Absolutely Agree.

Aight, so a suspect has been caught. In the next couple of days we’re going to be bombarded with a cavalcade of information about Luigi Mangione. As we start this period I want everyone to remember:

Luigi Mangione is a living, breathing, human being. He has followed people you don’t like, held beliefs you disagree with, and possibly voting for politicians you think suck.

He still shot a man with the blood of millions on his hands. He still caused an outpouring of rage that caused BCBS to roll back its ghoulish anesthesia policy.

Carve that into your fucking minds. Mass media is about to do its damnedest to remind us to hate each other, not the top .001%. Do not let them do this. Y’all understand what I’m saying? Here, lemme spell it out more clearly:

DO NOT FUCKING PURITY TEST THIS GUY, ASSHOLES!!

And if you see people fixating on his purity over the message he sent, call them out on it.

We have lost again and again and again on healthcare because we keep letting the rich divide us. Remember: the people united will never be defeated.

For everyone going through everything we're all going through right now...

here is a break from doom scrolling in the form of my cat teaching herself fetch. Enjoy.

Real talk though has anyone else just thrown away a whole Tupperware container bc you left food in there for way too long and now you’re afraid to open it?

Fun Story to Share.

I got my (now 18-year-old) daughter into Ao3 back in 2021. I taught her she should always comment - even if the fic looks old or abandoned or whatever. She did.

Well - she got this email this morning:

The fic was written in 2014 and essentially abandoned.

Bethy read and reviewed in 2021 (and was actually the only person who had commented at all).

Today in 2025 - the final chapter was posted by the author and this was her reply to Bethy’s comment.

———

Never question whether a fic is too old to comment on.

Chapter 9 of: Almost Is Never Enough is up now

💜______________💜

And then suddenly, shattering the quiet and hushed peace that lays over their vicinity Wille charges forward, brimming with a bright infectious joy as he spins a bit in the snow and looks back at Simon with the widest grin he's ever seen. Simon watches as he runs around a bit, feeling torn between wanting to join him and just enjoying the picture he makes running against the dark backdrop of snow flurries.

“Admit it, Simon!” He calls across the distance between them, waving at him. “Snow is amazing!”

Simon has to laugh, Wille looks so ridiculous in his sweatpants and the jacket he had hastily pulled on and boots that aren’t even laced up. He’s wearing a fluffy hat that is most definitely his sister Sara’s, purple with a fluffy pom pom at the top.

“Admit it!” Wille calls again and then he’s charging at him and Simon’s eyes widen, scrambling away and running in the opposite direction a wild laugh caught in his chest escapes him breathlessly when Wille runs squarely into him, arm around his waist nearly toppling them both to the ground.

This was a lie - we now know that Vincent thought beating up queer people during initiation was funny. the problem *is* partly that Simon is gay. Vincent is lying.

try and explain this scene to someone who doesn't watch the show because asdfghjkl

I'd love to talk more about the locker room scene in S2 E2 of Young Royals, where Wilhelm tries to convince Simon to get back together with him, in the process (sadly) demonstrating that he believes his mother's feeble offer to "talk" about him possibly coming out when he's 18. This takes place after his almost-removal from Hillerska.

Plenty of people have already pointed out how Henry snitched on Wille and Felice’s kiss, but apparently didn’t choose to tell anyone (as far as we’re aware) about Wilhelm almost pleading with Simon to get back together with him during that post-almost-dragged-out-of-Hillerska conversation. And that's definitely an interesting thing to chew on. But there's more...

