#i post about book of mormon memes

[campgender]

Hiiiii I'm interested to hear what quotes/song lyrics/etc are resonating with you right now? I *love* seeing your 'bookshelf' quotes and how you interweave different contexts together!!

Also! Have you read In The Dream House? & if so, I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on it...!

omg thank you so much!! 🥺❣️ oohh what a great question, you always ask me such thoughtful & insightful things! 🫶💓 this got long so i’m gonna talk about In the Dream House in a different post :)

i’ve been super into Neon Trees’ latest album, Sink Your Teeth, lately— the lead singer, Tyler Glenn, is an ex-Mormon & he is so immeasurably talented at synthesizing themes of abusive religions & relationships.

i’ve been thinking a lot in particular about how “Leave,” while ostensibly about a breakup, so powerfully encapsulates my experiences of leaving the evangelical church — a few months ago i saw a tumblr post where someone edited the “if shit sucks hit the bricks” meme to say “if shit sucks hit the books” because they ‘wanted to make a more positive version’ & that honestly broke my heart bc messaging that You Can Leave is so fucking vital & transformative!!

when i was 18 i Left without any announcement or communication; i did the best i could to simply drop off the face of the earth, because my self-preservation was so new & fragile that it would’ve completely withered under anybody’s argument or affection. i carried so much immense guilt over that for the better part of eight fucking years, even as i started to recognize how limited my options had been, until i listened to this episode of Mormon.ish where Jeff Hofheins discussed how he managed to escape his role as facilitator of a chapter of the LDS Church’s abusive 12-step programs: he didn’t text anyone to say he’d be taking a break, he didn’t organize a substitute or replacement, he just stopped coming.

i absolutely wept listening to that as i realized that i supported him. i thought he’d made maybe not the only possible right decision in that kind of situation, but a right decision. yes, other people feel pain when we disappear without warning, but that is the fault & responsibility of the abusive system; it can be a tragedy without being something i’ve done — things i’d started to think over the past few years but hadn’t thought i’d be able to believe.

i really love the echo of Tyler’s voice during the bridge: What are we fighting for anymore? It sounds like a long time coming. We'll always be in frenzy, but it's time to leave like we mean it. even if it’s gonna suck after, that’s okay, that doesn’t have to be a reason not to leave. fuck all our achievements! no matter what good you might’ve had or done in the church, you can still go.

Leave like you mean it / Say that you won't, then I will

Leave like you mean it / Burn down the house that we built

Let's make the end of our time / Like the 4th of July

Fuck all our achievements / Leave like you mean it

[railmerosalie]

i'm sorry to ask but I am VERY desperate to know – I just found your twilight ice berg meme and it has "the fall of the Weimar Republic lead to Twilight" at the bottom PLEASE EXPLAIN THAT TO ME i need to know, it's driving me insane

Okay so sorry this took forever for me to answer, I wanted to make sure I got everything factually correct and that I wasn't spreading bullshit lol.

1. The fall of the Weimar Republic led to Hitler becoming chancellor in 1933

2. Shared anti-semitism between nazi Germany and some Muslim and Arab leaders (most notable the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem), this is the first example of connection between the two. National Socialism in Islam shows a particular connection between national socialist racial ideology and contemporary Anti-semitism in the Middle East. So basically Hitler allowed for more extreme anti-semitism within the Arab world.

3. Anti-semitism in the middle east persisted into the post war period (after ww2) and critically shaped Middle Eastern policies and politics. This view is presented by Matthias Küntzel, Klaus-Michael Mallmann, etc. It suggested that there is a direct line of continuity between National Socialism and the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaeda.

(More evidence)

- a recent book by Historian David Motadel and Stefan Ihrig focuses on the relationship between the Middle East and Nazi policy in the region allowing to place the Nazi regime within the 'Muslim' world. Please note this isn't the whole Muslim world, this just showing the evidence of collaboration between Nazism and radical Islam which thereby assess the extent to which Nazi racial ideology penetrated the Arab world.

