#to the like..5 people who might see this post

[vaspider]

Listen to me. Listen very carefully:

They are trying to wear you out.

They are trying to wear you out, and they own most major social media now, along with many major media outlets. The disinformation machine is cranking along. You are going to have to slow the fuck down and read things before you help them wear out other people, too.

So you just saw a post about a real scary bill, hunh? Republicans want to make it a capital offense to pet dogs and repeal The Sky Is Blue Act of 1793, declaring the new official color of the sky to be squant? Damn, that sounds scary.

Let's go look up this fictitious "Make The Sky Squant Again Act" on GovTracker* & on the official legislative tracker on congress.gov!

Well, let's see... GovTracker estimates it has a 1% chance of even getting out of committee and a 0% chance of being enacted, while congress.gov says this bill has 2 cosponsors who have been in the House and combined total of less than a month. The bill doesn't have any actual text, and it was referred to 5 different committees.

That fictitious bill and a hundred others like it are quite literally not worth your time, and more than that, continuing to wring your hands about it and tell other people about the scary scary squant sky bill only does their work for them. It scares people, it makes them spend time and energy on it, and it wears them out. It is a legislative Gish Gallop, meant to throw so many things at people that we can't keep up.

Even calling or messaging your Rep in this case means their staffer has to waste time responding to you and letting you know that Representative Buttzonheads definitely won't support making petting dogs a capital offense, a thing that will never, ever happen regardless.

Staying engaged in this environment is going to require protecting your heart and protecting your energy, yes, but also protecting the energy of others. This is why WWII propaganda posters also included ones taking people to task for spreading panicky rumors and undermining morale.

Do you know why most observant Jews don't eat chicken and dairy together, even though the ban is on red meat and dairy together bc you're not supposed to cook the calf in the milk of its mother?** It's not because we think that chicken might secretly lactate or Just Because. It's because the rabbis decided that if I'm sitting out in public and eating turkey and cheese together, someone might glance at the turkey and mistake it for red meat and think, "oh, well, I know that Spider is a good Jew, there must have been a change, or maybe I can just justify it to myself that if Spider does it, it must be permissible to bend the rules just that much." And I would then be accidentally leading my fellow Jew astray. We are responsible for being even more careful for the sake of others than we are for ourselves.

It's the same principle here. We need to really be careful about the information we are spreading and check things past reading a news site. Is it true? Is it relevant? Is it meaningful? Is the news site one I recognize? Can I find meaningful independent corroboration on another site, which is to say, if I find an article about it on a second site, is it just quoting or rephrasing this site?

Yeah, that is a lot. But that's how we keep them from using us to lead our fellows astray.

*GovTracker is an independent site. They explain their methodology in their About section.

**I cannot say enough how I am not at this time interested in going on a Jewish Side Quest About Dietary Laws on this post. Usually, I love it, but hold off this time, please, y'all. Let's stay on target this once.

[saltinyourwound]

let me (nam-gyu)

nam-gyu x gn!reader, 1.9k words, angst, fluff, smut

synopsis: you know your roommate, nam-gyu, has been struggling, and you offer him help him out in a… different way

warnings: smut!, allusions to drug abuse(nothing in detail), sub!nam-gyu, softdom!reader, handjob, really nothing too crazy, might be a little ooc nam-gyu

note: hi! this is weird for me because i haven’t posted my writing in years, but i wanted to share this because of the lack of squid game writing on here <3 i’m unsure whether i’ll post anything else, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless :)

—

sighing under the steaming hot water, you allowed your shoulders to relax for what seemed to be the first time all week. finally, it was friday, and your work week was over. finally, you had your break from your crappy 9-5 where you could feel your body rotting by the minute.

you wanted to quit, of course, but this job was the only thing keeping a roof over your head when you had to pay your share of the rent, and you knew surely your roommate wouldn’t be able to pay it by himself.

your roommate— nam-gyu— was not necessarily the ideal man to live with. you had your fair share of him stumbling into the apartment intoxicated, or him and his friends yelling obscenely at late hours. however, your past roommate had left without warning to move in with her boyfriend, and you were left scrambling.

thankfully, your friend se-mi, introduced you to nam-gyu, a man working at a club who had just been evicted from his last place for reasons he would never care to share. you had assumed it was something to do with the suspicious look in his eyes when he would come home in the middle of the night, sporting a chatty, boyish demeanor that clashed greatly with his typical standoffish and sarcastic personality. however, he never let you see what he actually took, murmuring something about it being “not anything someone like you should worry about”.

nam-gyu left you perplexed most of the time. of course, you were frustrated with him as a roommate, but there was times when you wished he would let you in as a friend. you knew nam-gyu wasn’t a bad guy. he kept his space clean and feed the stray cats outside of your apartment complex. he showed up at a moment’s notice when his friend called him after he was badly injured in a fight. however, he didn’t allow you to see when you knew he was struggling, even when you could hear his pained sobs he tried to muffle through the thin walls. you really had no basis to act on, but you knew that you wanted to support him.

with a groan, you turned off the running water and stepped out of the shower. tonight, there was nothing you could do about the pesky situation with your roommate, as you knew he had probably already left for his evening shift at the club. you wrapped a towel around your body and began your walk to your bedroom to get changed, but you gasped when you nearly bumped into another person.

“you scared the hell out of me!” you exclaimed, hand on your chest as you stared wide-eyed at the man in front of you.

“woah, shit, sorry. didn’t mean to scare you.” nam-gyu laughed, holding both of his hands up in surrender.

“what are you doing here, not at work?” you asked, shaking your head slightly to rid yourself of the shock in your lungs.

“ah, i got that one new guy to take my shift. i wasn’t in the mood to deal with shitty customers today.” he explained, stress evident in his tone. he rubbed his hands on his face before actually taking a second to look at you. when he realized your still damp body was only covered by a towel, his breath hitched in his throat, and he quickly adverted his gaze with pink ears.

“okay,” you paused with suspicion, eyeing nam-gyu in front of you. “just— are you going to have people over tonight? ‘cause i really don’t want to deal with so much noise.”

“nah, i won’t.” nam-gyu still wouldn’t meet your eyes.

