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#That doesn't make you an authority or a historian.
rahabs · 6 months
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I'm forcefully removing these historical characters from your grasp until you learn to distinguish fictional representations of historical figures in a television show from the real historical figures.
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iamthedukeofurl · 5 months
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I feel like the Hbomberguy plagiarism video has a lot of really good lessons about building an argument. Like, the thesis of the video isn't just "Plagiarism is rife on Youtube", although that point was certainly well made, it was specifically about James Somerton, who isn't mentioned until about halfway through the video. Before then, Hbomb goes through several creators who are already widely discredited as plagiarists, and in each section he introduces concepts that are later incorporated into the final takedown of Somerton, but each section also stands on it's own. Like, he starts with Filip, the game reviewer, which he uses to introduce the format of how he will discuss and expose plagiarists. Specifically, the graphic of displaying the source material while the plagiarist's voice plays, and marking up said source material every time the plagiarist changes some wording slightly. This is the method that Hbomb uses across the entire video. With Illuminaughtii, Hbomb introduces a few major concepts 1) The idea of Insufficient citation. Illuminaughtii "Cites" her sources by putting a plaintext pastebin link in her video descriptions with no indication of how each source was used. Technically, her source is CITED, but not in any relevant or useful way. She has a big list of stuff she read, and a random youtube link in there happens to be the source that she stole 90% of the video from. 2) He introduces the profit motive behind this approach. Putting out a lot of content very quickly is how one builds an audience, and therefore an income, out of making stuff on youtube. Plagiarism of this sort is a way to produce content very quickly and build a following. The Internet Historian section introduces two new concepts:
1) The behavior of an exposed plagiarist, taking down and reuploading videos with minor changes, awkwardly trying to insert credit without admitting guilt. 2) That the plagiarists are stealing not just research, but STYLE. Previous sections go over how the plagiarists are reusing the same words, but this section oozes over how much of the final product's quality was the result of how well the source material was written. TIH didn't just crib the notes from the Mentalfloss article, he created a video heavily dependent on the original author's skill as a writer. When TIH tried his own hand at presenting the same set of facts, it came out much worse. So that when the time comes for the Somerton takedown, Hbomb has already laid the groundwork to bring these concepts back. Somerton takes down and reuploads videos when he's caught, he declares this his video is "based on" work by somebody else without providing proper citation. He's not just stealing research done by somebody else, he's taking their insights and talent as a writer and regurgitating it as his own, and he's doing so to churn out a vast wall of content that he can financially benefit from, and he doesn't need to tell you why this is important, because he's already done so. He already convinced you that Illuminaughtii hiding a line in a pastebin didn't excuse her plagiarism, so you don't need to be told why Somerton saying his video is "Based On" somebody else's book doesn't excuse it.
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getvalentined · 4 months
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everyone seems to know something about James Somerton that i don't. the notes on your post are full of people saying "sigh THIS guy again", and i would like to know if he's done something other than make those queer theory youtube videos which seem extemporaneous in nature. i would google it but i trust some of you more than reddit
James Somerton was recently exposed as having completely plagiarized probably 90% of his work—from Wikipedia, news outlets, smaller queer creators, and at least two dead queer creators. (The last one is particularly egregious, in my opinion, given his extremely fucked up claim a while back that all the Cool Gays died during the AIDS Crisis, apparently including the authors whose work he stole.)
You can see the entire rundown in HBomberguy's video Plagiarism and You(Tube), which has a staggering runtime of almost four hours, a solid half of which is dedicated entirely to James Somerton. The first two hours of the video cover other cases, one in meatspace (Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova's landmark case against Paramount and ABC over the plagiarism in Future Cop) and then some smaller instances on YouTube (Filip, Internet Historian, iilluminaughtii). The second half, timestamped starting here, is exclusively about James—and while it goes over the plagiarism, touches on the misogyny and misinformation*, and briefly covers his various other grifts, it doesn't cover everything.
*For more on the misinformation aspect, Todd in the Shadows did a two hour video exclusively about that!
Assuming James Somerton's entire body of paying supporters on Patreon are at the $1 tier, that's around $3k per month. Since we know that isn't the case, it's probably closer to 5-10 times that amount. This doesn't include ad revenue from YouTube, any sponsorships, or his crowdfunding efforts to produce films that have never come into being. This man has been raking in over $100k per year, at minimum, by stealing words from other creators, pretending they're his own, and then lying every single time he's been called out for it. He claimed one person doxxed him and sent him death threats, although all they'd actually done was engaged in a firm but polite conversation on Twitter about how he needs to do more than plug in a credit at the end of a video description if he's just reading out of someone else's book.
Yesterday he posted a trash apology video where he started off by claiming he'd just gotten out of the hospital after making an attempt on his own life, talked about moving back home, referred to what he'd done as "poor citation practices," and said that he'd be reopening his Patreon and putting all his old videos back up so that he could donate the ad revenue to Hbomb's fund to compensate the authors that James himself stole from.
So yeah. Uh. Fuck that guy.
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Last Updated: 2023-11-05
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Disclaimer: I am not the author of these stories, just sharing my favourite Dr. Leonard McCoy stories. Find the authors' links below. If you want your work removed, message me privately.
Legend: 〔E〕 ⇢ Erotic/Steamy | 〔F〕 ⇢ Fluff | 〔A〕 ⇢ Angst/Hurt 〔M〕 ⇢ Minor Angst/Hurt | 〔C〕 ⇢ Comfort | ♥︎ ⇢ Established Relationship | 𑁍 ⇢ Pregnancy/Children | 🚫 ⇢ Content Warning
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✵ An Apple a Day by annathewitch • 〔F᜶A〕 •
Summary: "An unexpected encounter with Leonard McCoy at the Academy leaves you with a poor impression. Will he manage to redeem himself when you encounter him again years later?"
✵ An Apple a Day by cas-kingdom • 〔F᜶C〕 •
Summary: "...apparently doesn't keep the doctor away. You've come down with the flu, and only Bones can make you feel better."
✵ April Showers Bring Flowering Feelings by hobbit-historian • 〔F〕 •
Summary: "When you get caught in a sudden rainstorm, McCoy comes to your rescue."
✵ Because Why? by geminiwritten • 〔F᜶A〕 •
Summary: "After five long years of pining for the doctor and a whole month of him acting weirdly distant you finally decide to go on a date, but when you get called in for your routine medical you end up finding out exactly why bones has been acting so strange."
✵ Concentration by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul▪︎18+▪︎〔E᜶F〕▪︎♥︎▪︎
Summary: When you answer a work call on your day off your husband decides to punish you by making it very hard to concentrate.
✵ Doctor of My Word [Soulmate!A.U.] by grandtheftstarship • 〔F〕 •
Summary: "To almost everyone on the Enterprise, it was... obvious that you were pining after the one and only Doctor Leonard McCoy. Everyone also found it glaringly obvious the CMO was pining right back."
✵ Dr. Dreamy by geminiwritten • 〔E᜶A〕 •
Summary: "it's been a while since [you got] laid, and it's starting to affect your mood... Jim offers his help before quickly realising that you're still hung up on a mysterious 'Mr. Dreamy' from your academy days... but he soon finds out that the man [you're] in lovewith... is, in fact, the enterprise’s best doctor."
✵ Drunken Promises by grandtheftstarship • 〔F〕 •
Summary: Waking up with a hangover and a ring around your left hand is not how you wanted to spend your shore leave.
✵ Game Night by geminiwritten • 〔F᜶C〕 •
Summary: "After… injuring yourself, you refuse to go to MedBay before attending a games night with the crew and your favourite grumpy (and very jealous) doctor."
✵ Hobgoblins and Hospitality by thatfanficstuff • 〔F᜶M〕 •
Summary: {…}
✵ Joanna by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
Summary: {…}
✵ Our Choices by imagines-for-the-fangirls- • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
Summary: The enterprise crew has returned to earth and you and Leonard are getting married.
✵ Paper Roses by ladyideal • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
Summary: It's your birthday and your boyfriend, Leonard planned a special surprise.
✵ Pick Me Up by grandtheftstarship • 〔F᜶C〕 • ♥︎ •
Summary: When you're sick, your boyfriend stays home to take care of you, making sure you're comfortable and building you a pillow fort.
