#historical beefs

[annamariehamilton-unofficial]

Soren Kierkegaard and Hans Christian Andersen: Best Frenemies

Not a hot take this time, more of a fun fact.

So apparently, the two most famous literary Danes, fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen and Christian existentialist philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, were best frenemies in real life.

Andersen parodied Kierkegaard as a yapping parrot repeating the pseudo-philosphical platitude "let us be men!" in his 1838 fable "The Galoshes of Fortune". Later that year, Kierkegaard returned the favor by writing an essay in which he accused Andersen of lacking any kind of coherent worldview, insinuating that Andersen "from an involuntary overflow of cleverness in the personality ... totally forgetting the landscape, go[es] on to paint [himself] elaborately in [his] own vain Solomonic pomp and glory, which suits flowers, but not people."

Apparently they made up, because 10 years later, they exchanged fancy first-printing hardcover volumes of one another's most recent work with friendly greetings.

I think it is not much of a literary hot take to say that Andersen is a LOT more readable than Kierkegaard, which is probably why, according to Andersen at least, the only people who actually *read* Kierkegaard's little rant were Kierkegaard and Andersen themselves.

[gh0st-0f-luke]

six excerpts from a wangxian fic told entirely through ratemyprofessors reviews

[hetagrammy]

It's 1183, and Arthur being the tween menace that he was thought it would be a fantastic idea to have the whole family at Christmas Court. Shall they hang the holly or each other?

[whenweallvote]

Congratulations to Steven Yeun & Ali Wong who each won ‘Best Actor in a Limited Series’ at the #GoldenGlobes! 😍

They’ve made history tonight as the first Asian-American woman and second Asian-American man to win in their respective categories 🏆 

[icarusbetide]

jefferson does the "you wouldn't last an hour in the aslyum where they raised me" trend but with a photo of his beautiful big plantation and gets cancelled on twitter

[monakisu]

last night i had a dream that i was gru from despicable me lounging in bed with my beautiful wife lucy and when i woke up i found myself indescribably disappointed

[hazzybat]

So the pub I work at hosts functions and one night we had a John Lennon tribute act and they had the funniest description of the Beatles I've ever heard:

John Lennon and his associates.

I understand he's your fave but what a way to downplay The Beatles of all people.

The same pub also hosts the Evis Presley fan club sometimes and their one sided beef with The Beatles is so funny and petty. Hearing 60+ year old people say "well Elvis recorded so many more songs and he didn’t even need to travel to be world renowned," Is always kinda funny.

[heymeowmao]

2024.11.25 ° Gao Hanyu Studio Weibo Update

[haridraws]

hey just wanted to pop in to say I LOVED reading I Shall Never Fall In Love!!! as a they/them myself with an interest in historical queerness it is right up my alley, and I really liked all the 'behind the scenes' stuff you included at the end! plus the way you draw expressions is amazing, it makes the characters feel so alive. I actually lended it to my mom once I was done reading the first time, and she loved it too! She hasn't read a lot of graphic novels, but she is a big fan of Jane Austen (I basically grew up watching Pride & Prejudice (2005) lol), and we had a great time talking about it ^v^

I feel like oftentimes people writing queer historical fiction think they have to choose between historical accuracy and having their characters be happy, since so often the stories we hear about queer historical figures are ones of tragedy. It's heartwarming to see someone write a story about queer people in history leading full and happy lives. Thank you for creating such a wonderful story and a beautiful piece of art <3

thank you so much for this message.... every time someone tells me they enjoyed the book and lent it to a family member it replenishes my life essence slightly!!! Yeah, it's interesting! I don't think there's one 'right' approach for queer historicals or fiction generally, but I'm personally drawn to making stories that feel hopeful in the end. Just because queer and trans people were (and are) living in an imperfect and often hostile world, it obviously doesn't mean there were no moments of happiness. Like... we have loads of evidence queer people historically would deliberately destroy letters to not leave a paper trail, so the records that survive are often legal ones of punishment. But EVEN IN THOSE, there are so many unquestionable glimpses of queer people's full, ordinary, and often happy lives.

Anyway I'm sure you know all this, just using this as an opportunity to talk about it since I find it really interesting. And I really think there's value in pointing people towards our real history of queer resilience - and complexity, and complicity - not exclusively looser fantastical stuff where the history is just set dressing.