“alright, cool. i’ll be in my room if you need me,” you replied, relieved, and made your way past him towards your room to get changed. nam-gyu froze in place as you walked past, squeezing his hands into fists at the smell of your body wash. he rubbed he face once again, before making a beeline towards his room, abandoning the soda he was about to grab in the fridge.

—

once changed into a comfortable loose tee and pair of sleep shorts, you collapsed into your bed, letting out a sigh. it didn’t take long, however, for you to reluctantly roll your body up due to the empty feeling in your stomach. you hadn’t eaten since your lunch break, but the idea of cooking made your shoulders sag down.

you figured your week was hard enough that you deserved take-out. you also figured that nam-gyu likely hadn’t eaten anything since you left your leftover lunch in the fridge yesterday— you had known he wouldn’t cook something himself and managed to cook too much once again anyways.

after allowing your feet to guide you down the unfamiliar track to nam-gyu’s bedroom, your hand froze in place hearing what sounded like.. your name? you held your breath at the sound, leaning closer to the door. it was, most definitely, your name being called— or really, more so whined, accompanied by soft gasps and erratic breathing.

was nam-gyu…crying? you remembered your thoughts earlier, and your heart felt pained at the idea. you considered your options. you could let nam-gyu struggle, possibly risking him doing something he would regret, or you could try and offer him help. or he could scream at you for intruding and never speak to you again.

you can’t keep allowing him to suffer alone, you reasoned with yourself and slowly turned the doorknob, but what you were meeting with was not a sobbing nam-gyu.

instead, the man lay on his bed with his eyes screwed shut and mouth slacked open, with one hand clutching his bedsheets and the other.. fisted around his cock at a nonforgiving pace. the very sight made you gasp, causing nam-gyu’s eyes to shoot open in your direction.

“holy shit!” he exclaimed, quickly pulling his blanket to cover himself.

you clapped your hands over your eyes, “fuck, i’m sorry!”

you heard nam-gyu swearing to himself quietly, and everything in you wanted to run back to your room in embarrassment, but something kept your feet planted to the ground. slowly, you peeled your hand from your eyes, looking at nam-gyu once more.

his entire body was flushed, and the shocked yet dazed in his eyes made your breath quicken. “i— why are you just standing there?!” he implored, eyes flicking over your face.

“you… were saying my name, right?” you ask breathlessly, and nam-gyu went rigid.

“what? no! no, no, no, of course not i was just—”

“you don’t have to lie.” you took a step closer.

“no, i— i wasn’t i swear. you’re my fucking roommate i wouldn’t—”o“really?” you cut him off again, analyzing his stressed expression. the furrowed eyebrows, sweaty skin, glossy eyes. “huh. i wish you were, though.”

“huh!? what do you— are you fucking with me?”

“no. i wish you were whimpering my name while you jack off.” your voice was uncharacteristically level, yet your heart was beating out of your chest. you couldn’t, however, let this opportunity pass. the idea of him wanting you excited you to no end, and it certainly helped that he looked so pretty like this.

“are you serious?” nam-gyu whispered, trying to detect if you were lying.

“of course. you don’t have to say yes but, i could.. help you out, if you wanted me to...”

all it took was a breathy “please..” for you to join nam-gyu on his bed. slowly, you eased his covers off of him, taking in the sight that transfixed you. his cock was pretty, with a flushed tip and a dribble of pre leaking out of it. what arosed you more, though, was his tear filled eyes and quivering lips.

“you’re entirely sure you want this?” you confirmed.

“yes, god, please. ‘want you more than anything.”

your thighs clenched together at his words. not taking your eyes off of his own, you wrapped your hand around the base of his length, and started to slowly move it up and down. nam-gyu let out a whine at the touch, his eyes casting to the ceiling.

your thumb swiped across his tip before continuing your movements. “doin’ so well, ‘gyu. keep looking at me, yeah?” you could sense how heavily your words effected nam-gyu with how much louder he became.

“‘s so good. fuck, you’re so good. ‘been thinking about this f’so long”

your eyes shot open in surprise. “really? how long, baby?”

“since i fucking meet you. fucking hell when i saw you, ah, in that towel i almost came right there”

your eyes rolled back at his words. he had always wanted you? while you were worried out of your mind about his well-being, he was undressing you in his mind? “fuck..” you murmured, feeling your own breath start to become rushed.

nam-gyu’s whines and groans turned into moans as you kept at your pace. you felt transfixed as your other hand traced his collarbone, feeling his erratic heartbeat in the center of his flushed chest. you knew that your heartbeat matched.

you could tell in the way his cock twitched and his body shook that nam-gyu was close. what made your breath hitch, though, was his own hand snaking up his chest to lace with your own, desperately. as if the touch was what he needed.

“shit, i’m—” nam-gyu came with a gasp, his chest heaving under your hands entwined, where he squeezed your hand with intensity.

“fuck, so good f’me..” you murmured, transfixed on the sight, your thumb rubbing circles on his hand with care.

nam-gyu opened his eyes with caution. “holy shit..” he breathed out, a pretty serene trace in his features that fought with the confusion he still had. “why did you—?”

you felt oddly struck with emotion. your hand tightened around his. “…i wanted to. i want to.. be here. with you. i’m— i’m sorry this is sappy at the wrong time but— i’ve been thinking about you for so long. please— let me be here..? you can use me however you want. even if it’s just a shitty handjob, i want to—”

“stop.” fear and embarrassment clogged up your chest. just as you we going to start apologizing, nam-gyu slowly brought your hand to his mouth, leaving a shaky kiss that left your skin sparkling in its wake. “i want you too. i’ve always wanted you. more than fucking sex. i—i’ve been scared as hell lately about everything but you.. you make me want to try.”

you felt speechless.

“i’m an asshole and you— you don’t deserve that. but,” nam-gyu had a pleading look in his eyes as he sat up, other hand cupping your warm cheek, “i want you. let me prove it.”

you couldn’t hold back yourself from letting the space between you close, groaning quietly as you felt his lips soft on yours. you felt his sincerity. you hadn’t before realized the care you held for nam-gyu had manifested into something so strong, but you felt a wash of relief as you let yourself bathe in the honesty that had bubbled out from between the two of you.

nam-gyu was first to pull away, and he looked at you with care and urgency in his eyes, “tomorrow i’ll take you out on a date. we— fuck— can figure everything out then, but right now i need more of you.”