✵ Proposal
✵ Roomies by geminiwritten • 〔E᜶F〕 •
Summary: "..."jim’s determination to play matchmaker leads to a very awkward roommate situation… Not to mention, there’s only one bed .
✵ Sick by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
Summary: {…}
✵ Southern Charm by high-functioning-lokipath • 〔F〕 •
Summary: "..."
✵ Things that Go Bump in the Night by annathewitch • 〔F〕 •
Summary: "[When you're] having trouble sleeping… McCoy tries to help [you] with [your] unusual problem."
✵ To Annoy a Doctor by cas-kingdom • 〔F᜶C〕 •
Summary: "You're a very difficult patient, and unfortunately for you, Bones has very little tolerance."
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✵ 214 by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 •
✵ Blundering Infatuation
✵ Clean by pendragonfics • 〔F᜶C〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Come Back to Bed by dreaming-about-fanfictions • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Dammit by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Dive by thatfanficstuff • 〔F〕 •
✵ Either Way by ivorydragoness44 • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Favours by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 ��� ♥︎ •
✵ Germs by thatfanficstuff • 〔F〕 •
✵ Glasses by space-helen • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Grumpy Cuddles by thranduilsperkybutt • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ It's My Job by shenanigans-and-imagines • 〔F〕 •
✵ Just Perfect by imamotherfuckingstar-lord • 〔F〕 •
✵ Marriage in the Rescue, the by kaitymccoy123 • 〔F〕 •
✵ Not Just Yet by ivorydragoness44 • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Right Here, Darlin' by thesteveharringtonclub • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Sickness by marvelmymarvel • 〔F᜶C〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Well Adjusted Adults by ladyideal • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ What's on Your Mind? by ivorydragoness44 • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
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❧ Being Married to Leonard McCoy… by imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ Dating Leonard McCoy… by octopodeez • 16+ • 〔F〕 • ♥︎ •
✵ First Kiss w/ Leonard… by space-helen • 〔F〕 •
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See Also: Navigation || Leonard McCoy Master Index
Authors: @annathewitch | @cas-kingdom | @dreaming-about-fanfictions | @geminiwritten | @grandtheftstarship | @high-functioning-lokipath | @hobbit-historian | @imagines-for-the-fangirls-soul | @imamotherfuckingstar-lord | @ivorydragoness44 | @kaitymccoy123 | @ladyideal | @marvelmymarvel | @octopodeez | @pendragonfics | @shenanigans-and-imagines | @space-helen | @thatfanficstuff || @thesteveharringtonclub || @thranduilsperkybutt ||
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marzipanandminutiae · 3 months
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Same anon from before, and I take back my question about voting. Was catching up on your blog and saw that you have been anti-Hamas despite your only source is an article from Newsweek (Zionist publication) written by an author who is followed exclusively by Zionist on Twitter and has almost no online footprint otherwise
For a historian, your analysis is shockingly ahistorical and I doubt you have much to add on the convo around voting
Sorry for both asks, wish I could unsend the first, but I hope in the future you take additional time to look into non white histories and opinions before spreading posts that are ultimately harmful
I'm sorry, being anti-Hamas is controversial now? I don't want ANY group harming ANY civilians, and if you feel differently, I don't think I'm the one who needs to look into additional opinions.
here is an article from Amnesty International which, while it doesn't solely focus on Hamas, definitely agrees that they have been known to commit human rights violations against Palestinians
also, Israel's response has been wildly disproportionate and horrific, but Hamas very much did directly kill over a thousand Israeli civilians. Like. That is a thing that happened. it does not justify what the Israeli goverment has done since; I want to be very clear on that. but they still did it. no analysis of history can make that okay in my eyes
like. my god. yes, I'm opposed to them. anyone with an ounce of compassion should be. I thought we were all supporting Palestine because we wanted less senseless killing, not because we wanted different people to be doing it to different targets
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chriscdcase95 · 5 months
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Wednesday Addams doesn’t cuddle. Doesn’t snuggle. And doesn’t like to be serenaded. Not in public at least.
It’s something she saves for special occasions, but it’s a promise that she made Enid. And Enid intends to hold her to that…
Or because AO3 doesn’t allow full lyric song fics. 
Authors Note: The main song here "Could I Be Your Girl ?" by Jane Arden - lyrics reworked for a Sapphic context.
— — — —
In their dorm, Wednesday is at her typewriter, finishing up a segment in her latest chapter.
Her story features a vampire protagonist who was born on December 24th, and she has spent over half the day researching how Christmas was celebrated in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Behind her, the door opens and Enid steps in looking proud of herself.
“I did it!” Enid exclaims, tossing her bag on the bed.
“Killed your mother ?” Wednesday doesn't even look away from the type-writer, a ghost of a smile on her face “Well, I'm proud of you, but announcing it so brazenly-”
“No silly,” Enid walks up behind Wednesday, wrapping her arms around her from behind, resting a chin on her shoulder “I not only passed the history exam, I beat it!”
Wednesday tries to remain sober, she really does, but her snarky declaration of being proud becomes a lot more genuine.
The past week, Enid had to do a history exam regarding the Civil war and accounts of how confederate raiders in Evermore.
For her assignment Enid was trying to prove the often disputed accounts of the “Red Bath” siege - something Evermore's historians usually don't seriously consider. Notably, the accounts of Addams' ancestors at the time, Ezekial "Tanhide" Addams and his sister Morrigan, holding Evermore's fort during these raids.
Anyways, Wednesday's tutoring of Enid helped her prove the authenticity of these accounts, and further debunked the claims of “reformed” confederate Captain Normanmeyer, whose atrocities were similarly downplayed or dismissed by Evermore historians.
Bottom line, Enid not only passed with flying colors, but drove the history teacher and even local historians into an existential crisis. And for that, Wednesday was extremely proud.
So much so...that before the exam, she promised Enid she would let her-
“Soooo,” Enid says, a sly grin washing over her face, as a look of realization washes over Wednesday's “About my reward...”
A little flustered, Wednesday has a rare uncertain expression on her face, when she looks at an expectant Enid.
“Can-can this wait, you know, until tonight ?”
“Oh, but Honey Badger,” Enid takes one of Wednesday's hair braids, and twirls it around her finger “I've been waiting all week..”
Wednesday exhales deeply through her nose.
She did promise Enid. And Enid has been patient.
“Very well,” Wednesday says, getting up and away from her chair and Enid, making her way towards their window, preparing to close the blinds.
“No.” Enid says.
“No ?”
“I want them open.”
“Enid!” Wednesday didn’t mean to raise her voice, nor could she help the flustered blush that washed over her.
But Enid’s request and how brazen she was being caught Wednesday off guard. She honestly didn’t know what came over her.
“I want the window open too...” Enid grins.
“But-”
“Please Wends ?” Enid gives a sad puppy dog look, pushing out her lower lip.
Wednesday takes a deep breath. 
Were they really gonna do this ? Was she really going to let Enid cuddle and snuggle her, to serenade her for the world to see and hear ?
Sweet Morrigan, Enid was going to be the death of her! And Wednesday found herself loving Enid more for it.
And if that annoying voice in the back of her head was any indication…she wasn’t opposed to letting anyone hear Enid’s sing to her. 
Wednesday let Enid cuddle her like this three times before; she let Enid sing to her three times before. No self respecting Addams would admit to it, but it did things to her.
But this time, letting others know that Enid snuggles her and sings to her…it meant something far more intimate. It let the world know she belonged to her.
Composing herself, Wednesday tries to remain sober as she opens the window.
“If that’s what you want,” she says “It is your reward.”
Blushing with excitement, Enid takes her place on the bed, waiting for Wednesday, who takes her time making her way to their bed.
“Although…” Wednesday says, trying to delay the inevitable “I had other ideas-”
Wednesday makes a noise like a yelp, as Enid takes her by the wrist and pulls her into the bed. In what was about ten and eight seconds in real time, felt like forever as Wednesday was pulled onto Enid's lap, and she felt herself freeze. 
Enid giggles as she feels Wednesday tense and shiver. To relax her, she gingerly moves her hands up and down Wednesday’s shoulders and arms.
“Ready ?”
Wednesday closes her eyes, taking a shaky breath.
“Just…just do it.”
With a small smile, Enid wrapped her arms around Wednesday’s stomach and gently pulled her in, snuggling her from behind. Wednesday takes several deep breaths, before she feels Enid gently rocking her from side to side. 
