bless him, does not seem that pissed about the fact that he’s here because of me. Don’t get me wrong, he hates being here, he’s furious he is, but when I explained everything—my theory that killing Billings created some sort of branching timeline that we’re all stuck in, everyone who was affected by that action—he…he got it. He got why I did what I did. And he doesn’t blame me for it. After all, how the hell would I have known what would happen? There is…there is some comfort to be taken in that.

When he asked—I mean, he wondered why he was here of all people. He hasn’t seen Pete or Richie anywhere, and he’s looked, so he couldn’t figure why he was singled out. They were all awaiting trial so why is he—

[click, static]

I told him about Leann. That there are some random ripple effects, that there might be even more people out there who we’ve never even met that had the trajectory of their lives changed by what I did. That we may never really understand how and why the dominoes fell the way they did.

[click, static]

Anyway, I’m gonna see what I can scrounge up for breakfast. Maybe by the time he wakes up, I’ll be able to surprise Don with something. Seven years and he hasn’t once had the pleasure of waking up to someone else having made breakfast.

[click, static]

We haven’t talked about that yet, not really. The fact that he was alone and I had Harry. Whenever I tried to ask…

[click, static]

So, yeah, I’ll be off the radio for the rest of the day. We have even more catching up to do. Whiskey out.

[click, static]

[innocentcurse]

Walking through the picturesque streets of Cardinal Hill, you find Romeo Caldwell, the 29 year old doctor originally from Cardinal Hill, WA. Living alongside them in such a small town, you know that they're selfless and meek, but what you might not know is that they are a human, and that they’re hiding something… ― Cameron Monaghan, gay, man, and he/him.

Basics -

Full name: Romeo Laurence Caldwell

Nickname/s: Romy

Preferred name/s: Romeo, Romy for certain people

Gender: Man

Pronouns: He/him

Age: Twenty-nine

Birthday: February 28th

Zodiac: Pisces

Magic status: Non-magical, a human

Sexuality: Gay

Relationship status: Single

Occupation: Emergency department doctor at Cardinal Health

Hometown: Cardinal Hill, WA

Backstory -

Romeo was born ten minutes prior to his twin Rooney, the twins being born into a large family filled with witches.

He had an incredibly good childhood; he had a built in best friend who had shared a womb with, and magical parents who were absolutely extraordinary in his eyes.

He couldn't wait for the day that his powers manifested, but year after year, they never came. When his twin got their powers, he knew not to fret as biologically it was expected for his to come later, but then later came, and still, nothing.

It eventually became clear that Romeo was indeed not a witch. The devastation was incredibly complex; to be left out of his family was intense, and to see the look of disappointment when they all came to the conclusion that his powers would never come still haunts Romeo to this day.

Romeo tried his hardest to stay strong, but his father was particularly bad at hiding his disappointment, in fact, his father was at times completely terrible towards him because of his magic status.

His parents didn't stop loving him, nor did they stop spending time with him, but it was hard to watch them bond with his twin over their magical abilities when he couldn't be included, and the obvious favouritism really got to him.

To try to counter what he lacked in magical abilities, Romeo became an overachiever in school. It was the one thing that he had to work towards, and he wanted to make it count; he wanted to make his parents proud.

As he grew older, he only worked harder, and when his parents still didn't forgive him for being a dud ( not that they would ever use such wording to his face ) he'd work even harder again.

Romeo was always at the top of his class academically, and he spent most of his time away from his family attending meetings for his many extracurricular clubs.

His hard work paved his pathway to medical school, and Romeo worked harder than ever. He oftentimes wondered if he did have some magic powers due to how much he could juggle and achieve, but of course, he knew that it wasn't true.

He landed an internship at a hospital near the college he attended away from Cardinal Hill, and there he eventually got himself a full time job and a partner.

Romeo worked alongside his partner, who he had met at the beginning of his internship, and who helped him turn the internship into a real job after his studies concluded.

In theory it all sounded like a dream, but the thought that Romeo frequently had that nothing could ever go right for him seemed to be proven right once more as the relationship ended on bad terms - and naturally, so did his employment at the hospital.

Not sure on what else to do, Romeo moved back home to Cardinal Hill. It was nice to see his mom and his twin again, though it did remind him of how inadequate he felt compared to them.

Still the people pleaser that he's been since his powers never came, Romeo began working in the emergency department at Cardinal Health, and for once, things seem to be going at least somewhat smoothly now that he's settled into a new job, and particularly as it's something he's truly good at.

Personality & more -

To say that Romeo is a people pleaser is an absolute understatement. He has genuinely given people the shirt off of his back before; he'd put himself out greatly, even harming himself, for the sake of another.

He'll never feel good enough, he'll always struggle with feeling inadequate. How could you not when you're born into such a proud family of witches?

He's as sweet as can be; it would be hard to imagine him going through such strife, as he often has a darling smile on his face and he tries his best to stay positive.

Romeo is resilient, but at the same time, he's never forgotten a single thing that has upset him, and he thinks about those moments all the time.

His twin is his best friend, and they always will be. Certain things - namely their magical statuses - have definitely caused tension, but he loves them dearly. Rooney is the first person on his list of people he would do anything for.

[thruheavenandhighwater]

Pairing: Steve Harrington/ Eddie Munson (kinda?)

Requested By: NA

Word Count: 2,324

Summary: Steve gets just a bit defensive when the people around him continue to insist that he's got feelings for Eddie.

Based on the song I Won't Say I'm In Love from Disney's Hercules.