“then take me.”

[thekidsarentalright]

a couple weeks ago the time came for the fifth annual fall out boy census, and after collecting the opinions of over 1k fans(!!), the results are finally here! as always, i want to say a quick thank you to everyone who participated and keep taking this year after year, it is so fun and i love being able to do it <3 results are below:

Question #1

this year i chose to include the extra information for how many people became a fan before, during, and after the hiatus, and found most interesting that an overwhelming majority of people became fans after the hiatus! And a large handful just in the last couple years!

Question #2

for the second year since stardust's release, its era reigns supreme! some might call it recency bias still, i just say the era really has been that good. once again, included the data for pre and post hiatus, with a slight majority of people having a preference for post-hiatus eras!

Questions #3 and #4

unfortunately, due to tumblr image limit i had to put some questions together, with these going together very thematically! here, we have a slight upset with the usual top 3 of folie, infinity, and cork tree, with so much (for) stardust becoming what fans believe to be the bands second best album! interestingly, it is nowhere near the top of people's favorite album!

Questions #5 and #6

asking the reverse of the above, these like-questions similarly, in the history of the census, have always maintained the same three results. however, this year ab/ap has taken the lead for people's least favorite album, despite it only being third for their 'worst' album. as thee resident ab/ap lover, ouch 🥲

Question #7

compared to last year, my heart will always be the b-side has risen to become people's favorite! also interestingly to me, the amount of people who hadn't heard any of their EP's has shrunk a whole 3%!

Question #8

further proof that fob fans love being consistent as ever in their opinions hehe, these results are the same as last years! however, it does appear infinity's massive lead has grown ever further- franklin absolutely kills it and we all know it <3 also, incredibly interesting to me how close folie and cork tree are... maybe next year things will shift!

Question #9

these questions were probably the ones i was most excited for this year, as being able to give things a star rating was never something i could do before! here, the chart shows, on average, people gave take this to your grave a 7.2 star rating, with very few responses going below 5 stars!

Question #10

with cork tree's results, we can see the purpose of the fan rating section come into play more, with it receiving a higher average rating than take this to your grave did! it averages about a whole 1.2 stars more, with a grand majority of votes above 7 stars!

Question #11

and once again we have a new album taking first place, with infinity getting just above a 9 star rating! most interestingly, here absolutely nobody gave infinity below four stars, being the first album so far to have such unevenly skewed results!

Question #12

and here folie comes, eeking in just above infinity with an average rating of 9.25 stars. however, most interestingly, in contrast it didn't receive any one or four star votes, showing a similarly uneven skew but in a different way- people who disliked folie, seemingly, disliked it more than people who disliked infinity.

Question #13

here we enter the post-hiatus albums into the ranking, with save rock and roll settling in fourth just above take this to your grave. and unlike infinity and folie, responses are spread out somewhat more evenly here, though a grand majority of results sit above five stars.

Question #14

with ab/ap getting an average rating of 7.04 stars, it has taken the place previously held by tttyg at the bottom, being just .2 stars below it. interestingly, then, these ratings are very much mimicking the results of people's least favorite album, which was part of why i wanted to ask people to rate the albums- to see if giving a specific number to each album changed the order or not! so far, however, people are remaining consistent.

Question #15

much like i was saying above ab/ap can be said here for mania too- it is very much mirroring the results of what people's least favorite albums are, with mania settling squarely between tttyg and ab/ap, being given an average star rating of 7.15.

Question #16

lastly for this set of questions, we have so much (for) stardust coming in to shake up the overall rating ranking! it slots itself several points above cork tree, making it fans third favorite album, just a little under infinity! once again, people could argue this is recency bias, but after two years i believe stardust is here to stay as a beloved album!

Question #17

now we are moving onto questions about specific songs, with the first asking for the first fob song you ever heard! most interesting, centuries rose up from fifth to second, shifting the order of everything except for sugar!

Questions #18 and #19

our next two questions paired together are asking for what you think is your favorite and their best song overall. as you can see in the organization of the pie chart, there were a lot of responses given to both of these questions! about 100 different songs were answered, and the top 5 were all very close! also, for favorite song, a change from last year is XO being in the top 5, as is thnks fr th mmrs as their best song!

Questions #20 and #21

the most underrated song question is always the one i'm most interested to see, as its the one that changes the most! this year, from now on we are enemies has taken first, and we see many songs entering the top 5 that weren't there last year, such as bob dylan, and bishops knife trick. as we can see, the results were all incredibly close. for overrated song, centuries and sugar take the top as they seem to every year, and bang the doldrums has dropped one spot. interestingly too, songs like sixteen candles are getting very close to entering the top 5!

Question #22

our next question asks what your favorite fob cover is, and people's top three favorites have remained steadfast from last year, with love will tear us apart essentially having a run away victory! Question #23

other than the underrated song question, this is also one of my favorites to ask! most interestingly, this year 27 has entered the top five and even tied for fourth with common-fan favorite you're crashing! hum hallelujah remains on top, however, getting in that position in an absolute landslide above every other song! Questions #24 and #25

now, these two questions don't really have anything in common but as i said, some just had to go together! but, here, we have the question of what your favorite single is for the first time, and i was very excited to see the results of that question! headfirst slide absolutely swept, and we see many of the same songs that came up as people's favorite coming up here too! however, the carpal tunnel of love tied with dance, dance at 4th, which i didn't expect! as for the second question, i love to see that a majority of people have gotten to see fob live, and i hope next year that number keeps growing!

Questions #26 and #27

unique to this year, these two questions asked what your favorite new medley and 8 ball songs from 2024 were! perhaps unsurprisingly, two soul punk songs make up a majority of the top results for the medley, while cupid's chokehold gained a narrow lead for people's favorite 8 ball, however it was really cool to see each medley and 8 ball got many votes, and all results were very close! (tho not to be biased as i was there for these, but love to see allie and get busy living in the top for both hehe) Question #28

related to the questions above, this one is both new and unique to this year, asking which live show guest was your favorite! after seeing cupid's chokehold take the place as people's favorite 8 ball, it is no surprise that travie mccoy absolutely Swept as people's favorite live show guest! as he deserves!