4. (This is where it gets juicy)

Now we get to 9/11 and the global jihadist movement; Salafi-jihad groups (which included al Qeada and more notably Osama Bin Laden)

5. Band MCR (my chemical romance) is formed in response to the terrorist attack (9/11 specifically)

6. Stephanie Meyer has a dream about vampire Gerard Way. She then joins a mormon book writting club.

7. Twilight is born

If I got anything wrong pls let me know! And soz for this mammoth of a post.

[archivalofsins]

sooooo a little birdie told me that you like long-form videos what are some of your favorites I am in desperate need for things to listen to as I draw

I love longform videos of all kind! Mostly because I need something playing in the background to slightly focus on while doing anything. If it's not videos it's music.

Now it comes down to what you like I tend to circle through

Commentary/Political Essayist YouTubers

D'Angelo Wallace Kat Black (not that long but I tend to listen to multiple in a row) Khadija Mbowe (videos of decent length ranging from 10-50) FD Signifier (most videos over an hour) Alexander Avila (most videos also over an hour) Foreign Man in a Foreign Land Elliot Sang (Has started doing readings of books on his other channel reading with elliot) Saji Sharma (On the shorter side but good to binge) sixteenleo Kennie JD HasanAbi (Literally there are long as hell videos. Piles on piles of vods all over YouTube not just posted by him but by fans that is just an endless amount of content that I haven't seen all of yet myself.)

Let's Players

Won (I've been watching his Class of '09 let's play which is good!) ManlyBadassHero (Haven't been that many long ones lately but has a pretty long backlog) MistaGG Vods (His regular channel is good as well Mista GG) Markiplier (Because of course like of course. Play In Space it's good.) Kubz Scouts (He's that dude. Content varies in length but his 60 Seconds let's plays tend to be long and there's a backlog.) 8-BitRyan (He has some long fucking videos.) RDCWorldGaming and RDC Live

Media Commentators/Reactors

La'Ron Readus (If you like dissections of media then this guy has a good few videos on it.) KhunShawn (Looking for a Milgram reactor well there's this guy!) Roartherapper (And this guy has Milgram reactions as well! If anyone want's more people to react to Milgram or make fan content engage with what we do have! That's a good place to start.) Quinton Reviews (Sadness that he focuses on Nickelodeon so I will never see a long in depth Fusion Fall video pain suffering sadness) Mike's Mic ( That unhinged recap of Pretty Little Liars that was on it ridiculous Scooby-Doo 2 yes please doing Lost now oh my god.) CJ The X (Has a decent backlog)

Long Shows to just have on in the background

Yellowjackets (A really good show but you can just not look at times and do something else) X-Men '97 while I'm talking about disney WandaVision half the time you do not have to be looking at that to know what's going on. Ridiculously long and also gets really stupid How To Get Away With Murder you'll stop paying attention eventually you'll feel yourself stop paying attention. There's also this show calledd Cleaning Up that Star and I were watching that literally takes very little attention to follow. I was dissociating at a points and was like mm hm yeah I still know what's going on. To really age myself there's Grimm which is like it also gets very convoluted.

Things I'm checking out today! One watcing Roar's reavtion to the end of trial notice- Two watching Teaching 9th Grade in a 93% Mormon Town (I'm really interested in teaching in general I was going to college to be a school psychologist so education is really important to me) and Hawk Tuah: From Harmless Meme to Right Wing Symbol because I just wanna know.

And while the dramatization of it may not be to everyone's tastes Rotten Mango covers some rather interesting events and the MissMangoButt channel has some good videos too!

Favorites of mine are hard to choose because I watch a lot. I really like the Readus Candyman video, the unhinged recap of Pretty Little Liars but I actually need to catch up on a lot off videos right now. Oh I also really liked the TikTok Gave Me Autism: The Politics of Self Diagnosis video too.

[o1dmoneyarc]

 ––––––  darcy's female multimuse. highly selective and low activity. does not follow first. featuring: daisy buchanan, allie nelson, cosette fauchelevent, ellen marie truman, sylvie st. james, and nancy kensington. other muses may be requested with heavy plotting. rules under the cut.