Enid is humming a tune, which gets her to relax a little.
After a moment, Enid rests her chin on Wednesday’s shoulders, putting lyrics to the tune in a soft singing voice.
“Hide your heart under the bed/And lock your secret drawer/Wash the angels from your head/Won't need them anymore,” Enid begins to sing “Love is a demon and you're the one she's coming fooor/Ooooh my Lord...”
Wednesday is flushed, she opens her eyes to look out the window. She can hear students outside. Which meant they could hear Enid.
But if she keeps her voice at this soft volume–
Wednesday’s hopes and silent prayers were shot down, as Enid raises her singing voice to a greater tempo.
“She's bringing sweet salvation/Let temptation take you in/She's every fear and every hope/And every single sin/She is the universe, the love you've been imaginiiiing/Ooooh myyyy Lord/Oh my, my/Oh myyyyy Looooord/Oh myyyyy, my Lord...”
Wednesday opens her mouth, about to verbally object that they could be heard. But Enid’s singing voice had an effect on her that humbled her. Divina is clearly some sort of influence on Enid, but she doesn’t know if that is a good or bad thing.
“And I am ashes/I am Gaia/I am precious/Could I be your girl ?/Could I be your giiiirl?” Enid hits the chorus.
Wednesday opens one eye to the window. The voices outside have stopped. Either they’ve all gone indoors…or they could hear it.
They could hear Enid, and they would know…some might want to investigate — confirm their suspicions — and they would know for sure. They would know that Wednesday Friday Addams, daughter of Gomez and Morticia…allowed her significant other to cuddle and serenade her for the world to hear.
“Put a chair against the door/And turn the lights down low/Write a letter to yourself/No one will ever know/Tell them all about the girl who just refused to fall/Ooooh my Lord-”
At the start of the school years, Wednesday would get so mortified at the very thought or idea, that she would sooner go a week in all pink. And yet…Wednesday find herself liking it. 
“She is the very breath you feel inside your lungs at night/She is the bitter wind who's drying up your appetite/She is the darkness that seeps into your fading liiight,” Enid continues, affectionately nuzzling her nose into Wednesdays hair “Ooooh myyy Lord/Oh my, my, oh myyyyy Looooord...”
Outside the dorm, several students are listening, with mixed expressions of disbelief, and embarrassment.
Everyone’s eyes are towards the dorm, and the open window. Vampires are paying attention. Gorgons are paying attention. Werewolves and Sirens are ESPECIALLY paying attention. Bianca is looking away, covering her mouth with a flustered expression.
“And I am ashes, I am Gaia/I am precious/Could I be your giiiirl?/Could I be your giiiiirl?/ Ooooh.” Enid continues to sing.
Across the courtyard, Yoko and Divina are coming back to the school grounds. The latter with two ice cream cones in hand.  Between them is four year old Pubert Addams, who Yoko and Divina have taken to get ice cream when Wednesday dropped babysitting duties on them.
A mortified Yoko crouches down, protectively covering Pubert’s innocent ears, while Divina nods towards the dorm with an approving expression.
“And I am worthless sounds compared to all your perfect words/Could I be your giiiirl?/Could I be your giiiiiirl?”
As Enid hums the instrumental, Wednesday tries to formulate any lucid thought, her fluttering eyes still to the window. Her breathing is heavy through her nose. She bites her lower lip, and couldn’t stop her blush if she tried. 
And she did. She really did.
It’s only when she thinks she can breathe, that is when Enid hits the final chorus.
“Wash the angels from your head/Won't need them anymore/Hide your heart under the bed/And lock your secret drawer/Love is a demon, and you're the one she's coming for/Ooooh myyy Lord!”
“Oh my lord…” slips past a flustered Wednesday’s lips, and she really hopes she is mouthing. But she can feel Enid smirking against her neck, and had the sinking feeling that she heard it. And the others heard it from outside.
Wednesday thought she could die…and yet. It made her feel alive! 
She can certainly understand why her parents are so cuddle/serenade happy when they think she, Pugsley or Pubert couldn’t hear them. Morticia’s “talk” with her was right. It did feel natural. And with that, Enid brought the final verses to a close. 
“Oh my, my lord/Oh my Lord/Could I be your girl ?/Oh my Lord)/Could I/Could I be your girl…”
Enid brings her voice lower and softer, a gentle hush and she feels Wednesday squirm a little.
“Oh, sorry!” Endid releases Wednesday, and gives her some space.
Wednesday, still catching her breath, doesn’t even care if her face is red. She adjusts her hair and waves her hand to fan off her face, before placing it on her forehead. For a moment she doesn’t say anything, as she tries to compose herself.
“I’m sorry I–” Enid tries to stay, but stops when Wednesday holds a finger up to silence her.
Wednesday takes another moment, before looking at Enid.
“Could…?” Wednesday tries to say, before her face turns a mild pink. 
She bites her lip and takes a deep breath, and it dawns on Enid what she is trying to say.
“Could…I…try that…with you ?” Wednesday winces, not believing she was actually saying this. 
“Yes!” Enid says excitedly, before trying to calm herself, and okay it cool “I mean- I mean sure.”
Hesitantly, Wednesday inches her way towards “Just gonna…”
She reaches forward with shaky arms, wrapping  them around Enid’s waist and pulling her in close. It’s a little off, but it was more or less the same position Enid held her moments ago.
Wednesday wasn’t used to being the big spoon and it shows.
“Are you sur-?”
“Yeah. Just- just don’t patronize me, okay ?” Wednesday says, still a little flushed as she flickers her eyes at the open window.
Going through the motions, Wednesday begins rocking side by side. It’s awkward, stilted and clearly out of her comfort zone, but Enid’s relaxed exhale tells Wednesday she’s doing something right. 
Already, Wednesday was humming a tune, and she didn’t even realize it until she realized she had to put words to it now. She opens her eyes, looking at Enid and that bright encouraging smile. With a friendly pat on the head, Enid silently tells her to go for it.
Licking her lips, and taking a deep, shuddering breath…Wednesday puts lyrics to her tune.
“Sometimes the snow comes down in June/Sometimes the sun goes round the moon,” Wednesday begins “I see the passion in your eyes/Sometimes it’s all a big surprise…”
Enid wants to say something to the effect of “Atta girl”, but doesn’t want to break her stride.
“Cause there was a time when all I did was wish/You'd tell me this was love,” Wednesday continues, her eyes briefly flickering at the window “It's not the way I hoped/Or how I planned/But somehow it's enough…”
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weaselbeaselpants · 5 months
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Lindsay Ellis plagiarized a ndn author
This post isn't a callout and it's only my own post because the OP source I just learned it from, @neechees, doesn't allow rbgs at a certain point on that post.
After Hmbomberguy's expose on Illuminaughtii and James Somerton some people are giving a well deserved eye back to the leftube sphere that was kind of schism-d and held under scrutiny in what I feel was, a lot of the time, misinformed hate campaigns in response to genuine criticism; especially towards Lindsay Ellis who up left after she was canceled and hasn't returned to continuous video making publicly even after people have mostly agreed the hatedom directed for her Raya and the Last Dragon takes was stupid and was erasing actual SEA people's discussions of the culture. To hear and see a decent breakdown of that film's representation problems BEYOND the Ellis-parts because it's worth your wild regardless of if you've seen the movie, please watch the three part video series hosted by Xiran Jay Zhao.
To tl;dr the 2021 drama: people have held an ire towards Ellis for a long time feeling like her and her white-woman base talk over, steal, or just straight up don't apologize for their own racism towards women and ppl of color, and after Lindsay did a problematic by pointing out that Raya and the Last Dragon was like ATLA, people jumped on her.
Being both a longtime fan of Ellis and white as fucc, I personally feel like Lindsay kind of forgave herself and threw out the actual criticisms held against her every bit as much as people just kind of treated her like a punching bag. Or, to paraphrase @padawan-historian's old takes from then, they treated Lindsay like she was trying to be the ENTIRE conversation, not the start of one, and like every possible outcome that could happen over her videos was her fault personally. Some of Lindsay's loudest and nastiest 'critics' were, in fact, other white people or just people who have no good faith in addressing her fuck ups, like Lily Orchard, fe.