Question #29

although i know we all love each member of the band endlessly, everybody has their special babygirl! and this question simply asks about that, and shows that patrick tunnel vision continues to dominate <3

Question #30

the question asking for people's favorite music video returns again, this year with no tie, unlike last year, and dropping i don't care out of the top 5. replacing it is much less tight margins this year, with miss missing you overtaking america's suitehearts. however, sixteen candles remains a dominating favorite for people!

Question #31

every year the results for this question remains very consistent, with love for my chemical romance trumping every other artist listed! i believe this year will be the last year (for now, at least) i ask this question, as the results have remained consistent for 5 years, which is very interesting to see!

Questions #32 and #33

these next two questions are the start of our this or that questions of the year! in the first one, i asked you to pick between headfirst slide and disloyal order, and with a substantial lead, headfirst slide won! for the second match up, from now on we are enemies was pit against sunshine riptide, with from now on we are enemies sweeping pretty massively!

Questions #34 and #35

the next two match up's pit last years top two overrated songs and a fun this or that between the two 'lawyer' songs! the first match up here is, i believe, the closest of all the match up's, with sugar just edging out centuries, for yet another year in a row! then, i'm like a lawyer topples our lawyer with nearly 200 more votes! Questions #36 and #37

last but not least, these two match ups are in relation to tourdust and 2ourdust, with the top being the first medley song for both respectively, and here what a time to be alive won with a massive margin against young & menace. on the second one (sorry for the difficult to see contrast between the two!!) ginasfs swept against wilson in, i believe, the largest margin of any of the match ups!

------------------------------ and with that, the 2025 fall out boy census has come to a close! if you read this far, or participated in this at all, really, i just want to give a massive thank you! as i said earlier, i absolutely love being able to hold this every year for the community, and hope everybody has as much fun with it as i do! also, i will add, putting this together is a massive labor of love (it's taken me nearly 10 hours haha), so i would appreciate a rb on this post! and lastly, if you have any questions about any of the results, feel free to ask! i have so many ideas already for next year, so i will see you all next january for year 6! <3

[puckingtea2]

hi! i am not one of audrey’s friends, i just found out about this whole quinn drama today, however i think it’s extremely rude to assume something about a person you’ve never met. of course people are going to call her pretty. she is conventionally pretty. i understand that this is a drama account and all that, but deciding that audrey is the evil stepmother from cinderella based on a video is kinda insane. as someone with a gnarly rbf who doesn’t even realize it sometimes, i can understand how it might look like she was annoyed, but we weren’t in the car. we also don’t know what happened before the moment even happened.

i don’t want to say that her reaction was appropriate or inappropriate based on the video because, then again, we don’t know what happened, but being rude to a random girl because she’s with your favorite hockey player is also not appropriate.

do with this what you will. i just wanted to get my thoughts out on the situation considering that’s what this account is for, right? :)

my new biggest pet peeve is when people like you come on here talking as if you know a thing or two when in reality, you don’t! so I’m gonna say this nicely, or not as I’m so extremely fed up. To make it even clearer for you and the other anons coming on here who keep skipping over this repeatedly, I’m gonna put it in all caps, bolded, AND italicized so y’alls eyes can transfer the big letters to your brain a little better 😉

1) NO👏🏼ONE👏🏼IS👏🏼MAD👏🏼QUINN👏🏼HAD👏🏼A👏🏼ONE👏🏼NIGHT👏🏼STAND👏🏼

2) NO👏🏼ONE👏🏼CALLED👏🏼HER👏🏼UGLY👏🏼OR👏🏼THINKS👏🏼SUCH👏🏼

3) THIS👏🏼WAS👏🏼NEVER👏🏼ABOUT👏🏼HER👏🏼HAVING👏🏼A👏🏼NASTY👏🏼LOOK👏🏼ON👏🏼HER👏🏼FACE👏🏼 (although, with the other things I’m about to mention, it’s a contributing factor)

I got tired of doing the claps but you get the point. Just imagine thats what I’m doing

4) SHE HAS BEEN OBVIOUSLY CLOUT CHASING SINCE SHE WENT TO VANCOUVER. SHE KEPT POSTING AND DELETING PHOTOS OF BEING A HIS APARTMENT AND AT THE GAME BUT DELETED ALL OF THAT BEFORE THE GAME ENDED SO HE WOULD SEE. IF U WANT A MORE IN DEPTH DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT EITHER CHECK THE TAGS OR ASK

5) THEN THIS TIKTOK: SHE HAS HER FRIENDS COMMENTING ON THE VIDEO PRETENDING THEY DONT KNOW WHO SHE IS AND COMPLIMENTING HER. ONCE SAID FRIENDS ARE CALLED OUT, THEY DELETE THE COMMENTS AND ALL INCLUDING GENITALIA GO PRIVATE. AGAIN, IF YOU WANT THE PROOF OF THAT CHECK THE TAGS

6) HER FRIENDS ALSO STARTED TAGGING HER IN THE VIDEO AND REPOSTING IT. How weird is that? It’s OBVIOUS she wanted clout and attention and that’s what she got- just not the kind she wanted

7) She had “make me famous so I don’t have to work” or something in her tiktok bio FOREVER and also took it out when that video was released to try and save face. Even though clearly the bio was a bit of a joke, considering what she’s done, it seems like she truly is a gold digger

8) I don’t know where tf you got that Quinn Hughes is my favorite hockey player but you’ve already made it very clear you don’t read this blog so you just decided to assume because (gasp) you people love to act like you know everything based off assumptions.