Stranger Things Masterlist

Steddie Masterlist

~~~~~

Steve was cautious with his heart. Guarded it behind a brick wall ten feet tall, barbed wire around the top, and a moat full of alligators. Ever since high school anyone dumb enough to get close would get close enough to see all of his warding and immediately turn tail and run. Which was good. Great, even. That's how he liked it. That's how it had to be.

He'd learned young that the honeymoon phase was not worth the pain that came once it all came crashing down. The aggravation, the hurt, the heartache. There was nobody that Steve would willingly ever put himself through that for. Not again. He'd done it once, and that was enough. Ancient history. Been there, done that.

"You know, you're not as hard to read as you think you are."

Robin's announcement from the passenger seat of his beemer caught him off guard. He glanced over to her for a moment, the lines on his forehead deepening with confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

"Eddie," she answered plainly as she pulled the visor down to check her mascara.

Steve nearly drove off the road. Nobody had been talking about Eddie. He hadn't come up in conversation one time all day, yet here she is acting like she knows something because she name dropped him out of nowhere.

"You're cracked," he sighed as he signaled a turn out of town.

"Am I?" She asked as she slammed the visor back up. "You're like, in love with the guy and you won't even admit it."

Steve gawked. His jaw slacked as he stared blindly at the road. He wasn't in love with Eddie. He hadn't been in love with anyone for a long time. That wall was solid.

"You really think I don't know you well enough to know? I'll admit, it took me a while to figure it out but once I had all the pieces, it was easy enough to see."

"Oh," Steve scoffed. "I can't wait to hear what pieces you think you have."

"You're joking, right?" He simply shrugged, eyebrows raised as he silently urged her to continue. She rolled her eyes and shifted in her seat. "You talk about him like he's some… some fantasy super hero or something. Like he's your whole world. Which, honestly, kinda rude when you consider that I'm like, right here."

Steve rolled his eyes dramatically. He rolled down his window just enough to let a bit of fresh air into the suddenly too warm car. He didn't do that. He didn't look at Eddie any type of way, and certainly no differently than he looked at everyone else. Okay, so maybe he was kinda cute. If you were into guys with frizzy hair and dimples. Which Steve very much is not.

"All I'm saying is that I can tell, and I guess I get it. You're not as good at hiding it as you seem to think you are. Just say that you're in love with him and I'll stop."

"I won't say it because it's not true."

It was the most ridiculous accusation Steve had ever heard. In love with Eddie Munson. One of the more unfounded theories Robin had come up with since they met. Right up there with thinking the underpaid teenagers at Burger King were putting mind control substances in the burgers to make you buy more fast food. Absolutely incredible. In love with Eddie Munson. No. Absolutely not.

Steve's heart had learned its lesson. I would feel good at first. He'd spend a few months on cloud nine, floating blissfully through life. But for what? To end up losing a battle with himself and crying his heart out on the drive home? No. Not again. It had been drilled into his head quickly and painfully and mercilessly. Nancy would apologize, eventually. A few years later when they were on friendlier terms again. But it didn't make the initial sting any less harsh.

The very next morning Dustin gave him a very similar, but much more harsh talking to. He had "missed" the bus and called Steve for a ride. It happened once a week at least, and conveniently only on days that Steve didn't have to work in the morning. Funny how that always seemed to work out. They had just pulled away from the Henderson home when Dustin decided it was his turn to make his case to Steve.

"So you're still acting like you're not crushing on Eddie?" Steve nearly turned the car into the ditch from the shock of it.

"Not you, too," he groaned as he righted the car.

"Oh, so you know that everyone knows?"

"There's nothing to know. I don't like Eddie, or whatever it is you all think."

"You've been past like for months, Steve. You're full on in love with him at this point."

"No, I'm not."

Dustin looked at him from the passenger seat. Steve could see him looking pensive in his peripherals, but he refused to look at him. First Robin and now Dustin? There has got to be something in the water lately that's making all of his friends lose their minds at the same time.

"I'm not buying it," Dustin announced. "I saw you last weekend at my place when he showed up. Practically hit the ceiling, followed him around like a puppy with that stupid little smile."

It took everything in Steve not to pull off the road and make Dustin walk the rest of the way. But he knew it would be pointless. He knew Dustin would refuse to get out and he'd end up driving him the rest of the way anyway. So he tightened his grip on the steering wheel and focused on the road. Just a few more miles to the school.

"If it helps, we're all pretty sure Eddie feels the same."

Steve groaned again, even louder this time. He turned to face Dustin. "He doesn't feel the same. There is no same to feel." He all but yelled. Dustin didn't even flinch, used to Steve's mini outbursts by now. "Look, we've all been through some shit, right? So we're all like, weirdly bonded or whatever. But that's it. I don't feel any different about him than I do about you or Jonathan or Max, got it?"

"You're being kinda childish," Dustin said pointedly. "Just face it. Be a grown up for five seconds and own up to the fact that you got it baaad for Eddie so that we can all move on."

Steve was quiet. He was annoyed, but he was quiet. He knew that there was no point in arguing. For as long as he's known Dustin Henderson, the boy had never backed down from anything. And he certainly never even entertained the idea that he might be wrong about something. So the car stayed silent for the rest of the drive. Dustin sat there with an unearned sense of accomplishment. Steve drove with his jaw clenched and his hand too tight around the wheel.

A few days later the person who had given him the lesson in heartbreak was the one to shock him, first into speechlessness and then into anger. They found themselves alone together in the pharmacy on a sunny Thursday afternoon. The weather was just starting to change, shifting from winter to Spring. The sun was bright and warm, a cool April breeze keeping it from being downright hot. Steve had rolled all his windows down and turned his music up loud on his drive to the pharmacy after work. It had been a perfect day. Had been, until Nancy Wheeler appeared at the opposite end of the first aid aisle and decided to speak her truth.

"Ya know, the kids all have a bet going about you," she told him, blue eyes scanning the back of the Tylenol bottle in her hand. He gave her a quizzical look. "To see how long it'll take you to make a move."

"A move on what?"

She took a breath, finally looking at him. "A move on Eddie."

He rolled his eyes, not really trusting himself to speak. Rich of her to think she gets to have an opinion on his love life when she was the one who had broken him almost beyond repair. He crossed his arms over his chest and took a step back from her.

"I'm just saying, we can all tell you've got a thing for him. You were all giggly last month at Will's birthday, and you kept doing that little sigh of yours. You know the one."

It was all very cliche. They see him laugh at one joke and all of the sudden everyone is convinced that it means he's in love. Eddie's just a funny guy. Well, that's not exactly true. But he tries to be funny, and Steve finds it endearing. It doesn't mean anything.

"I know your tells, Steve," she told him, trying to connect. "I know what your 'I love you' smile looks like. And you've been giving it to Eddie for months."

"You are so far off base, Nance," he sighed. He could feel himself beginning to edge towards anger. And it wasn't her fault, really. Or maybe it was. He couldn't tell anymore. All he knew was that Nancy was standing in front of him, pushing him towards something she thought he wanted.

"Listen, I don't know if this is a pride thing or-"

"A pride thing?" He repeated, shocking her as he cut her off. He felt his skin get hot beneath his clothes, despite the cold inside the pharmacy. A whirlwind of things ran through his mind as he looked down at her. He cleaned his jaw, eventually deciding that it wasn't worth it to start in on her. Not today. "Just… get off my case. Okay?"

And with that he placed the bottles he was holding back onto the shelf in front of him and turned towards the door.

He spent the drive home white knuckling the steering wheel. He was so mad. How dare Nancy Wheeler of all people think that she knows anything about him? Sure, they'd dated. They'd dated for a while, actually. And he'd loved her more than she loved him. And it had hurt like a bitch when she ran off with Jonathan and left him to pick up the pieces of his broken heart alone. She might have known him then. But that doesn't mean she knows him now.

As he got closer to the apartment he shared with Robin he decided that he wasn't ready to see her. He wasn't ready to tell her that his sour mood was the result of Nancy cornering him with the same accusation she had leveled against him a few days before. So he didn't go home. He turned left, then two rights until he was out of city limits. Nothing but miles and miles of empty two lane road ahead of him. He just needed to calm down.

So he drove. He fished around in the glovebox for some music. He blindly pulled a cassette from the glovebox and shoved it into the tape deck just a little too hard. He turned the volume knob just enough to hear the chorus of Panic by Anthrax. It was loud and fast and it should have annoyed him. But it didn't. He couldn't be annoyed by it, knowing that this was the last song Eddie had listened to in his car. It was only two days ago when Steve had dropped him off at home after a get together with The Party. Eddie had one beer and decided he simply couldn't drive home. It was a flimsy excuse to use Steve's radio to listen to his angry metal music without having to worry about silly little things like stop signs or pedestrians.

As the song continued, he thought back to two nights ago. Eddie was in his now empty passenger seat. He pulled the cassette from his vest pocket like he was surprised to find it there. Steve simply rolled his eyes and allowed him to replace Bruce Springsteen with Anthrax. Eddie cranked the volume and alternated between air guitar and air drums through the first three songs. But Panic, he had announced, was his favorite. He sat back, almost still, as he listened. The only movement was his fingertips drumming against his thigh as they pulled into the trailer park Eddie called home.

As soon as the car was parked Steve stopped the tape. He'd moan and groan about having a headache. He'd lie through his perfect teeth about Eddie's music being too loud, too annoying. But he knew that he wanted to be able to go back and listen to Eddie's favorite song again. He wanted to learn the words and the melodies. He wanted to be the one to drum the tune against Eddie's thigh.

Steve took his foot off the gas pedal and allowed himself to idle to a stop. He put the car in park right there on the side of county road 14. There was nothing around for miles. Just Steve and the growing corn around him. He was in love with Eddie Munson.

He wanted to tap out melodies on his lap. He wanted to know what his hair smelled like. He wanted to spend every night learning new things about him. He wanted to pull him in by that stupid denim vest and kiss him until his lungs ran out of air.

He was in love with Eddie Munson.

But he wasn't going to say it. He'd never say it. He'd never put himself back in that position. The one where a single person has the power to break you.

He was in love with Eddie Munson. But he wasn't going to say it. At least, out loud he wasn't going to say it.

