Many lies get told on TikTok ; also, many truths. One such truth came last weekend when a user with the handle @madallthatime explained that all the people looking for distinct Halloween costume ideas on social media were just being served the same videos by the algorithm—thus negating their uniqueness. Instead, this internet sage explained , they should be looking somewhere else: the #HearMeOut trend.
TikToks of the trend, also known as #HearMeOutCake, encompass a simple premise: A group of friends, or enemies, or coworkers, sets a cake on a table and then takes turns placing sticks in it. Upon each stick rests the image of a person—or fictional character, human or otherwise—on which the friend/enemy/coworker has an embarrassing crush. Sometimes it’s Mr.
Burns, sometimes it’s Fidel Castro. Always, it’s uncomfortable. That’s the point.
What @madallthatime was suggesting, though, was that all the faces on those cakes represented a font of untapped Halloween costume potential—a series of obscure characters perfect for All Hallows’ Eve partying. Every October the internet-savvy among us look for smart, creative outfits and decorations, and every year many of the best stem from bizarre memes. This is why that person who made a “ Pink Boney Club ” of skeletons in their yard in honor of Chappell Roan (er, Chappell Bone) has already been all over social feeds this fall.
(Just me?) But meme-as-costume, as an idea, doesn’t trend the way it used to. If anything,.