Am I missing anything? Probably but at the end of the day the bottom line is: KNOW WHAT YOURE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE YOU START TALKING. This happens WAY too often because dense people like you believe you’re all the knowledgeable and us less than fortunate can benefit from your intelligent (or lack thereof) minds. Speaking of rude, I think it’s pretty rude to come on a blog and accuse people of being mean girls before reading a SINGLE thing, yeah? Because if you did, this entire thing could have been avoided. No one is sending hate to this girl (at least no one on my blog) we’re just laughing at how desperate she is for attention/clout to the point she had to get her friends involved in commenting to put a false narrative out there. That, the nasty look and rolled eyes, and everything else that has happened since is evident enough this girl is nothing more than your typical 🏒🐰. Call me a bad person for pointing all of that out, I don’t care, but she’s the one who did it to herself at the end of the day. Also, I hope you took the time to read my blog. Because Quinn is NOT my favorite player or even my favorite Hughes! Thx!!

No further comments from anyone will be needed, thank you!

[evil-fact-checker]

The phenomenon of individuals dedicating significant amounts of time to criticizing someone like Meghan Markle can be perplexing, but it often reflects deeper psychological and social dynamics. Here’s a breakdown of what might be driving such behavior:

1. Projection and Displacement

Projection: People often project their own insecurities, frustrations, or unresolved issues onto public figures. Meghan, as a prominent figure, becomes a canvas for these emotions. Her perceived privilege, choices, or success might trigger feelings of inadequacy or resentment in others.

Displacement: Criticism of Meghan can serve as a safe outlet for frustrations that have nothing to do with her. Instead of confronting personal or societal struggles, people channel their energy into attacking a high-profile target.

2. Social Dynamics and Group Identity

In-group vs. Out-group Thinking: Meghan represents a polarizing figure, particularly in the context of monarchy vs. modernity, tradition vs. change, and race. Criticizing her can become a way for these women to affirm their belonging to a certain "in-group" (e.g., royal traditionalists, anti-woke communities).

Echo Chambers: Online spaces often amplify and reinforce shared views. These women might find validation and camaraderie in their collective disdain, forming a sense of belonging around their mutual criticisms.

3. Parasocial Relationships

Attachment to Royals: For some, the royal family holds symbolic power. Meghan’s perceived disruption of that institution (e.g., her departure from royal duties) can feel like a betrayal of tradition, making her an easy scapegoat.

Comparative Judgment: Meghan’s actions and choices (e.g., leaving the royal family, speaking openly about mental health) are sometimes compared unfavorably to those of other royals. This creates a dynamic where detractors measure her against an idealized standard.

4. Misogyny and Racism

Internalized Misogyny: Meghan is a successful, outspoken woman, and societal biases often view such women more critically. Women are disproportionately held to higher standards and scrutinized for their choices, especially in public life.

Racial Undertones: As a biracial woman, Meghan challenges traditional (and often white-centric) notions of royalty. For some, this sparks discomfort or implicit bias that fuels negative reactions.

5. Psychological Rewards

Dopamine Hits from Criticism: Online criticism provides a sense of control or superiority. Getting likes, shares, or agreement on their posts creates a feedback loop that reinforces this behavior.

Moral Superiority: Criticizing Meghan allows people to position themselves as morally or culturally superior, feeding their egos.

6. Escapism

Focus on External Drama: For many, focusing on Meghan’s life provides an escape from personal struggles. Gossip and drama offer a way to avoid confronting real-life issues.

What’s Baffling About It?

Your reaction likely stems from seeing this behavior as disproportionate or obsessive—spending so much time on someone who is ultimately a stranger. This discrepancy often occurs when:

The detractors’ criticisms feel petty or unsupported.

The target (Meghan) isn’t doing anything uniquely egregious to warrant such vitriol.

😂😂😂😂

[octoooo]

Actually now that I’ve finished Sailor Moon (90s) I can finally talk about Usagi & Mamoru.

I don’t like them together.

And I’m not sorry about it.

Their 90s relationship feels like a fairytale love story born out of obligation to their past lives & not real feelings. That’s how it came off at least.

Keep in mind how I mentioned 90s specifically, this ain’t about the manga or Crystal.

Now maybe I’m smoking crack or I simply forgot, but,,didn’t they dislike each other for the longest time? Throughout Season 1 at least, Before either of them realized they fight together as Sailor Guardian & Tuxedo Mask I mean. Usagi hated Mamoru especially when he called her “Bun Head.”

And Mamoru seemed teasing sure, but not romantically interested from their meetings on the street. Usagi was crushing on Tuxedo Mask, but she actively hoped that Mamoru wasn’t him.

And then they learned of their past relationship as Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion and?? Now it’s like “oh let’s be together! I think we’re meant to be!” It’s just,,it felt like obligation to me.

Idk maybe they fell in love off screen but like,,,why couldn’t we see it? Isn’t this their story? Shouldn’t we see the main lovers actually develop so I can feel something for them?

I cheered when Mamoru broke up with Usagi, I was like genuinely happy about that lol.

Also the 90s fucked up their age gap. Mamoru is now a college student (no given age) & Usagi is still 14 (eventually 15 in season 2 I think then 16 by the end) but like??

Kinda odd it went down like that y’know? I dunno about you but I hear “college student” and “middle schooler” I’m 💀

I’ve seen speculation that 90s Mamoru is 16 like his manga counterpart but he’s just really smart & went to college early.

Okay

Not impossible I guess,

But we don’t really have any information to assume that? In canon at least, maybe the animators came out and said something about it that I’m not aware of.

I can use Ami as a reference.

Because she’s in Usagi’s grade she’s also 14-16 and We KNOW she’s smart. She’s always top of her class & getting perfect scores, She spends her free time studying & was even offered a spot in a foreign university. She’s the smart one, it’s beaten over our heads numerous times. When she has conversations with Mamoru about topics outside her friend’s knowledge it only benefits her. Those scenes don’t do anything to show “oh Mamoru is really super duper smart to know all of this,” like it does for Ami. As an eighth grader, she wouldn’t be expected to know much about the topics Mamoru’s interested in, but she DOES because she’s SMART & we’re told this all the time.

Mamoru though?? We’re told he’s a college student. So we are to assume he just,,has to/wants to know this, meaning he IS smart. But he’s not extraordinarily smart like Ami, so I don’t think I can’t believe he’s a 16yr old who went straight to college.

Seiya & Usagi had a more developed relationship tbh.