~~~~~

I feel soooooo much better about this fic than I did about Snowed In. Anyway, hope you all enjoy!! I literally wrote this over like maybe three days so it was wicked fast but ugh I loved it. Feedback is always appreciated!! 🥰🥰🥰

[hologramcowboy]

Since you like speculation and theories, can i share some of my own? Remember, is pure speculation, so it's not mean to offend anyone.

This is my favorite one, and i would love it if it turns out to be true: You and the hooker witch are one and the same person.

Second theory: You are Jensen's helicopter mother. That would explain why you know everything that happens in the Ackles house hold, why you're low key toxic about Jensen's achivements and you justify your criticism with concern for him, would also explain why Jensen left his home at a young age to never return, and why that seems to bother you for some reason.

Finally my third theory: you are in the closet and you can't accept it, and/or are very afraid to come out. This fear is where your hate towards Danneel is rooted, because you probably feel very attracted to her, and you hate that fact.

This would also explain why you hate Jensen so much, and why you spend so much time trying to convince other people and yourself of Danneel's unatractivness.

@curiouswitches We are the same person and clearly we are the Queen that rules over this person's mind. Hahahahahahah While I do have an incredibly powerful maternal instinct, so does every woman who is in harmony with herself and that nurturing side extends to all others not just to kids. People usually look for their parent of the opposite sex in their partners so if you say I am like Jensen's mom then I'm his ideal relationship wise. lol I do have on thing in common with mommy Ackles and it is the highest possible thing but I won't share what that is. P.S.: Hello, mommy Ackles, call me! ;) Let's go shopping together, it seems we have a lot in common according to this anon. Let's connect. Third one is incredibly stupid because it assumes that people don't have personal tastes and that Danneel is somehow universally attractive, how delusional are you on a scale of 1 to 10? 200! lol

Oh, and as secure, attractive woman who is in harmony with herself, I have no problem admitting when another woman is breathtakingly beautiful. Here's a list of my main female "crushes":

Sofia Vergara (Jensen's actual celebrity crush but, for the record, I liked her first) She and I have something in common, won't say what. lol

Adriana Lima

Taylor Hill

Angelina Jolie

Kelly Hu - young and current, she's always been the epitome of beauty.

Margot Robbie

Catherine Zeta Jones

Beyonce

Aishwarya Rai

Monica Bellucci

I could go on but what all these women have in common is that, if you remove their make-up, they are still as breathtakingly gorgeous as they are with make-up, if not more. (I hate the overdone make-up look) It's called natural beauty and, in my humble opinion, it's the best kind of pure and real beauty that exists. Danneel? Sans extensions, fake lashes, kilos of make-up and botox, she looks unrecognizable and that's putting it lightly. Oh, would you look at that, no Elta in that list. Hahahahaha Could it be because she's creepy as f, disgusting inside and made of plastic? I don't call her PlastiKween for nothing. I never try to convince anyone of anything, my blog is focused differently but I can see how someone limited would assume I act like them. *cough* You *cough* In fact, You are the one trying to convince everyone that I am THIS and THAT, aren't you? How's that working out for you? Is that working out well? lol These women also have a breathtaking femininity about them and a sensuality that is overwhelming, they are, basically, the opposite of everything Danneel is type wise as she is vulgar, tomboyish, plays on her sexuality in off putting ways that demean women, lacks grace and class completely. That being said, this post is just immensely entertaining so A+ for that but next time try to avoid intentions like outing people or, in any case, assuming their sexual identity, that's not only rude it also classifies as abuse. You lack class and empathy, that's for sure. My sexual identity, much like Jensen's is none of your business. Read that again. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you just made a stupid joke without realizing what you were doing. I am sorry for being so harsh but I have a lot of queer friends and the thing I hate the most is when people weaponize their sexuality or try to judge them for it. I can be whatever I want to be and so can they. Little charisma lesson, for future reference, it's classy, intelligent and empathetic to respect boundaries and steer clear of certain assumptions. If you wish to connect with someone over sexuality there are other ways to do that without being invasive and without violating their identity. Now, let me put forth another theory: It gets to you that some women can be more attractive, intelligent, high quality than Danneel and that the list is endless. That's because it forces you to face the fact that you've lowered your standards to stan a z lister with no culture whose only claim to fame is nakedness and banging Jensen. You suspect I am indeed more than her that's why you keep coming back to my blog, because, in reality, you are projecting the negative beliefs YOU have about her and Jensen unto me. You cannot own your own shadow side so you try to project it unto others. You are not in harmony with yourself and your self loathing levels are much higher than your self appreciation. You perceive me as more than you so you need me to validate your positive perceptions about Danneel, I'm not more than anyone, by the way, and sorry but I can't confirm your perceptions because mine are completely different and clearly you resonate with them on some level and are too afraid to admit what you really think about Danneel. The only love you feel for Jensen is a pathological obsession with an idea of him, you objectify him to extremes and only "love" Danneel because she is associated with him. If he were to divorce her tomorrow and marry me or someone else then you'd have a brand new "Kweeeeen". You are incapable of thinking for yourself so you subjugate your values to Jensen and Danneel's because of this, your personality is under developed due to this and you miss out on a lot of your goals and dreams because you are focused on the wrong people instead of focusing on your happiness.