One 'Lindsay did a racism'point tho that I felt wasn't truly addressed in full though were claims by indigenous people that she was anti-native, especially in her videos about Twilight and Pocahontas, which yeah at the time I was very passive of you can 100% find post abt that. But then Neechees linked me to an article I, and I think a lot of other video essay-fans had never seen before. This article accused Lindsay of stealing half of her talking points on Disney's Pocahontas from theirs.
When people on the breadtube spectrum talk of Lindsay, even people who criticized her at the time. all kind of agree that the intensity of the backlash was uncalled for and, while not everyone agrees if her public silence is a 'canceling' or not, agree with her need to just take care of herself these days. For those curious, this is the article making this claim:
I am not saying you need to all unfollow and hate everything Lindsay ever touched, mkay? But I also genuinely hope that Lindsay addresses this+comes clean because holy fuck. Unlike Somerton, all I can tell you is I don't just 'believe Windsey wouldn't hurt nobody uwu~'. I am pretty certain that Lindsay care about the topics she covers, for whatever that's worth to say as another whiteperson. It's just that, like Contrapoints, I ALSO think she has a tendency to deflect criticism within that sphere and lump all her negative bagage together. This really sucks cuz not all of us are Lily Orchards or Vaush clones.
Most of us are/were casual watchers of Lindsay like we are Hbomber, Contra, Lady Emily, Folding Ideas, and ToddintheShadows (does he count as leftube idk?) and we really, genuinely don't want to believe that Lindsay stole from + refuses to listen to women of color when they call her out.
Where I like almost everyone in the leftoob analyst sphere that's ever growing and hopefully now weeding out Illumanaughtii-s and Sommerton-s of the world, there ARE controversies within the space that I don't agree with creators on. Some are dumb things like the exact takes Lindsay has about movies n shows that I just up and disagree with her on, Princess Weekes' proshipping apologia that I have LOTS of thoughts on. However, some matters are clearly personal and about maters that just don't involve me. Earlier this year, Folding Ideas and Lady Emily ctrl+alt+deleted some replies they made to Quinton Reviews, making clear that they very much still dislike him based on something that happened between Quinton, Lindsay and I think SarahZ. And by "dislike", I mean also still believeing his former editor over him on who was boundary pushing about who in their relationship. On the offchance any of those creators or their stans somehow see this, know that I'm not going to tell any of you guys how to feel about whatever Quinton did in private I'm not aware of; it's just that I also happen to believe Quinton on this issue and I don't like the guiltybyassociation mantra.
>>>>side note: I hate that every time someone says "I believe so and so after hearing their side now" ppl jump on the "you were just a stan from the beginning and never actually able to listen"-bs. Yeah, being more familiar with one creator over the other means there's bias, sure, but I kinda hate that that once held bias means you can't be held as any kind of source or form your own opinions. <<<
Big introvert vibes ahead: the thing about any big social circle of better-spoken people than you is they ALL seem like a scary meangirl's table from outside looking in. The kind that'll send goons after you with passive-aggressive "this is slander against me and I have the right to be upset abt it sorry if the stans eat you alive". They can also be made out by their fans to be harmless internet nobody's who YOU are at fault for getting mad and staying mad at cuz it's not like it matters on the internet and are clearly just out for drama and 'twofaced' yourself. I think the reality is the same thing that drives every community forward as well as drives them apart: these people are legitimate friends. They stick up for each other the same way we stick up for our personal internet friends whenever there's shit coming their way. The breadtube circle, whoever that is at this point, clearly know some shit we don't about themselves as much as they don't know shit about us and our true intentions. One of them has a platform and responsibility, where the other has power in masses and following them or not. We gotta all make the choices best for us.
Anyway. I guess, if any of the stuff about Lindsay ripping off that writer IS true, I really hope that she admits and apologizes for it. That's not cool to do to her indigenous audience, or even me, one of her white fans who expects actually allyship.
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Yes bsd is a great manga and anime with thought-provoking story and great characters with philosophical senses but they aren't equal with their real life selfess. The above-mentioned writers put their thoughts into writing for years despite mental illnesses, thought floods and depressions. Some of them wanted their ideas to be remembered, some of them had something they wanted to say, some of them wrote without caring about being read, some of them addressed the world, but there was always one person that they all touched. They deserve to remembered with their ideas and ideologies or at least stories. In Japanese literature, which bsd start with, almost everyone had an anonymous pen name, and the world of japanese literature developed with sources covered up and without archives. The spread of misinformation among fans of this anime, which has very few sources compared to derivative literature and mainly features real-life Japanese authors, has to stop or literarature will be ruined. No longer human is NOT an autobiography. These authors, novelists and poets AREN'T equal with their real-life selfess. Osamu Dazai liked to give his character pieces of his personality and branch out, but that doesn't make No Longer Human an autobiography. The motivations, goals and personalities of the writers are not exactly the same. Of course, when you look deeply, the obvious connections are woven in detail, but they are not exactly the same. When I typed Nikolai Gogol into Google, bsd Nikolai came up and I realized how dire the situation was. Nikolai Gogol deserve to remember as author and with books, stories, poems he write. I mean, if you say i like Nikolai Gogol and i am a fan of Nikolai Gogol, if you don't mention the anime cheracter i want to talk with you BOTH real life author and bsd or only real life. If you mention anime so it's okay lets talk but if you don't then no, you mention real life by mention only Nikolai Gogol you can't denial this. I want to kneel at Asagiri's feet and beg to him to write on manga and anime episodes "The characters in this manga have the same names as living authors and are inspired by them, but they are fictional characters and have no direct connection to the authors." So that fanlad can start to recognize the authors as authors. Now, for Osamu Dazai and Fyodor, it is said that the character in the book creates the anime character rather than the author's selfes. I read The Flowers of Buffoonery (the first story included No Longer Human's protoganist) and I can't reject this theory with certainty. So if we know characters in anime aren't their real life selfess we also understand theories. This is important. False information about writers should not be spread, of course, this does not mean that humor should not be made or shipped, we just need to be able to distinguish the difference. Even though we say Soukoku is literally canon, we must warn those who cite Osamu Dazai's book Memories as a source.
Books and authors life CAN use for characters motivation and connection because Asagiri literally did this. Memories book ia still important for age!15 manga and story just not for soukoku
Credit: @bungoustraydogs-tr
Yes, the real Osamu Dazai was bisexual, but this has no connection to the anime. Fyodor Dostoyevsky also expressed his respect for Nikolai Gogol and quoted and praised him at every opportunity. Moreover, if the author dynamics in Russian literature are examined, it is possible that the two had a sincere conversation. (No historian has given this assurance and there is no evidence just a possibilty) Does this make Fyolai canon? Osamu Dazai imperessed by Fyodor Dostyevski. Or is Dostoyevsky a terrorist? Gogol?
....We cannot make these people, who wrote to keep their thoughts alive, appear to be someone they are not.
Imagine Osamu Dazai's situation. You are finally in peace that you never reach then you turn in to world to see peoples who look at you with no knowledge of you..
I am grateful to @bsd-bibliophile to all literature sources they archive
And if you like these NEVER stop ranting about characters, ship them and make memes. They are us, our loves and beloveds. They are bsd characters. Just stop using books as a source of ships.
What can i say bsd have a universe which ink of each letter written changes the fate of the next page. There are so much more thing to wonder
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i-am-the-oyster · 1 month
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Can you tell me about Lewisohn and why he’s so hated? I’m a bit new here and I was recommended a blog that is solely dedicated to hating this guy. Was he a homophobe or did he do something rude to the boys?
Hello anon! I feel your pain. Lewisohn is a controversial figure, and it can be hard to get a read on what people think of him and why.
Lewisohn is writing what he hopes will be the definitive history of the Beatles. He has so far completed volume 1 (which covers from before they were born till 1962), as well as several other books from before he started working on the series.
He is very popular with some parts of the fandom because he has done really extensive research and is considerably better than other authors I could name.
But, there are some serious issues with his work.
First of all, his author bios tend to call him "the acknowledged authority" and his wiki article refers to him as a "historian". I would be slow to apply either of those terms to him. His training and experience are in journalism, and he does not apply modern standards of historical research to his work.
Secondly while his writing is engaging (I read the extended version of Tune In and missed it when it was over) his analysis is often lacking in empathy. For example, he tells us (ad nauseam) how "mean" and "cheap" Paul was, but doesn't take any time to consider the money and family issues Paul was facing that a) didn't apply to the others b) might have caused such behaviour. If the most ambitious and diligent musician in the group won't buy himself a new guitar, maybe he has a reason, you know?