[fisarmonical]

[pvffinsdaisies]

How hetalia feels when silly anime characters aren’t held responsible for real life war crimes and atrocities

[sharksonfire]

Ik Pyro is from Sydney in the comics (most likely Woolloomooloo specifically since he mentioned his grandma lives there) but I have a really in-depth headcanon about him being from somewhere in Tasmania (in-depth enough to include animal motifs and broader historical things lol I thought about this way too hard) and I really want to form it into a proper fic but I really don't think it would be that interesting to anyone other than, well, me...

[blueshistorysims]

May 1933, London, England

Dear Byron, 

I think I’m going mad. I feel like a prisoner in my own home. The only kind of reprieve Francesca and I get is when nightfall comes, and Mama finally goes to bed. I suppose the realization of her remaining living children both being homosexuals has been rather a nasty shock.

We are always arguing, and she throws a fit whenever Francesca and I are affectionate with one another. It’s gotten to the point where we cannot even hold hands without Mama growing upset. She complains about every design I make, especially over the film I am the costume designer for. I am currently making a rather low-cut dress for the lead actress, and the minute she saw it, she started whining about morality and that it hadn’t been in society since before the war. 

Francesca is fed up. I cannot blame her. These past three months have been hell on earth. She’s asked me to speak to Mama. Tell her to stay elsewhere. Of course, that is much easier said than done. I think Francesca forgets what it is like to have a mother. You can’t exactly ‘kick them out’. Francesca wants me to tell her during dinner, so I suppose you shall have your answer in a later paragraph.

…Dinner went much better than expected. I didn’t even have to bring it. Mama brought it up herself, announcing that she was going to move to her father’s hometown, Malvern Hills. Apparently, our family still owns Grandfather’s childhood cottage. Were you aware of this? I was not. She said she wanted to live there for the rest of her life. I don’t think you or I will be invited there anytime soon. 

Your sister, Giselle

P.S. How is Montgomery? You said he’s gotten worse since Mama found out. Tell me if there is anything Francesca and I can do, even though you and he have a very different relationship, I’ve known him since I was fifteen, and I care for him very much.

beginning/previous/next

[endursent]

sigh………. 900’s icelandic commonwealth au with kaenri’ahns….. one can dream but who is going to read my niche old nordic blood feud chieftain political drama dainsleif x reader and capitano x reader…… triangle or just both of them fuck it…

the cold harsh winters and uninhabitable landscape…… the warm hearth and gatherings to uphold spirit…. the relief of summer……………… the alþingi meetings…… sturlungaöld-esque chieftain wars and internal conflict……. the dread and fatigue of endless family blood feuds….. must always be repaid….

my biggest problem would be conveying/translating all the old terms into english in a way that makes sense lol

[furorsopher]

thinking about how alexander no-immune-system-to-speak-of hamilton was ill from mid november 1779, only fully recovering in january 1780 and colonel hugh hughes wrote to a friend (general gates) in early december 1779:

“colonel hamilton, who has been very ill of a nervous disorder at peekskill, is out of danger, unless of his own sweet temper.”

it just reads like hughes wanted to support his friend who had received angry letters from a recovering hamilton by being passive aggressive and being like: “bro, i see you, this kid’s an asshole”

it’s so unnecessarily funny to me

[icarusbetide]

my favorite thing in the world is reasonable delusion? or honest delusion, i suppose?

one of my acquaintances is a history professor. a few weeks ago i asked him about hamburr, and this man looked me straight in the eye and said "aaron burr and alexander hamilton were products of their time. they both went into the duel not knowing what to expect, and burr especially did not anticipate the aftermath of that outcome." only to immediately follow it up with "but FAWK aaron burr, he's a little shit and he burns in hell for all i care."

i spent ten minutes trying to wheedle out the logic behind this and he goes "of course, burr did not deserve all the vitriol he received. but he also 100% deserved it, because he's aaron burr."

this is the person historians should strive to be. don't try to make yourself sound convincing if you know what you're saying isn't convincing. don't manipulate quotes or context to justify your misleading claims. just lay out all the evidence, acknowledge the reasonable take, and only after you have done your ethical duty, express your true feelings happily and proudly. no one can blame you then.