INTRODUCTION. welcome to o1dmoney, an independent and highly selective female multimuse. i have been in the tumblr rpc for about four years now and have had a multi off and on for about as long. you may recognize me/have followed me from previous multis i've had in the past, of which there are....many. at the moment, i'm focusing on some newer muses that i'm very excited about. however, a few of my old muses are also available by request. links for my main muses can be found just above and the link to my request muses is next to them.

INTERACTING. for me, it is crucial that we plot before we jump into things. as soon as i follow back, i will hop into your ims and we can figure something out. if this isn't your speed or if you aren't actually interested in writing, i suggest not following. after plotting, i adore getting and sending memes! please spam me! i ask that you specify a muse when you send those in or like starter calls. i will either contact you about which muse you would like it from or not answer it at all.

please reblog from the source and not from this blog! that includes aesthetics, memes, musings, etc. please do not like or reblog my threads if you are not apart of them. non-rp blogs will be blocked on sight. if you have a roleplay sideblog, let me know.

SELECTIVITY. i practice high selectivity on this blog for the sake of my own sanity. i absolutely adore crossovers and ocs. please respect my banned fandoms list. i will not interact with muses from the following: book of mormon the musical, southpark, abrahamic lore, anime fandoms or steven universe. you will be hardblocked if you ignore this rule. i can tell if people haven't read my rules prior to interacting. i will likely not follow if you don't have a rules page or have some information about your muse on your blog whether that be a google doc, carrd, about page, etc. i don't know everything about every muse!

FORMATTING. my formatting is quite simple nowadays. i do not expect you to match my style. if this doesn't work for you, let me know and i will adjust as necessary. i use a variety of psds. all icons, edits, etc. are made by me. do not steal them.

TRIGGERS. triggering content will be tagged as “[trigger] tw." i tag common triggers and the ones you'll find on this blog (list below), but if you have something specific you need to be tagged, please im me about it or make note of it in my interest checker. triggers present based on my muse will be: murder, death, child abuse, homelessness, neglect, suicide, war, and physical assault. please tag political discourse, current events, and sexual nsfw content.

NSFW/SHIPPING. i love shipping! i much prefer to discuss romantic ships before getting into things. if you ship it, let me know! i'm probably down! i'm also a big fan of all sorts of dynamics! give me friendships, give me enemies, give me found family. there may be some nsfw topics mentioned, but it will never be written as it makes me uncomfortable.

WARNINGS. triggers will be tagged as: "[trigger] tw". there will be dark subjects featured on this blog such as child and marital abuse, mental illness, some horror themes ( think stranger things ). i make an effort to tag everything. if you need anything else tagged, let me know! please tag nsfw posts, current events, and political discourse.

FINAL. i'm darcy (she/her; 18+). i'm a full time student and work part-time. i am here to have fun and make connections with people! please don’t be afraid to reach out if we are mutuals! i absolutely love rambling about our muses/plots! it's one of the best parts of this hobby for me. discord is available upon request for mutuals. i'm much more active over there and easier to reach!

[absoluteroses]

RULES.

INTERACTING. i am a big fan of plotting out dynamics! this is much easier for me nowadays. i thrive the most when we can establish a dynamic between our muses and general idea and then jump into winging actual plots. mutuals are always welcome in my ims or on discord! please make sure to specify a muse when you send in a meme. i will either contact you to see which muse you are interested in or i will not answer the meme at all. please, please, please reblog from the source! this goes for anything. memes, aesthetics, musings, etc. i want to keep my notifications clean on here. if you are no longer interested in being mutuals, please soft or hard block me. please respect my selectivity on some muses. it's usually because i took up that muse for a specific person or people and i'm not very interested in doing more things with them. no hard feelings towards you or your muse, this is just how some of my muses work for me!