Thirdly, he's weirdly dismissive of oral accounts. Liverpool locals figured out where Paul had his paper round, but it wasn't on a piece of paper, so as far as ML was concerned it didn't count.
Fourthly (this list is getting long) he had some kind of falling out with Paul (and Apple Corps) around 2009. He went from being invited to write Paul's biography to being dis-invited. It's not clear exactly what when on between them, but ML has not acknowledged that it might impact his objectivity wrt his writing.
Fifth he completely ignores queer issues. There's a part where he sort of darkly hints about George's sexuality, but in a childish heternormative way. His treatment of Brian's sexuality isn't completely terrible, but neither is it fantastic. I'd be amazed if he ever addresses the evidence for, eg, John's bisexuality.
One of the most difficult things for me is that he's overtly racist against the Irish in the worst self-satisfied Brit way (apologies to my British readers if that sounds harsh, but it is A Thing).
I would still recommend reading it, but as with all books on the Beatles, you must take it with a pinch of salt. Go in aware of his bias against Paul and his hero-worship of John, and there's a lot to be gained from reading the book, in my opinion.
And I really hope that he'll eventually pass on his extensive research collection as a public resource for actual historians to comb over and analyse.
@wingsoverlagos and @mythserene have done some detailed analysis of specific problems with his work, especially his terrible citation "style". (He merges quotes from different contexts, adds words in square brackets that change the meaning, chops out relevant information, and more). Some of those posts might seem a bit vitriolic if you're coming at them cold, but once you know the context the ire makes sense.
For a really in-depth analysis of the problems with his treatment of Paul in Tune In check out @anotherkindofmindpod's series Fine Tuning.
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frevandrest · 1 month
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There had been a number of questionable takes recently regarding the Frev in the past few days that came in succession . Do you reckon if works in the past decades or so that were published in France and were made available to English readers would it may have at least mitigated such thing to ever happen or is the black legend so ingrained that even with the idea of an era where works by Belissa et Al were in circulation in English to people outside France, the result would be the same?
Before I reply, I need to make a disclaimer that I am not the best person to answer this question. I arrive from a very different educational tradition (neither Anglo nor French), and I actually discovered embarrassingly late about the whole black legend and the fact that, among some, the French Revolution was considered a horrible event (that failed). I was taught it was an event that changed the world forever (and helped shape the world today, mostly in a positive sense) and that it has to be studied to understand our world. So I am not the best person to judge the effect of the black legend vs new historiography. If others have more informed takes, please tell us; I am super interested. Now, the bad (as in, incorrect) takes we get here. They happen periodically, and they tend to be very similar, often by people claiming (and I have no reason to doubt them) that they are taking history courses on frev, typically in the USA. So these takes tell me about the state of teaching frev in the USA (Anglo?) sphere. Which is not necessarily the same as "what experts publish in academic articles", because - not sure if people are aware of it, so I need to emphasize - you do not have to be an expert on a topic to teach it at the university level. You typically need a PhD in the discipline, but not necessarily on the topic of the course you teach. I can imagine that they won't give a frev course to someone with a PhD in, say, antiquity, but "early modern period" is good enough, even if you are not an expert on France or the revolution.
Sorry for this preamble; I swear it is related to your question. What I mean is that these specific takes we saw here seem to me (though I could be wrong) not necessarily a product of current English-language academia on frev, but what students are taught. So yes, it is a good question on what kind of books students are given on the mandatory readings list, and if those teaching are even aware of the most current English-language books on the topic (let alone French). I swear most of this stuff is so dated and proven to be incorrect over and over again. We had someone a few months ago saying they read Carlyle for their frev class. ?? This is really strange to me, especially in the North American academia, where even books that are considered new-ish elsewhere, are seen as old, so why teach something published in early 19c? Unless you want to demonstrate changed attitudes about frev and discuss historiography, propaganda, etc. which doesn't seem to be the case. Those assigning such readings are teaching what they feel is true. So I can only guess that they never bothered to read newer stuff. Look. I am all for authors not liking the French Revolution or specific things in it (I am critical of many frev stuff myself), but you have to use current sources that go through earlier misconceptions. We can't still be stuck at "dictator Robespierre who ruled France", a thing that was disproven so long ago and no credible historian believes in (even if they hate Robespierre).
Now, this is about teaching history at the university level and not about experts in academia, because I do think most incorrect takes we get here on tumblr are from students. Experts sticking to the black legend and "horrible horror of the revolution that failed anyway and didn't achieve anything" are a different group. Though I am not an expert on the current historiography to judge it in detail. So, if someone reading this knows more and can explain, please share!
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streaminn · 9 months
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My brain is bored and my mind is thinking
Say, we all know that Wednesday is lowkey spoilt right? She always expected things to go her way, you can see it in the way she barges into Weems office or how lil care she has whenever she shoves orders at the sheriff's face
So imagine what happens when someone ghosts her
It'd strike her pride because well, Wednesday is the best and she knows this. There would be no reason for why someone wouldn't listen to her nor would there be a reason for someone to... Ignore her like this either
Now that we got that, lemme set the scene
They're adults, no supernatural, just a completely modern au
Enid is an accountant. It's boring, not at all what she expects from when she was younger but all she has to do is calculate money and it's monotonous enough that she can go through days absolutely no thoughts head empty
It's not the future she wants but it's the future she got
Yoko, her lovely coworker notices how not so firey her seatmate is and offers a new chat app because nothing is as fun as deciding to troll random people
Enid squints at the name. "are you seriously telling me to E date right now?"
"pshhhh, ofcourse not!" yoko says unconvincingly. "just get on and play around with some people, maybe talking to someone other than boss and me could liven you up :D"
Enid stares, wondering how tf did yoko do that before sighing and downloading the app. "if I get doxxed, you're helping me move to a new house."
Yoko waves a hand before twirling back to her cubicle. "thank me if you find a sugar daddy!"
Enid flushes. "you know I don't swing that way!"
Yoko laughs.
The blond grumbles before tapping at the recently downloaded app. It's literally like tinder and Enid knows that this is a dating app trying to hide as something else
So in payback, Enid starting basing her profile of yoko. She wasn't petty enough to snap a Pic of her best friend so she went to Google and kind of try harded in making her profile look like an emo girl's aesthetic board
Huh, maybe yoko has a point, this is pretty fun
Oh for the days where Enid could make things, maybe she should pick up crocheting again. Tempting, she'll do that when she gets home
As soon as she was done, Enid began randomly swiping right with absolutely no care at all.
Enid still places her name as enid because.. Why not. By the time she finished her bio, she got too lazy to create a new name so actual name it is!
It takes a bit because apparently no one in this app likes edgy girls who enjoy dark walks, cadaver dogs and wine so dark red it looks like blood. Enid only liked one thing in that list and she wonders how did she become friends with someone with such concerning interests.
Honestly, now that Enid is think about it, her profile kind of sounds like a serial killer's. If they were dumb and was way too open about their interest, so it was no wonder no one was swiping on her
But as she was about to put the phone down and have some faith in people's taste in women, a match was made
Okay, concerning
Time to have some fun.
Immediately, Enid knew this must be some satire account because really? Wednesday A? Very interesting because she too didn't have pictures of herself, instead it was pretty good shots of a Gothic looking house, a lion?? A graveyard and a typewriter
Clearly they were trying to be all Dracula up in this place.
In the bio, it simply said
> author
Enid nods, she can respect sticking to the bit. She lowkey expected a historian but vampires being authors felt fitting aswell
Well, no time like the present! Why not do some classic rp for the shits and giggles
So they start talking
Wednesday types like she doesn't know how to use simply words and well, Enid would've loved to reciprocate because damn the amount of immersion is impressive but after the fifth typo, Enid gave up
And oh, she's a woman
Enid kind of expected a dude to be trolling but when she went "hello good sir, what are you doing this fine day?"
She kind of chokes on her water when Wednesday replies with a "Its ma'am and the day is going quite horridly, the weather where I am at has the temper and I can not wait to experience it first hand."
Who in the nine hells says horridly??