Finally, and this is just pure speculation and gossip so please never take it seriously, after all, what do I know about myself: I naturally find people like her low quality. I'm not the only one. To give you a simple analogy: What is a real doctor going to think about some drug addicted psycho who sells drugs and calls themselves a doctor? That's exactly it. That analogy explains why I dislike Danneel, I'm of a certain type and quality and she is the cheap, fake, plastic, uncultured version. I am sorry, I realize this will come off as mean but it is what it is. Another analogy: What's a highly trained, brilliant actor going to think about an amateur who gets cast because they banged the shady producer? There you go, please don't ever wonder why someone like me can't stand someone like Danneel, she's the poorest excuse of an "actress" and "artist" and don't even get me started on the humanity side, it truly makes me cry that Jensen ended up with someone so low quality, vapid, devaluing and fake and I hope, with all of my heart and soul, that he will soon move on to someone higher, capable of loving him deeply but in order to do that he has to first get back in harmony with himself. I'm someone who is incredibly direct and blunt and who loves critical thinking, for this reason, a lot of my opinions trigger people, because they are used to black and white notions and being judgemental so they project that unto me but I am one of the least judgemental people you will ever meet in life, ironically. There's a huge difference between judging and discerning. I am a person who discerns way more than I will ever judge. I love Jensen in my own unique way and have way more in common with him than you think but that doesn't mean I turn a blind eye any more than I ever would with anyone close to me, truly appreciating someone isn't just seeing rainbows and positive qualities, it's also calling people out, pointing our areas where they can improve, holding them to the best of standards and inspiring the best in them rather than letting them wallow in self pity, toxicity and other negative states. I have an extremely practical mind and that benefits everyone in my life because I am usually the one person that will tell them what the next step is to reach their goals because I am unafraid to bring up what is missing and I do so candidly. It's perfectly okay that you don't appreciate me and that you truly cannot comprehend how I view Jensen, you ignore all of my praise of him and only focus on the things about him that are rightfully off, except you try to twist them as if I am responsible for them. That's perfectly fine but know that it defines YOUR scope and intentions not mine. Also, you offended no one but your own intelligence, I guess. I found this post hilarious. lol

[iheartchv]

Hello there! if it isn't too much trouble may I request a romantic cod matchup please if you're still doing them and aren't swamped already? I'm Hal, my pronouns are She/They, I am 21 years old, 176cm or 5'9 height wise, and I tend to dress in a dark academia aesthetic, mainly with skirts fills and high heels cause I enjoy the power trip I get when I am over 6'3. I have chin length auburn hair (that does a very nice swirl thing like Mrs Incredible it makes me so happy), gray-green eyes, freckles, glasses and a slender hourglass figure. I would describe myself as a very sarcastic person who loves to make jokes (often the immature 'thats what she said' kind), and someone who likes to do fun fantasy escapism type activities (going to renfaire, playing DnD and RPG video games,etc.(I highly recommend the mass effect trilogy)). Peoples impressions of me range from cute and quiet to a straight up golden retriever. I am a pretty sedentary homebody most of the time though I can be more outgoing and confident when I am with people I know and usually they are some brand of weirdo or nerd (theater, Gamer, etc.) I also draw, make/alter clothes, learn about historical fashion, cook, and watch true crime. I have my issues, mainly with forgetfulness, anxiety, etc. making me a lowkey doomsday prepper because better safe than sorry, but I have always been the romantic daydreaming type and over time I have matured and am tired of new historical events making me more and more tired, I just want to find my person to do all of the things good, bad, easy, and hard with. I just want to make a home with them and be in their world. My love language is words of affirmation and acts of service.

🤔 I match you with...

Kyle "Gaz" Garrick 🚁

Gaz would be your match

He's the nerd of TF141

He would totally love to play DnD with you

Video games, comics, anything with pop culture, you name it

You and him could talk for hours on end about different video games, theories surrounding any game/comic lore, etc.

He'd feel so comfortable around you, and he would give that same vibe back to you, letting you know that you can be yourself around him

When you wear your heels, and tower a little over him, he'd only playfully scoff and roll his eyes

As he got to know you, and spend time with you, Gaz couldn't help but feel like he was falling for you

He'd notice any little detail on detail

The corners of your lips when you smiled, the way the sun light reflected off your eyes and streamed in your hair

He wants to tell you you're the most kindest, gorgeous girl he's ever seen

One day he gathers the courage to tell you how he felt for you

"I care about you... a lot. And I can't stop thinking about you... I like you."

"As in 'like' like?"

"Yeah..."

You both would be blushing, looking away and feeling nervous

But as soon as your eyes met, your hearts seemed to beat in sync...

... and you share a soft, sweet, and romantic kiss

He holds your hands in his and gives the your fingers and knuckles gentlemanly kisses

Gaz will tell you everyday that he loves you, and that you're beautiful, you're gorgeous, and you're so perfect

Ask him to do something for you and he will

Through the laughs and good times you've shared, he never thought he'd find the one for him, who was his best friend

[castleshedestroys]

🦉Positivity owl reporting for duty! This was sent by a friend who wants you to smile as much as your posts make them smile. Please list five things that make you unique, four things you are super passionate about and why, OR three of your favorite memories. Feel free to send the owl to those who you feel deserve to smile🦉

kree this is so cute! sorry it took me forever to respond, i had a busy work week. i think i’ll go with 4 things i’m super passionate about and why! response under the cut since this took so long…

music. i know this seems like a very cookie cutter answer, but genuinely music brings me so much joy. i play multiple instruments in several different ensembles. i send my friends voice memo covers of songs that have stuck with me. i minored in music in undergrad where i learned music history and music theory. one of my favorite things in the world is going to concerts. i cannot imagine how my life would’ve turned out without investing heavily into music/fine arts!

exercise. i fear that when i say this people imagine a crazed gym-bro-pilled ideology but that’s not really true. i’m all about empowering people to keep moving. even if it sucks, even if you don’t want to, find something that makes you wanna move! take a dance class, try going for walks after dinner, maybe even yoga? falling in love with movement is one of my biggest blessings.

dungeons & dragons. i started playing d&d in a pretty tumultuous time in my life. i felt incredibly isolated, was struggling with both my mental and physical health, and just needed something new. playing d&d has allowed me to feel more creatively fulfilled than i had in months and has given me several wonderfully kind groups of people to spend time with. it got me excited to leave the house again and helped me connect with people in a way i really needed.

writing? my relationship with writing is complicated. i always seem to fall in and out of love with it. i have done roleplaying, fanfiction, original poetry, songs, and more throughout my life. it always seems to blend into catharsis in some ways.