SELECTIVITY. i practice high selectivity on this blog. this blog operates at low activity and on the roleplay scene, i am more active elsewhere! personals are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. this is a mutuals-only blog. if we are not mutuals, please do not interact with my ic or my ooc posts. i will not interact with muses from steven universe, abrahamic lore, the book of mormon musical, or southpark.

FORMATTING. my formatting is quite simple nowadays. i do not expect you to match my style. if this doesn't work for you, let me know and i will adjust as necessary. i use a variety of psds. all icons, edits, etc. are made by me. do not steal them.

TRIGGERS. triggering content will be tagged as “[trigger] tw." i tag common triggers and the ones you'll find on this blog (list below), but if you have something specific you need to be tagged, please im me about it or make note of it in my interest checker. triggers present based on my muse will be: murder, death, child abuse, homelessness, neglect, suicide, war, and physical assault. please tag political discourse, current events, and sexual nsfw content.

NSFW/SHIPPING. i love shipping! i much prefer to discuss romantic ships before getting into things. if you ship it, let me know! i'm probably down! not all of my muses are up for shipping. currently the list is: lucy coral barker and tony wysek. i am very down for canon ships for these characters, though! what i consider to be canon is: tony x maria and lucy x benjamin. i'm also a big fan of all sorts of dynamics! give me friendships, give me enemies, give me found family. there may be some nsfw topics mentioned, but it will never be written as it makes me uncomfortable.

FINAL. i'm darcy (she/her; 18+). this blog has been dragging along for awhile and you might know me from one of my old urls. you'll typically find me over here but i am always down to discuss our muses! as stated above, mutuals are one thousand percent encouraged to ask for my discord!

[hellstobetsy]

Off the top of my head, in no particular order, and trying to think of a fact about the country as well. Facts not guaranteed to be accurate, so have fun correcting me.

Egypt, famously home of the Pyramids and that one Papa Johns next to a pyramid from a mildly viral tumblr post.

Ethiopia, which I think is the fastest-growing economy in the world? It's up there. It's capitol is Addis Ababa, and it recently had a civil war but they're done with that now.

Kenya, which is also a very fast-growing country and also a very big one that recently sent troops to Haiti to be cops. It's probably going to be the first African country to get to push a non-African country around on something in our lifetimes because it's huge and growing rapidly

South Africa. It's easy to find on the map because it's literally the south bit of Africa. Gave us Elon Musk but they didn't want him either so we can't hold it against them. Mostly known for Apartheid.

Botswana, slightly north of South Africa but still in the South part of Africa, generally one of the nicer sub-Saharan countries in terms of being a democracy with a free press and stuff, but it's got a really small population.

Ghana's economy is primary based around the government declaring bankruptcy which sort of works somehow I think? They're able to bounce back from government financial collapse really fast because they let it happen early before it gets too bad.

Madagascar is an island nation off the coast mainly known to most Americans for being the name of some shitty Illumination movies about Lions, and to internet-poisoned nerd Americans as the country that goes "Shut. Down. Everything" ten minutes into any game of Pandemic and costs you the game.

The Congo is in the middle of Africa and got colonized unusually hard by Belgium. If an old movie is set in the Congo, it's going to be super racist.

Zimbabwe is synonymous with hyperinflation, though I don't know if that's still accurate.

Liberia has a flag similar to the US Flag and that's not a coincidence but I'm not entirely sure why off the top of my head. I think it was founded by/for former slaves, hence the name?

Niger has the highest birthrate in the world and that's not for good reasons.

Nigeria has a similar name to Niger but that's a coincidence.

Is Tunisia is the country that kicked off the Arab Spring? I think it was a country that started with a T in northern Africa.

The Seychelles has an Per Capita GDP of like $60k but I think that's because billionaires use it as a tax haven and that's not indicative of actual day-to-day life. It's not the only African island like that.

Uganda is in East Africa near Kenya and Ethiopia, and is a poor country that's rapidly growing and way better than The Book of Mormon makes it look. Ugandan Softground Wrestling, a pro-wrestling company, went viral earlier this year but the owner was pocketing a lot of the donations and that's very sad.