But hey, Wednesday is rping a vampire, Enid can't be all pissy when she's good at it
So they text and they text for days. Maybe it's been a month and Wednesday is just as weird as always, no breaking of character at all and Enid can respect the dedication. Call it escapism but enid has fun acting like she totally would not grimace at the sight of a dead body when Wednesday talked in detail about her novel. From what she's sees, Wednesday sounds like she probably didn't have much friends due to her interests and Enid gets that, so there's no harm in indulging
Until one day, she gets invited out to hang with yoko for the weekend and since she was in such a hurry, she kind of left her phone in her house
Wednesday, old money and living in seclusion, Addams isn't taking that so well. Finally after decades, someone takes her being wholly herself and doesn't seem disgusted. Normally she didn't care, she joined this app simply because her parents insisted for some sort of social interaction outside of family
But enid was different, she didn't try to change the subject, instead she oohs and aaahs at any info Wednesday gives. It's.. Intoxicating when Enid points out how smart she must be to know these type of things. Actually! She wondered more about her family history and didn't sound at all surprised when Wednesday mentions their odd background.
"it's fitting," Enid types. "that you would come from such a strong family, I'm sure they're proud to have someone like you."
It makes a part of Wednesday soar so mayhaps she was going through something when Enid doesn't reply one day.
It goes like this
- Enid - Enid answer me, I know you never go about without your phone - Enid did someone kidnap you? I've gone through channels and none of them match your description - Have I done something wrong? Perhaps a slight that I did not know was a thing? -
"pugsley," Wednesday says, pushing open be door to his room. Her hand is tight on her phone before she slides it over with a tense jaw. "I need you to do find the location of this woman."
Pugsley peers at the screen, raising a brow at the rather nondescript pfp. In bold letters is the username: Enid
the brother agrees and just like that, Enid fate was sealed. The blond was absolutely unaware of what she just got herself into, far too busy spending time with yoko
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fractiflos · 6 months
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awww poor Yoichi :(
Hmm, do you have any immortal headcanons?
I felt so sorry for him the whole time I was writing that AU. But yes, I do have some immortal OFA users headcanons.
Note: This time, an immortality quirk got mixed in with stockpile, so the users all had to fake their deaths. The headcanons go from there.
Yoichi had fun writing the books he always wanted to write, but under a pseudonym of course. His brother hates his books of course and vows to hunt down the author. (Yoichi does change pseudonyms and stuff every few years)
Also, once every few years, Yoichi will get HOOKED on some trend. It lasts about twice as long as it takes for the trend to die down.
Second married Yoichi and while he wanted to just steal what they needed; Yoichi convinced him to get money in a more ethical way. So, he became a mechanic. The only bad thing is they have to move every few years as they look the same age they were when they passed on OFA. Like the vampires in Twilight.
I headcanon Third as aro/ace, so this is a duoholders universe.
Also, Third becomes a therapist. He figured he would be qualified after so many years being the therapist friend. And he is good at it, but he also runs into the Twilight issue. Even so, the 3 are never far apart from each other. Third does have his own place, but he's always there if the other two need anything and vice versa.
(I have a weird version of trioholders where, while the first two holders are romantically involved, their friendship with Third runs so deep, that if he died, they would be destroyed. Same with Yoichi and Second. They all need and understand each other in a way so deeply, it goes beyond any normal intimacy. Like, platonic soulmates I guess is the best word for that.)
Hikage lives in the woods. After 18 years of being chased around, he decided to fake his death and give OFA to Banjo. So, now he lives with the forest creatures in peace. Third still drags him out for the occasional family dinner though.
Banjo uses his extra immortal time to become talented at, not just normal hobbies, but really weird stuff like peeling a banana with his feet like a monkey. In addition to bothering Hikage, he decided to try his hand at a childhood dream and become a cowboy. That didn't work out, so he travels the world instead.
My headcanon for En is that he had 5 siblings, so immortality would give him a lot of grieving to do. However, I also headcanon him as a lover of reptiles and technology, so he used his immortal time to get acquainted with all the new tech coming out each year and finally get a pet chameleon. He also got a degree in Graphic Art. However, he chooses to make his money by doing commissions.
Nana did give away her son after her husband died, but only until she faked her death. Then she got him back, so Kotaro doesn't end up being as bad, but there's definitely still some tension between them as she didn't tell him about her plan. She hides away, with Gran Torino helping her try to raise Kotaro as normally as possible. Meaning his last name does end up changed because Torino adopts him, but he co-parents with Nana. It's complicated. At least Hana and Tenko are happy children with grandparents who spoil them and a better dad. Nobody wants to be on the bad side of both Nana and Gran Torino.
Toshinori did not know about the immortality thing. Nana forgot to tell him, and he just thought his master had really good genes. So, he has the same knowledge in canon. In fact, his life is pretty much like canon, as they figured it was best that he goes to America for a bit to keep AFO away from Nana's hiding place. He also gets into the same fight with AFO, but sustains the same damage. You see, the immortality quirk doesn't keep them from getting hurt, it just keeps them from dying.
Oh yeah, remember the family dinners Hikage gets dragged to? Those are between every OFA user. Toshinori just thinks they're historians who love to joke around. He has to believe it at this point. At least they only happen once a year, unless there's an emergency, like a new user or a faked death. Or, AFO dying (is he dead?)
Then Toshinori brings Izuku to OFA family dinner. Cue the awing over the new user (who looks oddly familiar). There was some worry over how Izuku would adjust to the quirk, but they all assumed All Might had it figured out. That man was taught by someone who beat the crap out of him daily. All Might did not have it figured out.
(After the AFO fight, the other users convinced All Might to get a hobby or something, so he decided to try and get the credentials to become a teacher, because he always loved children. The credits to become a kindergarten teacher that is, so the jump to high school is still going to take some adjustment. Not to mention training a middle school boy to handle a quirk you gave them. I don't think there's a book on that.)
After the entrance exams, out of worry for their new user, all the vestiges move to the Musutafu area around UA to help with Izuku's training. The users get along great with Inko (who was told about OFA.) And Yoichi's brother and Inko's husband sure have a lot of similarities. What a coincidence...
From here they get upto all sorts of school-themed hijinks, but I'll let you imagine them. (The eventual meeting with Aizawa is always a fun one to imagine)
Uh... this did not turn out how I thought it would. It was supposed to be random headcanons and not a story outline. I did keep some stuff vague on purpose. Anyway, I hope you liked it :)
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a-queer-seminarian · 5 months
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Hey Avery, I love this blog and the binary-breakers blog. They’ve both been a great help to me as I reconstruct my faith. But I’m struggling with something: my fiancé and I are scheduled to light an advent candle during the Sunday morning service at his church. Initially I was really looking forward to it, but by chance I was curious about how old Mary was when she bore Jesus, and when I looked it up I learned she could have been anywhere from 13-16. Moreover, some traditions put Joseph as being much, much older. It’s just hard not to think in a very . . . sinister direction when considering that context, especially as far as God’s role in this is concerned. What did you learn about this topic in seminary, if anything? Is there any hope that my “problematic” interpretation is unnecessary/invalid?
Hi there! I think it's lovely y'all are going to light an advent candle tomorrow, and I hope it's a meaningful experience! I also totally get your dismay about Mary's age at Jesus's birth.
To start with the facts: yes, Mary was almost certainly a teenager when betrothed to Joseph. The Bible doesn't give any confirmation of her age, but in both ancient Jewish culture and Roman culture, girls were usually married off not too many years after they started menstruating.
When it comes to Joseph's age, I do have some slightly relieving news — he's unlikely to have been the old man he's often depicted as in medieval art. (I actually had a fascinating conversation on this topic with queer Catholic art historian Amy Neville on my podcast that you can read or listen to here!) He almost certainly would have been older than Mary, but it's uncertain how much older.
In ancient Jewish culture, the "ideal" marriage was actually one between a man and a woman who were both in their teens, with an expectation that a man marry by age 20. Being able to support a wife & kids was a key indicator of manhood, so men were expected to get married as young as they could. But in practice, it was more common for men to marry in their late 20s / by age 30, which does mean that their wives would often be a good ten or fifteen years younger than they were.
The Bible doesn't tell us what age Joseph was when he and Mary were betrothed, but it's unlikely he was older than 30, just as it's unlikely she was older than 18.
So maybe that's not quite as discomfiting as the image of a much older Joseph, but by our modern standards, it's still pedophilia. So what do we make of that? And what did God think of that??