[r-2-peepoo]

There are so many reasons honestly. I will definitely not do them justice because I could probably write an entire dissertation on all the nuances of this ship, but here are some of the main reasons this ship is so appealing to people:

In terms of actual canon context, Obi Wan and Cody were very close friends. We unfortunately didn’t get to see much of it because TCW mostly focuses on the 501st but it’s still true. In articles about Cody, Obi Wan is always mentioned and when TCW was still airing, they were often paired together when it came to merch. While we see Anakin and the 501st wreaking havoc across the Galaxy, the 212th is out there too definitely being a lot more careful and Obi Wan and Cody will most likely be with each other. Basically, although we didn’t see much of it, Cody and Obi Wan were very close. In fact, due to their ranks, they probably spent more time with each other than they did with anyone else throughout the war. That’s three entire years together.

Another reason is how compatible they are. While they don’t seem that similar initially, they share a lot of similar personality traits, ie. seeming far more serious than the people around them (namely Rex, Ahsoka and Anakin) but being incredibly compassionate simultaneously. They also have the potential to teach each other a lot but they’re similar enough that it wouldn’t cause conflict. There is a reason the Obi Wan is the golden boy of the Jedi Order and why all of Cody’s brothers look up to him and it’s because they’ve earned those reputations by being genuinely good people who deserve the ranks and achievements.

There’s also, of course, the infamous Tatooine Husbands storyline that was cut from the Kenobi series. Although it never came to be, that storyline exists in hundreds of Codywan fanfictions and so the very idea that it was considered by the writers really validated a lot of our theories and reassured us that we didn’t just pull this relationship out of nowhere, even if it’s merely platonic.

Personally, I find them a lot more compelling together than most actual Star Wars romance. What I enjoy the most is that there’s no toxicity. There’s no universe in which they’d have an enemies to lovers dynamic or anything like that. They’re both incredible communicators who are remarkably kind, empathetic people too, and they already have a strong foundation for a relationship too given how much time they spend together. It’s so refreshing to have a ship that just wholesome. The Galaxy around them isn’t as kind, but they’re kind to each other. They share a similar burden given the responsibility that was forced on them and the subsequent guilt they deal with because of it and they can confide in one another over it too. There’s a sort of peace they can give one another that they can’t find anywhere else because of their shared experiences.

And in regards to the power dynamic, we have a way around that too. Obi Wan is inherently a good person. That much is objectively true. He loves and respects everyone around him. If he had feelings for Cody, there is absolutely no way he would ever try and pursue anything with him because he cares about him and his free will far too much to ever put him in a position like that. It’s very much an after the war thing. They’d talk about what they’d do when the war ends (aka actually finally be able to be together) but obviously that would never be a possibility for them unless you count the missing Tatooine Husbands arc or you just do as most of us do and just pretend Order 66 never even happened in the first place.

Hopefully this was an okay explanation bc I could go on for so much longer. I’ll admit I didn’t completely understand the ship at first either, but once you really get into them you start to understand how how wonderful they really could be. But you’re right in that they should’ve been explored more. That’s why we’re all praying that Cody survives TBB s2 so we can see more of him in particular and how Order 66 affected him.

no offense to codywan shippers (ya'll are cool and create great fan stuff) seriously, codywan art and fanworks are some of the most detailed, and well thought out pieces i've seen.

but why do you guys ship codywan? they've exchanged like maybe, two sentences per episode they make an appearance in and its mostly about military affairs. they have a relationship you'd expect between like, somewhat affable coworkers. there's more evidence for rex and hunter than there is for cody and obi wan.

you know, i saw a bunch of codywan shippers and codywan fanart and fics when i first entered sw fandom and you know, i read some and thought "this is sweet. this is a cool dynamic. i could get behind this ship."

i'd like you all to keep in mind that i've never seen TCW at that point.

and then i watch TCW and i'm like, you don't even talk to each other. obi wan is in love with hillary clinton for some reason? cody is one of those rare characters where he has zero lines, but you can tell that he has a separate life outside of whatever bullshit he's put on screen for.

i see it as a "what could have been" ship; a ship that should have been explored a bit, even if the power dynamics are really fucked up, rather than yet another woman being fridged for a man. but like, what made you guys codywan stans?

i'm curious, so hit me with your reasons. i'm not dragging codywan-some of my favorite ships are characters that have exchanged a LOOK, not even dialogue. you guys have more basis than me.

[missmentelle]

Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things

If you’ve been paying attention for the last couple of years, you might have noticed that the world has a bit of a misinformation problem. 

The problem isn’t just with the recent election conspiracies, either. The last couple of years has brought us the rise (and occasionally fall) of misinformation-based movements like:

Sandy Hook conspiracies

Gamergate

Pizzagate

The MRA/incel/MGTOW movements

anti-vaxxers

flat-earthers

the birther movement

the Illuminati 

climate change denial

Spygate

Holocaust denial 

COVID-19 denial 

5G panic 

QAnon 

But why do people believe this stuff?

It would be easy - too easy - to say that people fall for this stuff because they’re stupid. We all want to believe that smart people like us are immune from being taken in by deranged conspiracies. But it’s just not that simple. People from all walks of life are going down these rabbit holes - people with degrees and professional careers and rich lives have fallen for these theories, leaving their loved ones baffled. Decades-long relationships have splintered this year, as the number of people flocking to these conspiracies out of nowhere reaches a fever pitch. 

So why do smart people start believing some incredibly stupid things? It’s because:

Our brains are built to identify patterns. 

Our brains fucking love puzzles and patterns. This is a well-known phenomenon called apophenia, and at one point, it was probably helpful for our survival - the prehistoric human who noticed patterns in things like animal migration, plant life cycles and the movement of the stars was probably a lot more likely to survive than the human who couldn’t figure out how to use natural clues to navigate or find food. 

The problem, though, is that we can’t really turn this off. Even when we’re presented with completely random data, we’ll see patterns. We see patterns in everything, even when there’s no pattern there. This is why people see Jesus in a burnt piece of toast or get superstitious about hockey playoffs or insist on always playing at a certain slot machine - our brains look for patterns in the constant barrage of random information in our daily lives, and insist that those patterns are really there, even when they’re completely imagined. 

A lot of conspiracy theories have their roots in people making connections between things that aren’t really connected. The belief that “vaccines cause autism” was bolstered by the fact that the first recognizable symptoms of autism happen to appear at roughly the same time that children receive one of their rounds of childhood immunizations - the two things are completely unconnected, but our brains have a hard time letting go of the pattern they see there. Likewise, many people were quick to latch on to the fact that early maps of COVID infections were extremely similar to maps of 5G coverage -  the fact that there’s a reasonable explanation for this (major cities are more likely to have both high COVID cases AND 5G networks) doesn’t change the fact that our brains just really, really want to see a connection there. 

Our brains love proportionality. 

Specifically, our brains like effects to be directly proportional to their causes - in other words, we like it when big events have big causes, and small causes only lead to small events. It’s uncomfortable for us when the reverse is true. And so anytime we feel like a “big” event (celebrity death, global pandemic, your precious child is diagnosed with autism) has a small or unsatisfying cause (car accident, pandemics just sort of happen every few decades, people just get autism sometimes), we sometimes feel the need to start looking around for the bigger, more sinister, “true” cause of that event. 