Uruguay isn't in Africa at all, I'm padding the list with South American countries :O

Sudan maybe is in Africa, though. Might be in the middle east, though? Is "South Sudan" a country?

East Timor is in Africa, though, and is the youngest country in the world after splitting off from an other country called, um (sweats nervously) West Timor?

High schoolers in the 2000s thought Djibouti was a funny name for a country.

Also funny in the early 2000s was the country of Chad. Not because of the Virgin/Chad memes (which didn't exist yet), but because of "Hanging chads" in the 2000 elections. You can tell I'm stretching for facts the further down the list I go help.

Rwanda is known to Americans for it's famous five-star hotel.

Wakanda is fictional but I bet at least one person in the notes included it entirely seriously in their mental list.

Zaire is a country in Africa.

I know Yemen is a country that Saudi Arabia is bombing and Trump helped them bomb, but I don't know if it's in Africa or just in MENA.

Okay, tumblr's editor is flipping out and I'm straining to remember any more so I'm going to post now and everyone can make fun of me while I google South Sudan and Yemen.

Can you name seven different African countries?

[pimpernals]

RULES.

INTERACTING. i am a big fan of plotting out dynamics and then interacting through memes! mutuals are always welcome in my ims or on discord! please make sure to specify a muse when you send in a meme. i will either contact you to see which muse you are interested in or i will not answer the meme at all. please, please, please reblog from the source! this goes for anything. memes, aesthetics, musings, etc. i want to keep my notifications clean on here. if you are no longer interested in being mutuals, please soft or hard block me.

SELECTIVTY. i practice selectivity on this blog because this blog operates at low activity. personals are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. this is a mutuals only blog. if we are not mutuals, please do not interact with my ic or my ooc posts. i will not interact with muses from steven universe, the book of mormon musical, southpark, or anime.

FORMATTING. my formatting is on the heavy side. i do not expect you to match my style. if this doesn't work for you, let me know and i will adjust as necessary. i use a variety of psds for different reasons, but the one you can find most commonly on here is versailles by cavalierfou on deviantart and other psds of hers. all icons, edits, etc. are made by me. do not steal them.

TRIGGERS. triggering content will be tagged as “[trigger] tw." i tag common triggers and the ones you'll find on this blog (list below), but if you have something specific you need to be tagged, please im me about it or make note of it in my interest checker. triggers present based on my muse will be: rape, human trafficking, blood, murder, death, arranged marriage, child abuse, homelessness, neglect, suicide, war, and physical assault. please tag political discourse, current events, and nsfw.

NSFW/SHIPPING. i love shipping! however, not all my muses are open for shipping. at the moment this is lucy barker and nellie lovett ( see why i won't ship nellie here ), but it is subject to change at any time. if you think our muses have chemistry or if you're interested, shoot me an im. i am a big fan of all dynamics! enemies, friendship, etc. all of my muses are of age and as am i, but nsfw content will not be present as it makes me uncomfortable.

FINAL. i'm darcy (she/her; 18+). don’t feel intimidated by me at all! i’m a bit shy so i completely understand why you might feel intimidated by approaching me, but i’m probably the least intimidating person you’ll meet and i’m flexible.

[chasingdesre]

RULES.

ABOUT. this is an all female multimuse where i put the ladies i want to write whose canon is in the modern era. i expect to be extremely low activity.

INTERACTING. the best way to interact with me is through memes so please, please, please send them in! please make sure to specify a muse when you send in a meme. i will either contact you to see which muse you are interested in or i will not answer the meme at all. i'm not huge on plotting nor am i good at it, but i am 100% down if that is how you prefer to interact. please, please, please reblog from the source! this goes for anything. memes, aesthetics, musings, etc. i want to keep my notifications clean on here. if you are no longer interested in being mutuals, please soft or hard block me.

SELECTIVTY. i practice selectivity on this blog because this blog operates at low activity. personals are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. this is a mutuals only blog. if we are not mutuals, please do not interact with my ic or my ooc posts. i will not interact with muses from steven universe, the book of mormon musical, southpark, or anime.