Like, Seiya starts off not really caring for Usagi but then they like her enough to be friends, and eventually develop romantic feelings for her. Also, from their perspective Mamoru is a shitty guy so ofc he wouldn’t want Usagi to be with him. Like, as long as Seiya had known Usagi, she had cried over her “botfriend” and had absolutely zero contact with the guy. Of course they eventually learn it was because of the Shadow Galaxia but before learning that, Usagi seems hung up on some guy who does not feel the same for her, and Seiya is RIGHT THERE and they’re SO devoted.

Also Seiya didn’t want Usagi to be Sailor Moon, because that would mean that Usagi might be their enemy (can’t be beefing with the love interest now can you?) even after learning that, Seiya went to many great lengths where their affection showed through clear as day. I mean, the amount of times they took a hit for Sailor Moon or cradled her to protect her,,,,

Of course they would never end up together. Usagi was very clear about not wanting to be with anyone but Mamoru, yet Seiya kept pushing Which is yikes. But at least I got to see actual romance ? Got to see romantic feelings for Usagi from someone who genuinely cared. I can tell Usagi loves Mamoru (I think) but Mamoru is like,,,,so stiff with her. He protects her because he has to, like the other Guardians, it doesn’t feel born out of love line Seiya’s protectiveness.

Siiigh anyway I’m ready to be eaten alive by UsaMamo fans. Keep in mind this only covers the 90s anime, I have no idea how they are in the manga or Crystal as I haven’t seen much of it yet. I’ve heard it’s better in them, but I don’t wanna get my hopes up.

[scarletfasinera]

I hate when people are like "I already didn't like xyz so it's not difficult for me to boycott it unlike those loser customers that actually Liked the thing which I could never understand bc I was never a customer uwu" bc like. That literally isn't boycotting lmao. That is just Never Being A Customer In The First Place, which means nothing actually.

Boycotts are primarily about applying pressure (or completely making it impossible to operate) via financial/commercial/economic impact. AKA it's about money and capital.

If you already weren't spending money on a product/franchise/company, then you were already never part of their sales data, and you just doing nothing & making absolutely no change to your daily life and just continuing to not be part of their sales data as normal, has literally no material impact. You were already never a factor. The people who WERE customers & WERE part of the sales data & ARE withdrawing their money from those sales figures actually ARE making a material impact.

"Supporting" something isn't about vibes or thoughts or feelings or you telling your best friend how much you like a thing, "support" in a meaningful sense is specifically material. It is financial. Refusing to continue supporting something means taking the money you were previously spending on it & putting it elsewhere. If you were never spending money, you were never supporting it, and therefore it doesn't make any difference if you continue to not support it. Boycotting is something CUSTOMERS and CONSUMERS do.

SO STOP FUCKING BRAGGING ABOUT IT & STOP MAKING FUN OF PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY ARE BOYCOTTING FOR "EVER LIKING XYZ TO BEGIN WITH" & STOP SPREADING THIS FALSE IDEA OF HOW BOYCOTTING WORKS LMAO sorry for capslocking I remembered I was annoyed

I just hate this low-morale mean-spirited bullshit some people do in the notifs on boycotting info posts where they arbitrarily moralize about something they just don't understand so they can pat themselves on the back for doing literally literally nothing AND inadvertently spreading misinfo in the process. Be quiet. Go do something that matters. There are plenty of posts going around, including from Palestinians themselves, with lists of references for how to help Palestine & other similar causes for people currently in crisis, please please do something For Real instead of boasting online about your fandom superiority complex as if it means anything.

[a-writing-otter]

WIP Wednesday - Chapter 6 of The Redemption and Subsequent Death of Bill Cipher

“Am I— Did I interrupt something?” Stan asks a little awkwardly.

“Nah,” Bill, who recovers much faster from gaping at Stan like a fish, leans back into the bench before punching Pine Tree’s shoulder. “Kid was just heading out to go break windows or something.”

“Better hope it’s not these windows or [you’re] cleaning it up,” Stan tells Bill before reaching out, shoving the bill of Pine Tree’s hat down over his eyes. Pine Tree grumbles and fixes it before turning a far brighter smile on Stan.

“Your sister’s looking for you. Something about trying to make a suit out of glitter.”

“Oh. Great.” Pine Tree rubs his face and gets to his feet. “Thanks, Grunkle Stan.”

He goes to the door and pauses to look at Bill for a second.

“Just… you know, I think you’re right. I think things will be okay again soon.”

Bill’s brow furrows as Pine Tree heads back inside before he starts chuckling as he shakes his head.

“Weird kid.”

“They’re receptive,” Stan says as he takes up Pine Tree’s seat and Bill tries not to groan. “Not that you’ve made it exactly hard to miss that things are weird between you and my brother. I think the temperature in the room drops by ten degrees every time one of you walks into it. And I thought things were bad with my ex-wife! Ha!”

Bill winces at that, pulling a face as he leans forward to bury his face in his hands.

“Yeah, well, we weren’t even dating—“

“No, you two were just sucking face anytime you were left unsupervised.”

“Please, Pine Tree already got onto me for this. I fucked up and—“

“Summoned a demon, yeah, I heard.”

Bill’s blood runs cold and he looks between his fingers at Stan. …he’s not swinging, he’s not snarling, and Bill can say he’s almost positive that this isn’t Stan then.

“…and you’re cool with that?”

“What? Oh, no, absolutely not. I almost strangled you in your sleep when my brother told me.”

Billy, admittedly, feels a little better with that admission.

“He also said that you came to him to get rid of said demon.”

“Yeah, well… I don’t know. Taking over the universe is so last year.”

Stan snorts at that.

“You’re, like, really cool with that?” Bill tries again. “Don’t want to, I don’t know, punch me in the eye?”

Now Stan shrugs.

“I wouldn’t go that far, but I think watching you walk around on eggshells, convinced one of us is going to take a swing at you or tell the Axolotl—“

“Axo— Oh, wait, no, you said it right.”

“I listen. I’m just saying, you know, you with your tail between your legs ain’t a bad look. Certainly makes me feel better.”