__
I believe it is an act of faith to be troubled by elements of scripture that should be troubling, rather than shrugging them off as being "God's will" just because they're in the Bible. I highly recommend Rachel Held Evans' book Inspired on this topic, which has a whole chapter on grappling with difficult biblical texts (you can read a long passage from it here).
While exploring our emotions and giving them holy space, it is also important to accept that biblical cultures are two thousand or more years old — the ancient world had completely different understandings of morality from us. That doesn't mean we shrug off displays of sexism or xenophobia in scripture — bigotry is bigotry, whether an ancient iteration or what we have today — but learning about biblical cultures enriches our understanding of why certain things, like slavery or women having little say in whom they marry, are present in the Bible (and often completely taken for granted by its human authors). It can help us distinguish between what is truly God-ordained, versus what the humans writing down their experience of God presume is God-ordained.
I appreciate how womanist theologian Wil Gafney explores the complexity of appreciating the Bible as an ancient human text while looking for Divine truth "between the lines":
“There is liberation in the gospel even though it is sometimes obscured by the structures of power that benefit from holding people captive. There is also a story in and between the lines of and behind the text we hold so dear that points to a liberation that not even the authors and editors of scripture were able to see clearly or, see their way to record.
Jesus was a rabbi, he would have never wanted us to cling to the letters and syntax of these texts as though they were his very body and blood but rather, his spirit and the Spirit of God, blow through them, ruffling and disturbing them and permitting us to read new truths in and out of them and, not lose sight of the ancient stories that are also part of our shared heritage."
___
When it comes to Mary's young age when betrothed to Joseph and approached by Gabriel to request her "yes" to carrying God's child, your question of God's "role" in that is a vital one to ask.
In Mary's world, a woman without a kyrios, a man to be her protector, was in a very precarious position. Mary has to be betrothed to someone in her teens. We don't know whether God "approves" of this cultural practice, but we can see how God works within this custom to ensure Mary's security throughout her life:
when Joseph plans to divorce her after she becomes pregnant with Jesus, God sends an angel to persuade him to stick by her;
when Jesus is dying on the cross, he ensures that his beloved will protect Mary after he's gone.
Throughout scripture, God largely seems to operate within a people's cultural expectations (with key exceptions, like how God insists Their people treat foreigners the same as members of the group, or when God warns against giving the people a king just because that's what all the other nations have). That's what I see here. Mary must have a husband to be secure in her culture, and I imagine God ensuring that that husband will be one who will treat her well.
__
Then there's the question of God espousing Mary — of the Holy Spirit "overshadowing" her so that she conceives Jesus. What exactly is this "overshadowing" act? Why is God getting a teen girl pregnant?
Again, Rev. Wil Gafney provides words that wrestle out the good news with this complexity. When reading Luke 1, she urges us to sit with our distress at the image of a powerful "male" figure (Gabriel) approaching a teen girl to tell her what's going to happen to her body:
"Sit with me in this moment, this uncomfortable moment, before rushing to find proof of her consent, or argue that contemporary notions of consent do not apply to ancient texts, or God knew she’d say yes so it was prophetic, or contend that (human) gender does not apply to divine beings, Gabriel or God, and the Holy Spirit is feminine anyway. Hold those thoughts and just sit in the moment with this young woman."
Our distress is holy; it shows our connection to a fellow human being, our thirst for justice. Honor what you feel, don't discard your emotions, even while you join them to sociohistorical understanding.
I highly recommend you read Gafney's whole article, but here's a little more from it that balances ancient culture with modern ethics:
"Yet in a world which did not necessarily recognize her sole ownership of her body and did not understand our notions of consent and rape, this very young woman had the dignity, courage, and temerity to question a messenger of the Living God about what would happen to her body before giving her consent. That is important. That gets lost when we rush to her capitulation. Before Mary said, “yes,” she said, “wait a minute, explain this to me.” ... Did the Ever-Blessed Virgin Mary say, “me too?” Perhaps not. A close reading shows her presumably powerless in every way but sufficiently empowered to talk back to the emissary of God, determine for herself, and grant what consent she could no matter the power of the One asking. And yet in that moment after being told by someone else what would happen to her body, she became not just the Mother of God, but the holy sister to those of us who do say, “Me too.” "
Because Mary was a teen girl, an impoverished Palestinian Jew living under empire, she can extend solidarity to people across all time who experience similar oppression, whose bodily autonomy is equally precarious. Just as her son, God in human flesh, extends solidarity to all who have ever been arrested or executed under an unjust state through his crucifixion. Divine power is expressed in and through those whom the world denigrates and discards — that's why God chose Mary, and why Mary in turn chose God.
Sorry this got so long and has a lot of complex stuff to wrestle with. I honor your courage to ask the hard questions, and I hope you are able to take time throughout Advent to keep pondering! There are no easy answers, but wrestling can yield a blessing.
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polyhexian · 1 year
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Archiving is something extremely important to me and it's not just archiving "important" things... Archiving old fandom zines? It's archiving the history of a social space, of people's lives, of a culture that precedes culture, it doesn't matter if it's the history of game creation or the United States or transformers fanfiction doesn't matter, it's the history of Human experience, the history of people's lives, what was done and the affect it has. Just think about the domino effect of it for a moment. MTMTE is a comic that's had a big effect on the people that read it... He brought it the first major LGBT story arc in the franchise. The first LGBT representation in this space can be traced back through this comic to this author to a history of fan material and then to the fanfics that HE read that influenced Him. A culture that empowered this kind of storytelling and diverse character expression that he brought with him. And how many people were greatly touched by his work? I have been. Any work I made is influenced by his because it's profoundly affected that way I write. If I make something that touches someone else you can trace that back from them to me to him and then further to others. Do those contributions not matter? What makes the history of sports more important to record keep? Or industry? It's peoples lives. It's their experiences. It's dominoes and cause and effect. It's pieces of paper that changed people's lives that will vanish if no one keeps them. It burns a whole in the link. An end to the story. The most important documents to historians are not the times kept by kings but the diaries kept by shepherds. It's not "smaller" or "lesser" than others. It's important. It IS.
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verdantcrimson · 5 months
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Heaven and Earth / Creation of Heaven and Earth - 2
(Unproofread)
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[An hour later, a discussion room in the RhythmLink office.]
Souma: Kiryu-dono, I have made some tea for you. Here.
Kuro: Thanks. I’m parched, all that studyin’ was more exhaustin’ than a workout.
Souma: Fufu. Once again, thank you for your hard work…♪
Souma: However, Hasumi-dono has been involved in discussions for quite a while now. We had merely come here to accept the job offer to host ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’.
Souma: From what I could see, he has been talking to the higher-ups with a rather terse expression.
Kuro: Maybe they’re sayin’ somethin’ like “Actually, we changed our minds, we don't wanna give you youngsters this job”.
Kuro: I’m worried about him, cause if somethin’ like that is happenin’, he’s gonna be all stubborn and pushy about it. It’d be better if we didn’t piss off the higher-ups and have them turn on us.
Kuro: I know Hasumi always has a lot on his mind, but I’d personally prefer he just drop it instead of gettin’ in trouble with the agency.
Souma: Fufu. It seems as though Kiryu-dono is truly determined not to study.
Kuro: I just don't understand people that actually like studyin’. You seem to enjoy it a bunch though, Kanzaki.
Souma: I believe that the accumulation of knowledge is similar to training one's muscles or mastery of an art.
Souma: The difference simply lies in the fact that what is being exercised is the brain, rather than the body.
Kuro: The thought of trainin’ my brain never crossed my mind, cause I never really needed it.
Kuro: But well, just like trainin’ your body, it's not really useful in today's peaceful world. Bein’ good at beatin’ people up doesn't matter in this day and age.
Souma: Umu. Neither knowledge, nor martial arts, are strictly necessary to live in the modern world.
Souma: However, that is largely the reason that grants it significance.
Souma: Which makes one wonder, would it really be ‘correct’ to simply forgo it?
Souma: Humans are the only animals on this planet with a ‘culture’. We do not subsist solely on food.
Souma: Isn't the very fact that we have lived while partaking in such unnecessary behaviors what makes humanity valuable?
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Kuro: Seems like you're thinkin’ about some seriously deep stuff, Kanzaki.
Souma: Yes. And I am speaking quite seriously, so I would appreciate for you to listen seriously.
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Keito: —Sorry for the delay. I had expected this to be a short and easy conversation.
Keito: There was a surprising amount of confusion and contention. How incorrigible.