Consider, for instance, the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II. In 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot four times by a Turkish member of a known Italian paramilitary secret society who’d recently escaped from prison - on the surface, it seems like the sort of thing conspiracy theorists salivate over, seeing how it was an actual multinational conspiracy. But they never had much interest in the assassination attempt. Why? Because the Pope didn’t die. He recovered from his injuries and went right back to Pope-ing. The event didn’t have a serious outcome, and so people are content with the idea that one extremist carried it out. The death of Princess Diana, however, has been fertile ground for conspiracy theories; even though a woman dying in a car accident is less weird than a man being shot four times by a paid political assassin, her death has attracted more conspiracy theories because it had a bigger outcome. A princess dying in a car accident doesn’t feel big enough. It’s unsatisfying. We want such a monumentous moment in history to have a bigger, more interesting cause. 

These theories prey on pre-existing fear and anger. 

Are you a terrified new parent who wants the best for their child and feels anxious about having them injected with a substance you don’t totally understand? Congrats, you’re a prime target for the anti-vaccine movement. Are you a young white male who doesn’t like seeing more and more games aimed at women and minorities, and is worried that “your” gaming culture is being stolen from you? You might have been very interested in something called Gamergate. Are you a right-wing white person who worries that “your” country and way of life is being stolen by immigrants, non-Christians and coastal liberals? You’re going to love the “all left-wingers are Satantic pedo baby-eaters” messaging of QAnon. 

Misinformation and conspiracy theories are often aimed strategically at the anxieties and fears that people are already experiencing. No one likes being told that their fears are insane or irrational; it’s not hard to see why people gravitate towards communities that say “yes, you were right all along, and everyone who told you that you were nuts to be worried about this is just a dumb sheep. We believe you, and we have evidence that you were right along, right here.” Fear is a powerful motivator, and you can make people believe and do some pretty extreme things if you just keep telling them “yes, that thing you’re afraid of is true, but also it’s way worse than you could have ever imagined.”

Real information is often complicated, hard to understand, and inherently unsatisfying. 

The information that comes from the scientific community is often very frustrating for a layperson; we want science to have hard-and-fast answers, but it doesn’t. The closest you get to a straight answer is often “it depends” or “we don’t know, but we think X might be likely”. Understanding the results of a scientific study with any confidence requires knowing about sampling practices, error types, effect sizes, confidence intervals and publishing biases. Even asking a simple question like “is X bad for my child” will usually get you a complicated, uncertain answer - in most cases, it really just depends. Not understanding complex topics makes people afraid - it makes it hard to trust that they’re being given the right information, and that they’re making the right choices. 

Conspiracy theories and misinformation, on the other hand, are often simple, and they are certain. Vaccines bad. Natural things good. 5G bad. Organic food good. The reason girls won’t date you isn’t a complex combination of your social skills, hygiene, appearance, projected values, personal circumstances, degree of extroversion, luck and life phase - girls won’t date you because feminism is bad, and if we got rid of feminism you’d have a girlfriend. The reason Donald Trump was an unpopular president wasn’t a complex combination of his public bigotry, lack of decorum, lack of qualifications, open incompetence, nepotism, corruption, loss of soft power, refusal to uphold the basic responsibilities of his position or his constant lying - they hated him because he was fighting a secret sex cult and they’re all in it. 

Instead of making you feel stupid because you’re overwhelmed with complex information, expert opinions and uncertain advice, conspiracy theories make you feel smart - smarter, in fact, than everyone who doesn’t believe in them. And that’s a powerful thing for people living in a credential-heavy world. 

Many conspiracy theories are unfalsifiable. 

It is very difficult to prove a negative. If I tell you, for instance, that there’s no such thing as a purple swan, it would be very difficult for me to actually prove that to you - I could spend the rest of my life photographing swans and looking for swans and talking to people who know a lot about swans, and yet the slim possibility would still exist that there was a purple swan out there somewhere that I just hadn’t found yet. That’s why, in most circumstances, the burden of proof lies with the person making the extraordinary claim - if you tell me that purple swans exist, we should continue to assume that they don’t until you actually produce a purple swan. 

Conspiracy theories, however, are built so that it’s nearly impossible to “prove” them wrong. Is there any proof that the world’s top-ranking politicians and celebrities are all in a giant child sex trafficking cult? No. But can you prove that they aren’t in a child sex-trafficking cult? No, not really. Even if I, again, spent the rest of my life investigating celebrities and following celebrities and talking to people who know celebrities, I still couldn’t definitely prove that this cult doesn’t exist - there’s always a chance that the specific celebrities I’ve investigated just aren’t in the cult (but other ones are!) or that they’re hiding evidence of the cult even better than we think. Lack of evidence for a conspiracy theory is always treated as more evidence for the theory - we can’t find anything because this goes even higher up than we think! They’re even more sophisticated at hiding this than we thought! People deeply entrenched in these theories don’t even realize that they are stuck in a circular loop where everything seems to prove their theory right - they just see a mountain of “evidence” for their side. 

Our brains are very attached to information that we “learned” by ourselves.

Learning accurate information is not a particularly interactive or exciting experience. An expert or reliable source just presents the information to you in its entirety, you read or watch the information, and that’s the end of it. You can look for more information or look for clarification of something, but it’s a one-way street - the information is just laid out for you, you take what you need, end of story. 

Conspiracy theories, on the other hand, almost never show their hand all at once. They drop little breadcrumbs of information that slowly lead you where they want you to go. This is why conspiracy theorists are forever telling you to “do your research” - they know that if they tell you everything at once, you won’t believe them. Instead, they want you to indoctrinate yourself slowly over time, by taking the little hints they give you and running off to find or invent evidence that matches that clue. If I tell you that celebrities often wear symbols that identify them as part of a cult and that you should “do your research” about it, you can absolutely find evidence that substantiates my claim - there are literally millions of photos of celebrities out there, and anyone who looks hard enough is guaranteed to find common shapes, poses and themes that might just mean something (they don’t - eyes and triangles are incredibly common design elements, and if I took enough pictures of you, I could also “prove” that you also clearly display symbols that signal you’re in the cult). 

The fact that you “found” the evidence on your own, however, makes it more meaningful to you. We trust ourselves, and we trust that the patterns we uncover by ourselves are true. It doesn’t feel like you’re being fed misinformation - it feels like you’ve discovered an important truth that “they” didn’t want you to find, and you’ll hang onto that for dear life. 

Older people have not learned to be media-literate in a digital world. 

Fifty years ago, not just anyone could access popular media. All of this stuff had a huge barrier to entry - if you wanted to be on TV or be in the papers or have a radio show, you had to be a professional affiliated with a major media brand. Consumers didn’t have easy access to niche communities or alternative information - your sources of information were basically your local paper, the nightly news, and your morning radio show, and they all more or less agreed on the same set of facts. For decades, if it looked official and it appeared in print, you could probably trust that it was true. 