“…but, like, the whole breaking your brother’s heart? Trying to take over the universe? You’re sure you’ve got no murder held in your very large, very family-oriented heart?”

“Don’t go tempting me, Cipher, but… Ford’s an adult, you’re… maybe an adult, I don’t know, how do demons age?”

“Depends,” Bill admits, pulling a face. “Interdimensional demons live to about a hundred millennia or so, sometimes longer if they take care of themselves.”

“You said you were a dream demon though,” Stan remembers.

“Yeah, well, that’s a little more… complicated.”

Stan cracks open his pitt cola and gestures to Bill. He debates for a second before taking in a deep breath and sighing.

“I was born an interdimensional demon, a very precocious, adorable thing. Even though they’re relatively harmless, mostly brokers for deals made between species, they’ve got their own power. It doesn’t help that I was born… different.”

Bill’s voice gets soft, thoughtful.

“They tried to understand me, probably. They couldn’t though. A world full of two-dimensional idiots, they never understood what I saw, understood how I felt. So it was, you know, a little…”

“Othering?” Stan offers and Bill nods.

“Othering. Everyone adored me. ‘Special Billy’, ‘unique Billy’, ‘Billy who sees things no one else can see’.” […crazy Billy.]

Bill grips the bench a little too tight, knuckles turning white as he looks down at the ground.

“I won’t bore you with the sob story of a universe lost to a monster,” and maybe because it’s bad enough to admit it to Ford, admitting it to Stan who he still doesn’t trust not to come swinging at him is another thing, “but I ended up alone. I was drifting through time and space for, easily, a couple millennia. I spent a lot of time floating amongst the stars I’d stared at so long. I saw galaxies born, galaxies die; I saw nebulae explode and reform; stars would go through entire lifecycles in front of my eyes. It was me and the cosmos, so I guess I didn’t feel alone.

[swagging-back-to]

worst trope is found family separating as soon as the antagonist is dealt with.

[tacky-optic]

i have unprompted lupin-esque questions pop into my stream of conscious, interrupting my day-to-day wholesale, and one of them is "damn. does lupin only have three companions because zenigata never caved and joined him". like what kind of question is that??

i think its one of the more recurring ones because the sorta lines in lupin tv/films that're like "kinda surprising you're a cop" or "you'd fit in real well with us" or, the wombo combo of the two, "your skills are wasted on your job" really dig into my brain and won't feckin' leave.

in a lot of iterations, jigen and goemon meet lupin when they're tasked with killing him. fujiko's essentially his other rival. and yet, despite whatever the rest of the gang may be doing or whoever they pledge themselves to or whatever other jobs they might take on they always wind up right next to lupin again. on the same team, even.

and then there's zenigata. the sole obstinate holdout. they truce, they save each other's lives, have an avengers bonus credit scene shawarma lunch, etc etc. yet he isn't *with* them. he dips after they stop some evil billionaire from blowing up a city for some asinine power/profit grab or whatever the fuck, shouting that he'll "get them next week" while comically shaking his fist at the sky, and jigen rolls his eyes for the dozenth time and goes "that guy'll never change, will he". no jigen, he won't. when things calm down he'll sit alone in his office and do paperwork for all the property damage he caused with lupin & co. like he always does.

lupin and zenigata prefer it that way, obviously. they know their roles and how to play them. zenigata's too good to be a cop but he's also too good to be with lupin. lupin will kill in self-defense whereas zenigata will *not* kill, period. a la "life is a much more incredibly significant thing".

and then there's the *other* obviously-- the adversarial aspect. they can only *truly* challenge each other if they're on opposing sides. jigen stuck around after lupin beat him. goemon pledged his allegiance to lupin after he bested him. fujiko cozies up to lupin because it's easier than outright contesting him. but lupin is the best criminal and zenigata is the best cop. of course they'll never swap sides. they have the most fun from where they are.

"but tackyyy, what if he *did* join them?" you may ask. well whether it'd be cathartic for zenigata or not aside, there's some other q's that come up that deserve some consideration.

would the gang finally be "complete" if zenigata finally shed his inspector title? what would that look like, how would it work out? what does that even *mean*? is lupin just collecting people he thinks are neat? if so, if a hypothetical (realllllllly emphasizing that hypothetical btw) fourth-- someone with skills on the right level and surprisingly good chemistry with the gang-- came along, would lupin welcome them? or would lupin look at zenigata and go "nah, i'd rather have *that* guy"? lots of stuff to explore.

but at the end of the day there's one thing that really gets my brain gears turning. i think zenigata's higher-ups imagine him on lupin's side and shudder. i think *zenigata* imagines himself on lupin's side and shudders. i think the only way his full potential can be realized is if he's with lupin *permanently*. those blips of unbridled feral skill wouldn't be blips anymore. they'd be normal. and devastating. and the five of them would be unstoppable. and maybe that'd scare him, finally knowing exactly what he's capable of. maybe it *already* scares him, knowing he's the only one who can decide what happens.

[alyona11]

The duality of man is when you love Hadestown so much that you hate Hadestown

[jupitermelichios]

nothing but love and light to 911 fans, i'm glad you're eating so well rn, but man we really need to find some way to ration white american boy names for shippable fictional characters. my dash was already full of people talking about buckies and eddies and 911 has only made the situation more confusing!

i've got halfway through reading so many posts only to realise that this not my boy, this boy is a stranger to me. i don't care if this boy is in heat or fake dating his secret crush, i don't even know him!

this is not the fault of fans obviously, i just think TPTB should be required to check for existing popular characters before they start dropping meat into fandom's enclosure.

anyway if any tv writers are reading this, we're all full up on edwards, we need at least a 5 year moritorium on new shippable edwards.