Here are a few other things that stand out to me too:

First -

I think it’s worth pointing out the obvious — Wilhelm clearly sees Simon in his future long-term (possibly for the rest of his life). The way he casually says to Simon “So, we’d only have to keep it a secret for 2 years” implies three things very clearly.

a) He immediately and easily sees himself together with Simon in 2 years and beyond. Actually, specifically, definitely beyond. Because his eye is on the prize: coming out and living openly with Simon *after* he turns 18 — implying his focus is entirely on the intended afterwards period. He doesn’t even blink at that idea; it’s obvious to him.

b) He also really doesn’t seem to think 2 years is a big deal. For a teenager who’s only lived 16 years on this planet (only approximately ~11-ish of them in a state where they’re forming conscious memories) to think 2 years is just a drop in the bucket is kind of wild. Even 6 months feels like forever to a kid. So Wilhelm — a child — viewing time from this perspective suggests he’s likely balancing 2 years out against a much longer expanse of time; hence why those 24 months would look so minuscule and shrug-worthy by comparison. In other words: he sees himself with Simon in the LONG long term. Two years is nothing if you’re imagining growing old with someone and spending the rest of your many decades on this Earth with them. (All of this is pretty much confirmed later on in S2, when Wilhelm offers to abdicate the throne for Simon.)

c) He also doesn’t seem to think Simon should be appalled by the idea of waiting for 2 years. Yes, sure, we can chalk part of that up to selfishness and lack of mentalization / empathy for Simon’s point of view. But I’m going to suggest it’s more than that. My takeaway is that he assumes Simon also sees them as endgame, and so naturally wouldn’t be bothered by waiting a bit longer in order to spend forever together. (Sadly the conversation does not play out that way for him; ouch. Though no shade to Simon: what he said in response was realistic and fair.)

Second -

I think we have to rewatch his interactions with Simon as Henry slams a door and slowly walks past them with a raised eyebrow. Because, in S1, that Wilhelm would have immediately jumped away from Simon to create distance and try to pretend there’s plausible deniability about what their relationship has been and could be again. That’s (one) part of the whole point of S1: Wilhelm is not ready to be brave enough to face a homophobic aristocratic world and take a bold stance to stand by Simon.

Instead, in S2 E2, he sits still. He stays right next to Simon. In fact, he *leaves his hand resting directly on Simon’s thigh.* And he knows someone is coming their way! He heard the door slam inside the locker room. Obviously he knows someone else is here. But he doesn’t jump. He actually doesn’t really stir much at all.

He sits there like it’s of no importance, and he doesn’t care who sees. Or, even, who overheard this very intimate, vulnerable, and pleading conversation. A conversation in which the future King of their country is almost on the verge of begging his ex to please be his again… not just for now, but for multiple years’ time. I mean we’re like 2 steps away from Wille practically offering Simon a “promise ring” (not sure if that concept holds up in Europe, but it’s basically a very pre-engagement type thing in the US; it’s not common though). (Their convo also makes it very clear Simon was the one who dumped him and that he’s having trouble accepting that and moving on.)

Yet he doesn’t seem perturbed or disturbed by Henry’s presence and overhearing and seeing them. He doesn’t seem embarrassed at all. He’s not ashamed of his love for Simon. Even more specifically, he’s not afraid of people (Henry) seeing him put his heart out on the line, and of them knowing that he wants Simon back - not for just a hook-up, but for a very long-term, serious, committed relationship. And he doesn’t make any moves to emotionally or physically distance himself from Simon, despite Henry’s clear witnessing of this private moment.

This is a subtle way to show that, even though Wille hasn't yet gone through his full S2 journey of self-awareness and self-growth, he has still already begun changing and growing after the end of S1. So he’s at least started to learn some of his lessons about what he needs to do differently.

Anyhoo, the whole point I’m trying to make is… gosh there were so many fascinating things happening in that scene. And they rush right past us in the blink of an eye! But there is so much meaning built into every small interaction and non-interaction there, and into every nonchalant assumption the characters casually voice.

I’m sure there’s more meaning and are more details I missed, too! What did you think? I’d love to learn more from others’ perspectives, too. :)

Girls are like “I’m fine!” and then consume thousands of words of fanfiction to cope with their exhausting modern lives

Reserving judgement until someone finds the shooter’s Tumblr.