Of course, we live in a very different world today - today, any asshole can accumulate an audience of millions, even if they have no credentials and nothing they say is actually true (like “The Food Babe”, a blogger with no credentials in medicine, nutrition, health sciences, biology or chemistry who peddles health misinformation to the 3 million people who visit her blog every month). It’s very tough for older people (and some younger people) to get their heads around the fact that it’s very easy to create an “official-looking” news source, and that they can’t necessarily trust everything they find on the internet. When you combine that with a tendency toward “clickbait headlines” that often misrepresent the information in the article, you have a generation struggling to determine who they can trust in a media landscape that doesn’t at all resemble the media landscape they once knew. 

These beliefs become a part of someone’s identity. 

A person doesn’t tell you that they believe in anti-vaxx information - they tell you that they ARE an anti-vaxxer. Likewise, people will tell you that they ARE a flat-earther, a birther, or a Gamergater. By design, these beliefs are not meant to be something you have a casual relationship with, like your opinion of pizza toppings or how much you trust local weather forecasts - they are meant to form a core part of your identity. 

And once something becomes a core part of your identity, trying to make you stop believing it becomes almost impossible. Once we’ve formed an initial impression of something, facts just don’t change our minds. If you identify as an antivaxxer and I present evidence that disproves your beliefs, in your mind, I’m not correcting inaccurate information - I am launching a very personal attack against a core part of who you are. In fact, the more evidence I present, the more you will burrow down into your antivaxx beliefs, more confident than ever that you are right. Admitting that you are wrong about something that is important to you is painful, and your brain would prefer to simply deflect conflicting information rather than subject you to that pain.

We can see this at work with something called the confirmation bias. Simply put, once we believe something, our brains hold on to all evidence that that belief is true, and ignore evidence that it’s false. If I show you 100 articles that disprove your pet theory and 3 articles that confirm it, you’ll cling to those 3 articles and forget about the rest. Even if I show you nothing but articles that disprove your theory, you’ll likely go through them and pick out any ambiguous or conflicting information as evidence for “your side”, even if the conclusion of the article shows that you are wrong - our brains simply care about feeling right more than they care about what is actually true.  

There is a strong community aspect to these theories. 

There is no one quite as supportive or as understanding as a conspiracy theorist - provided, of course, that you believe in the same conspiracy theories that they do. People who start looking into these conspiracy theories are told that they aren’t crazy, and that their fears are totally valid. They’re told that the people in their lives who doubted them were just brainwashed sheep, but that they’ve finally found a community of people who get where they’re coming from. Whenever they report back to the group with the “evidence” they’ve found or the new elaborations on the conspiracy theory that they’ve been thinking of (“what if it’s even worse than we thought??”), they are given praise for their valuable contributions. These conspiracy groups often become important parts of people’s social networks - they can spend hours every day talking with like-minded people from these communities and sharing their ideas. 

Of course, the flipside of this is that anyone who starts to doubt or move away from the conspiracy immediately loses that community and social support. People who have broken away from antivaxx and QAnon often say that the hardest part of leaving was losing the community and friendships they’d built - not necessarily giving up on the theory itself. Many people are rejected by their real-life friends and family once they start to get entrenched in conspiracy theories; the friendships they build online in the course of researching these theories often become the only social supports they have left, and losing those supports means having no one to turn to at all. This is by design - the threat of losing your community has kept people trapped in abusive religious sects and cults for as long as those things have existed. 

[cherubchoirs]

Cyrus is an incredible person, albeit a terrible one. He had the intelligence to start an energy company, the charisma to start a cult, the courage to try to bend Gods to his will, and the self-control to completely repress his emotions for years. Almost anyone else with those traits, evil or not, could easily find peace or “show them all” or whatever just by collecting wealth, status, adoration, and the like. There must be so much rage and bitterness in Cyrus for that not to be enough for him.

I KINDA...ran away with some theories.....

YOU GET IT.......cyrus is so interesting in who he is and what we can piece together from the little we're given about him. what's most striking about his character is its intensity imo - his design is stark and troubled, his way of speaking is cold and matter-of-fact despite the subject matter, and his motivations belie something in him as deeply empathetic in contrast to his stance on emotions. he has achieved a ridiculous amount, he's clearly a genius in his field and what he chooses to study, but still he appears to be filled with so much pain that it's eating him away from the inside.

nothing is good enough for cyrus, he can never be perfect no matter what he manages to accomplish because any emotion makes him incomplete and he has a deep well of hatred in him. he expresses it only a couple times, but honestly i find it so effective, especially his breakdown in response to the events of the distortion world. cyrus has done so much and he is so much...but he is forever othered, he is always on the outside and he can't be understood by anyone, it seems. when cynthia asks him why he can't just go be on his own and leave everyone else alone, he counters asking why he has to be the one to hide and compromise for others. that response is pretty selfish, but it felt very much like a person who has constantly tried to fit into what they should be, who has tried to live the way others wanted, and who still failed.

we do know his parents never thought of him as good enough, and it must have been to a fairly extreme point as his grandfather regrets not taking him in over it. additionally, his bond with rotom also hints at his severe loneliness - rotom is a solitary, elusive pokemon in diamond and pearl, one that spends its time hiding from humans in electronics. i think cyrus is then meant to be a complement to that, since we know too that he had trouble connecting to people or pokemon and only seemed to have an interest in electronics. he was brilliant, inventive and a good student, yet he was still kept at arm's length by those around him because he was odd. i think this outsider status became deeply ingrained in his sense of self, he built an identity around it in many ways, but i think that only began to collapse when he lost his rotom. he could deal with being different when he had another little weirdo to spend his days with, it was him and rotom as a team, both on the outside but happy with one another because they both finally found a kindred spirit. however, losing that one connection, the lifeline that kept him from being truly alone in the world, made him slip into the extremes of despair we find in the game.

in pokemas, he mentions in his villain arc that the only reason everyone else emphasizes the importance of bonds is because they haven't yet felt the pain they produce when they end. he also says in the game how useless those feelings are because death eventually steals them away forever...which all point toward cyrus being in a deep amount of grief (and possible bereavement). he has spent a lifetime not being enough, being extraordinary in what he could (and did) achieve, but all of it is rendered moot because he will never be "right", and all the weight of that finally fell on his head once he was truly alone. for cyrus, that pain is unbearable and the loneliness he experiences is deeply cruel, deeply unfair. he wants a world alone because true and total isolation is better than being surrounded by people that will never understand him, ones that will never connect with him.

[alister312]

FOR THE CHARACTER ASK... LETS DO THE HOMEBOY GREGORY!!