[hockeyisforthegays]

eagle eyed readers may notice that the authors note at the end of heroine that provided my tumblr url has been removed... theres been enough growth around these parts. this has always been a Personal Blog where i make jokes aimed entirely at myself and 2.5 close friends & if anyone else chooses to be here it should be people who understand and enjoy that vibe

[millionsknives]

yes, the plans that i could not share with you (because the haters would sabotage me) were that i was taking on LACC in my vash getup :)

i have so few pictures of myself but i got so many compliments (especially on my arm) and plenty of other people took pictures of me. and normally i don't like attention but i will be honest with u. under these circumstances i loved it. my arm held up really well through 8 hours on the convention floor and i have never been prouder of anything i've made. it's articulated incredibly well, no part of it gave out or required repair, it's never uncomfortable or a nuisance to wear, and i have enough range of motion to do relatively complex things like tying my shoes.

originally i was not planning to try to meet anyone famous because 1) it's expensive and 2) the lines are long and 3) i feel weird and annoying approaching literally anyone for any reason BUT. the spot where i met up with my sister just happened to be right next to johnny yong bosch's table. right when he started signing things. so i said LOL ok i'll do it.

it was super chill, i asked him how it felt to get the call that they wanted him to come back 20 years later for a trigun reboot and he said it almost didn't happen -- that since they recast everyone else for stampede they considered recasting vash as well (and i said WOW i'm so glad they didn't) and he said he really enjoyed getting to come back and explore a darker take (i forget if what he said was a darker take on vash's character, or just a darker trigun in general) but it was briefly surprising 2 me that he considered stampede to be a darker version but i get it, especially when u consider that there is not a lot of comedy in those 12 episodes to balance out the grief.

ANYWAY he was impressed with my arm and i asked him if he would sign my coat :) so he signed the lining but he was also like u know what, i'm gonna give you a second autograph just because. so he signed a print for me as well (free of charge!!) and the print with the blue signature matches my famous paintings that i always film in front of (that's providence baybee)

other stuff from the con under the cut

cosplay notes:

i saw 3 other vash cosplayers (a 98 vash, a stampede vash, and a purple coat vash) and no shade but i definitely had the best arm build. peace and love to all of them though

i saw 1 1/2 wolfwoods. 1 was the aforementioned mullet wolfwood from yesterday's post (ww if you’re out there ww) and the 1/2 was the 98 vash cosplayer’s gf in some kind of goth-ish dress and she was carrying a punisher

mullet wolfwood if you're out there i regret not getting a picture with you so much. i am deeply ashamed and i have no excuse because i ran into you twice and both times i was too embarrassed to ask for a picture. i just want you to know that your punisher was swag and your earrings were yolo and we would look very good together

i expected to see a lot more trigun tbh. los angeles where u at. 4 vashies at a convention of 120,000+ people is nothing. one guy even walked up to me like wow i love ur vash, i haven't seen a lot of trigun at this con and i was like I KNOW i thought i'd see a lot more

theeeee costume of all time award goes to the cad bane cosplayer i saw on the balcony. spare hand in marriage dude (gn) you looked so good

second place for costume of all time goes to the other mother cosplayer who had button eyes and these crazy finger appendages and never once broke character even while waiting in lines

i took 100 points of psychic damage from this one guy who (and im not kidding) was at least 6’4’’ and wearing platform boots and was dressed as the mfing onceler. with the stupid top hat he was fr 7+ feet tall (i saw him duck to get through a doorway).

someone was there as the brawny paper towel guy?? just walking around in a beard and flannel carrying a pack of paper towel rolls?? go off king

i saw 5 nightwing cosplayers but only 2 were biblically accurate (had ass)

the nanami sweep at this convention was so real u all SHOWED UP. and everybody ate. i saw at least 12 nanamis and not one of them was a flop.

i have never seen so many spider-mans in my life

other things:

fig. 1: this extremely hot captain america on a very large poster was about 2 make me act unwise. hi gorjus................................. nice eyebrows

fig 2: i saw this sign a couple blocks away from the con and i did a triple take. 🔥🔥🔥TRIMAX MENTIONED🔥🔥🔥

fig. 3: i saw all 4 hobbits in panel and can confirm elijah wood’s laugh is ten times more infectious in real life. before they were even done sitting down, dominic monaghan switched around all of their name cards so that none of them were seated behind the right name. as u might imagine much of the panel's content was reminiscing about LOTR, but i heard some stories that i hadn't heard before. they also talked about video games, other projects they are working/have worked on, how their kids feel about their dads' LOTR roles, how much they love ian mckellen, and how they would love to see something happen for the 20th anniversary of ROTK this year. sean astin (the legend) took shots at the stranger things writers (basically said joyce could never be happy with hopper) AND EVERYONE CLAPPED LOL. billy and dom talked about the best food in NZ, their show billy and dom eat the world, and the unfortunate events that led to the friendship onion's hiatus. it was a ton of fun to just watch them be themselves with each other, you can tell that these guys are all so fond of each other and love each other so much.

and finally, fig. 4: i bought these beautiful prints from @/batinyourbelfry and the skeletal washi tape from @/skeletalacademia (both on IG)

[emdotcom]

My brain is so full of Bees about Post-Shift 2.

It's a fan game that was delayed for 4 years -- by the time it released, fnaf fangames as a whole were not as popular as they had been, & most people in the scene had forgotten about Post-Shift 1, so not a lot of people heard about it/played it.

Worse still is the people who did talk about the game. Pretty unanimously, the consensus was this: this game is the craziest, most insane fnaf fangame. It's overly difficult with mechanics that have no rhyme or reason to them & tutorials that are wordy, unhelpful, & sometimes actively mislead the player, meaning you need to comb through a lot of text only to be misinformed. It's not as infamous as some other fangames, but it definitely was talked about very poorly.

In general, I think most of these criticisms were blown up out of proportion, but I can't really disagree with most people's problems -- it is difficult & wordy, & rather hard to understand. I think, however, that the game is still 1. Really fun, 2. Not a bad game at all, &, most importantly, 3. Is a free fucking game that was clearly a passion project. Most damn fangames never get off the fucking ground when made in groups because the creators will never make a red cent off the thing -- this game was made by one dude for 4 years & delivered to people for free. It didn't ask anything of you except to accept it as a difficult game & to not go in with wild expectations. The dev just wanted to make a game that was rough, but he also wanted to make a game that felt unique & was fun. & It is fun, too, is the damn thing.

[mostofthingsmostofthetime]

Annie Cresta: *is played by a woman with slightly wavy red hair*

Me: Give me this or give me death