Kuro: Use words an idiot can understand. Cuntenshi- What's that?
Keito: Simply put, the agency has just revealed quite a few troublesome things just now.
Keito: If we are to take on the job of hosting ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’, we have to fulfill a set of conditions presented to us—
Souma: What…? Were they not the ones that approached us in the first place? It does leave an acrid taste in one's mouth to have it be revealed to one that the job they are on the cusp of undertaking covertly has strings attached.
Kuro: I'd appreciate if ya spoke in plain Japanese for once, Kanzaki. Well, I've known ya long enough that I can pretty much understand what you're sayin’ through vibes.
Kuro: So basically, the agency is bein’ an unreasonable pain again, right?
Keito: I wouldn't necessarily call this particular case unreasonable. Since ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ is such a long-running show, there are more involved parties than in other shows.
Souma: By involved parties, you mean to say?
Keito: If I were to specify, it's that ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’ is a program produced with the support and opinion of actual historians.
Keito: Which sounds about right. Since it's an educational history show, it goes without saying that they would create it with the support of major authorities in the field.
Kuro: Oh so It's like if ya wanted to open a food stall, how that territory's established yakuza gang would say “ya gotta pay a protection fee to open up shop!”
Souma: Kiryu-dono, being Kiryu-dono, often speaks in a manner difficult for me to comprehend.
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Keito: You don't have to go and learn that strange Kiryu-nese (?) language.
Keito: Anyways. Though we aren't being asked to pay a ‘protection fee’ of any sort—
Keito: I was told that in order to become the hosts of this show, we had to gain the recognition of the show's advisors.
Keito: Even if we, and the agency, feel like we're up to the task, the show won't succeed unless the advisors approve of it.
Keito: They said that without their approval, the show would be unfit to air.
Keito: So that's why, we have to travel around to seek the approval of those advisors— A group of historians known as the ‘Three Sages’.
Keito: We must have these ‘Three Sages’ endorse us as suitable hosts for ‘Rumbling Heaven and Earth’.
Kuro: They're called the ‘Three Sages’ huh… Doesn't it sound like somethin’ from a video game or manga?
Keito: That’s a rather interesting way to put it. Well, it is similar to your standard RPG storyline. Like when they say you must collect these five crystals to restore peace in the land.
Keito: It sounds ridiculous, but this is a crucial step. It's a journey we must go on in order to reach a brighter future.
Keito: In order for our protagonists to embark on their journey, they must first be recognized as heroes by a higher power. That’s how the story goes.
Kuro: And to do that, we gotta collect proof of our heroic deeds.
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Kuro: Got it. If that's what we need, let's go and get it. Sounds a whole lot more fun that bein’ stuck at a desk and groanin’ over textbooks.
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answrs · 27 days
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( an attempt at fluff(?) - i hope things get better or at least easier for you soon. virtual hugs, remember that you've got a lot of people in your corner <3 )
Ingo writes a book when he's in Hisui.
Okay, wait. It's not really a book, and he didn't really write it, he would object. It's more of a very very long pamphlet, and he got a lot of help from Zisu and the Survey Corps. It was written for them, after all: it's a primer on how to befriend, train, and raise Pokémon, for the Security Corps and the rest of the Galaxy Team and really anyone else who wants to learn, because he doesn't have time to teach everyone directly but he so badly wants as many people as possible to have the chance to learn.
So it takes a while to put together—not just all of the information, but presenting it well, with graphs and diagrams so that even people who can't read, or can't read the language it's presented in (which is a fair amount of Jubilife tbh) can still get something out of it. Rei and Akari help him make some copies, even, so more than one person can look at them at once.
And then, when he's just about finished—so before he has the chance to see how it's received—he goes home.
To Unova. And he's happy! His memory is still pretty fuzzy, but he knows for certain that this is where he wants to—where he should be, even. It just feels right. But that doesn't mean it isn't also bittersweet, leaving his home of so many years in Hisui behind.
But when he gets back home—to the one he couldn't remember but missed anyway—he finds a book waiting for him on a table.
It's pretty worn-out, like the owner has read through it quite a few times, and he sort of recognizes it, however vaguely. It's a book about Pokémon training and strategy, so old it's nearly out-of-date by this point (if the topic weren't so universally consistent, anyway) but it's still interesting to read, and the foundation is solid, so it's one of the first books he—they picked up. When they were just starting out as Trainers.
And the foreword, written by a modern-day scholar, confirms what he remembers: this is a very old book, that's survived in modern times mostly by virtue of the fact that it was so widely read and copied and (later) translated and added to. There are definitely better references today even for beginners, and most of its value is historical, records of old training methods and "move styles" and an insight into how people of the past viewed Pokémon and... wait a minute.
This is his book. As in, it's the one he wrote.
It doesn't take long, flipping through it, to confirm. Oh sure, some details have been lost in translation or edited out, and there's newer commentary in a few places, but the structure is so familiar that there's no other explanation. He really hadn't expected it to be anything other than a reference for a few people in Jubilife, maybe something a Ginkgo Guild member took with them once if he was lucky—but now, so, so many years later, it's been passed on and reprinted and rewritten and translated into so many languages—because he was right. People and Pokémon were meant to work together, and that one wish of his resonated with enough people that now it's almost impossible to imagine the world working any other way. And this little book (not even really a book, at first) made it all the way around the world and back to him, without him even realizing.
But it's weird—the note at the front also mentions an afterword, and he doesn't remember writing one of those. And it does say that it does seem to be from a different source than the author of the rest of the book (clearly passionate, but elusive in the text itself, a fact which is apparently deeply frustrating to historians, whoops-) but also doesn't talk about it as if it's a later addition from another copier, either. It might have been written by many different people, it says, and there's even been some conflict over whether it should be included in reprints at all, but most people have apparently come to the conclusion that it should be treated as another part of the original book and kept in.
So he flips to the back, to see... and realizes almost immediately what it is.
Just in case you need telling again, because I’m sure you will—you take care of yourself out there. Then we can all rest easy. Our ‘dex is missing a valuable contributor—and ourselves, a good friend—but I’m certain that your destination, as it were, has been dearly missing you for long enough already! And so long as this testament to our shared work lives on, we are never truly gone from each other. I told you I’d keep an eye out for you, whenever I leave, and I’m still doing that. But just in case we don’t wind up with the same home after all, and this does get to you, I wanted to say thanks again. For guiding me, and listening, and helping even when you didn’t need to. It helped a lot. We figured out how to do that thunder barrier thing you were talking about the day after you left, and I’m really mad that you didn’t see it. So you’d better at least be reading this! Oh yeah, and thanks for all the advice. But mostly, I’m really glad that stupid barrier trick didn’t end up in this copy, because if I can’t show you I should at least get to brag to everyone else, and I can’t do that if everyone knows about it. The highlands are doing just fine. Just in case you thought we needed you! My own capable hands are more than enough!
They're... goodbyes. Not just from the other people who worked on the book, but from... everyone. Who, like him, had no way of knowing where this book would go once it left Jubilife—but took the chance anyway, sending these notes on their way to be read and reread a thousand times by a thousand hands... to find him again. As a physical goodbye—not as ephemeral as words or memories, but something able to persist.
But then, if they'd gotten even his fellow highlands warden to leave his own note, what was this last one that was so much longer than the rest...?
Any meeting in this vast world is something to be grateful for, but I am more grateful for one than most. The fullness of our space and time has more potential than I ever dreamed, and I do not know if my eyes would have opened were you not there for those first steps. Dear warden, friend, and guide, on behalf of all of us—I hope you were able to call us your home, at least for a while. And the almighty knows we have asked more than our fair share already, but if we may make one last selfish request of you—
…ah.
—please, for all of us, be happy.
AASDFHJKLCMIASCNNGHHHH SWIFT ;O; IM BLUBBERING IT'S SO GOOD AND SWEET AND GAAH MY HEART. LEAVING THE MESSAGES DESPITE NOT KNOWING WHO IT'S FOR, EVEN WHEN IT WAS FOR, BUT THEIR WORDS SURVIVING THROUGH THE AGES PASSED DOWN FROM TRAINER TO TRAINER AND SPREAD ACROSS THE WORLD IN SO MANY LANGUAGES. AND IT'S NOT A MESSAGE OF MOURNING BUT A MESSAGE OF H O P E, AND I JUST.
MY HEART
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