YES GREGORY… a french revolutionary trapped in a british boy’s body 👀

Sexuality headcanon: bisexual!! with no preference in any way, I feel. he debated for a while between bi, pan, poly, etc but ultimately decided that bi as a label fit him best. I think he also has a touch of demiromanticism? like i think he can date anyone and be in relationships but doesn’t always put a lot of romantic weight into most of them. it’s like friends+ to him. until he finally dates someone he already has a deep bond with and realizes “oh no THIS is what love is”

Gender headcanon: a cis man for sure. boring on some level perhaps but like… that’s how I see him. he’s very comfortable in his masculinity tho so he’s not afraid to play around with the performance of it (i.e. wearing makeup or something)

A ship I have with said character: DO U EVEN HAVE TO ASK……. gregstophe of course 🥰 literally nothing can top that ship in my mind. but to name a few other Gregory ships I do enjoy: wendory, kengory, gregary

A BROTP I have with said character: my top 2 fics of all time both have Kenny and Gregory as two characters forced to be coworkers due to circumstance and eventually forming a bond that is so real and meaningful that I can’t imagine them as not being friends. Gregory is so incredibly anxious and reserved, he desperately needs someone with Kenny’s laidback attitude to start to open up. and Kenny needs someone who is emotionally mature enough to know how to handle his daily existential crisis.

A NOTP I have with said character: it’s not a NOTP as I do like it in theory, but so often when I see people shipping stan//gory it’s with characterizations that are just so awful. mostly due to the Thing that popularized the ship… a Thing that I feel bastardized many of the characters it portrayed. if you know you know

A random headcanon: he doesn’t seem like it, but Gregory is absolutely a dog person. a lot of that has to do with how he was raised to value appearance and a good purebred dog tends to be much more valued in high society, but also I think he just likes dogs a lot. he wants a border collie very badly and spends years trying to warm Christophe up to the idea.

General opinion over said character: I could talk about this man forever if God let me. after writing about him for 8 years, I think I know him so well, but I’ll admit that sometimes I wonder if the image I have of him in my head is true or warped from years of headcanon after headcanon (a necessity for someone who is as minor as he is). but doing my canon info post a while back I think helped a lot in both course correcting and reassuring myself! so yeah. him 🥰

[liskantope]

@loki-zen replied: Sorry but no it isn't, Isaac sapphire's comment is an unsourced reiteration of tired mra talking points. Who the fuck thinks it's easy to raise kids on your own now? There's no evidence that women are staying single because they can't find guys who are richer than them . Etc

Hmm. So admittedly I do feel very slightly uneasy (and like I should be exercising more skepticism) around the claim that women are still trying to "marry up", because I've heard it repeated over and over on certain YouTube channels that may be too skewed in a certain direction. I'm thinking mainly of Chris Williamson, who I would not characterize as an MRA but who is really into men's issues, often goes against the grain of more common feminist beliefs, and probably does get regularly accused of being one. That said, I had heard the study cited over and over (and to be clear, from far more commentators than Williamson -- I wouldn't be surprised if Robert Wright is also one of the people who have mentioned it) and not heard of any pushback from anywhere, so I assumed the result was mostly true. Quick Googling suggests that the claim probably has its origins in this study from back in 2016 (seems already a little dated and it's a little troubling if this is the only study the claim rests on and it didn't start getting brought up everywhere until the 2020's, but I don't know). A little bit more searching shows other articles addressing the issue by saying something like "women are now marrying down more than they used to, due to getting more degrees and the wage gap shrinking", but that doesn't seem to be claiming anything about women's preferences, just that as a result of getting more degrees and more income, women's marrying decisions have had to adjust at least a little to it.

Does anyone have any concrete data on this?

(I also feel slightly icky about using phrases like "marrying up/down", but apart from maybe employing terms like "hypergamy" I'm not sure how to correct this without making my paragraphs even wordier than they already are.)

As for anyone thinking it's easy to raise kids on their own nowadays, I don't see where isaacsapphire said or implied this (saying that single mothers aren't socially stigmatized the way they used to be is different!). Most people with any sense know it's not at all easy to be a single parent and don't regard it as an ideal outcome. I tend to suspect, though, that it's seen as a viable option (at least for women) at least marginally more than in decades past. Some of this is visible in looking through women's online dating profiles, where it's not incredibly rare to run across someone who chose to be a parent without a partner (counterpoints: (1) I don't really have good evidence that this has increased in the past decade, only my suspicions; the fact that it's more visible to me than a decade ago may in theory be entirely explainable by my changing age group; and (2) an uptick in conception without a partner is probably more a result of women wanting children but finding it harder to get a partner or not wanting to get a partner for other reasons covered elsewhere).

It's also funny that the question of "do women feel more in favor of being single mothers rather than raising their children alongside a man" is coming up right now, because just yesterday I was listening to the new Feminine Chaos podcast episode and Rosenfield and Maltz Bovy were addressing this very question because of an apparent trend in this direction among the "chattering classes" culture they spend much of their time commenting on. And I can't help mentioning that nine years ago, on what I believe was my once-ever social event in my academic life where I was the only man among women, I accidentally overheard a young female grad student saying, "I know being a single mother would probably be hard, but honestly I sometimes think it would be worth it so that I don't have to deal with some stupid man being around." (She then gave a visible start when she saw that I was just arriving back from the bathroom.) My point in bringing all of this up is that, while going around saying "women nowadays tend to prefer to raise a child as a single parent than to have a male partner" would be blatantly weakmanning, this is not entirely a strawman at least when applied to certain kinds of progressive subcultures. My suspicion is that also, it's at least marginally less of a strawman now than in decades past, but I really don't know how women in the '90's, say, talked about male partners, single motherhood, etc.

It seems to me that more women today than ever before are willing to be single for most of, if not their entire lives, and I'm not entirely sure of the reason. Do you think this is indeed a trend, and if so, why?

I absolutely think it's a trend that younger people in general are more willing to be single for longer periods of time or forever, and I can see a cluster of reasons for this but I think the main one is that we're getting more and more misanthropic in the sense of being afraid of forming connections with other humans. Technological changes as well as social evolution towards more fear-of-daily-occurrences-based mindsets has contributed this. We all still have our deeply-ingrained instincts towards wanting deep connections and to be in a position of taking care of someone, so a bunch of us pour all of those energies into pets, which further makes it harder to find the bandwidth to get a human significant other. (All of this is becoming a severe concern to me personally.)

As for this trend among women specifically, this is less visible to me but I can plausibly believe that women are more likely to fall into this camp of not caring to find a significant other. Reasons for this include a rise of a particular type of misandry that I don't think was prevalent before the 2010's in which men are seen as generally kind of scary and privileged in a way that affects our every move, and the fact that, while everyone a few decades ago was under more social pressure to follow the traditional path of getting married, women had more of that pressure, and maybe in trying to liberate themselves from this gendered expectation there has been some overcorrection.

(I would be very curious about how pet-ownership correlates with gender, actually. My instinct is to imagine that women are more likely to own pets and to put more energy into them, but quick googling gives mixed results.)

Of course, I don't really get why proportionately more women would prefer lifelong singleness rather than partnering with other women (bisexual-identification among women, after all, is shown to be steeply increasing nowadays).