FORMATTING. my formatting is on the heavy side. i do not expect you to match my style. if this doesn't work for you, let me know and i will adjust as necessary. i use a variety of psds for different reasons, but the one you can find most commonly on here is versailles by cavalierfou on deviantart and other psds of hers. all icons, edits, etc. are made by me. do not steal them.

TRIGGERS. triggering content will be tagged as “[trigger] tw." i tag common triggers and the ones you'll find on this blog (list below), but if you have something specific you need to be tagged, please im me about it or make note of it in my interest checker. please tag political discourse, current events, and nsfw.

NSFW/SHIPPING. i love shipping! however, not all my muses are open for shipping. at the moment this is lucy barker and nellie lovett ( see why i won't ship nellie here ), but it is subject to change at any time. if you think our muses have chemistry or if you're interested, shoot me an im. i am a big fan of all dynamics! enemies, friendship, etc. all of my muses are of age and as am i, but nsfw content will not be present as it makes me uncomfortable.

FINAL. i'm darcy (she/her; 18+). don’t feel intimidated by me at all! i’m a bit shy so i completely understand why you might feel intimidated by approaching me, but i’m probably the least intimidating person you’ll meet and i’m flexible.

[gathersroses]

RULES.

INTERACTING. the best way to interact with me is through memes so please, please, please send them in! please make sure to specify a muse when you send in a meme. i will either contact you to see which muse you are interested in or i will not answer the meme at all. i'm not huge on plotting nor am i good at it, but i am 100% down if that is how you prefer to interact. please, please, please reblog from the source! this goes for anything. memes, aesthetics, musings, etc. i want to keep my notifications clean on here. if you are no longer interested in being mutuals, please soft or hard block me.

SELECTIVTY. i practice selectivity on this blog because this blog operates at low activity. personals are not welcome here and will be blocked on sight. this is a mutuals only blog. if we are not mutuals, please do not interact with my ic or my ooc posts. i will not interact with muses from steven universe, the book of mormon musical, southpark, or anime.

FORMATTING. my formatting is on the heavy side. i do not expect you to match my style. if this doesn't work for you, let me know and i will adjust as necessary. i use a variety of psds for different reasons, but the one you can find most commonly on here is versailles by cavalierfou on deviantart and other psds of hers. all icons, edits, etc. are made by me. do not steal them.

TRIGGERS. triggering content will be tagged as “[trigger] tw." i tag common triggers and the ones you'll find on this blog (list below), but if you have something specific you need to be tagged, please im me about it or make note of it in my interest checker. triggers present based on my muse will be: rape, human trafficking, blood, murder, death, arranged marriage, child abuse, homelessness, neglect, suicide, war, and physical assault. please tag political discourse, current events, and nsfw.

NSFW/SHIPPING. i love shipping! however, not all my muses are open for shipping. at the moment this is lucy barker and nellie lovett ( see why i won't ship nellie here ), but it is subject to change at any time. if you think our muses have chemistry or if you're interested, shoot me an im. i am a big fan of all dynamics! enemies, friendship, etc. all of my muses are of age and as am i, but nsfw content will not be present as it makes me uncomfortable.

FINAL. i'm fleur (she/her; 18+). don’t feel intimidated by me at all! i’m a bit shy so i completely understand why you might feel intimidated by approaching me, but i’m probably the least intimidating person you’ll meet and i’m flexible.

[voluptuarian]

Alright I did a big ass breakdown on this, enjoy (all in good fun, of course)

what kind of musicals you're into vs. how insufferable are you in history fandom (by someone who knows fuck all about musicals)

mostly consume "Golden Age" musicals (Camelot; Rogers and Hammerstein shows; Gypsy; Kiss Me, Kate; Westside Story) You may be fairly into musicals of this era, or simply a casual enjoyer, but either way you like vintage costumes and catchy music with clever lyrics and have no hostility towards musical theater; you may indulge in more modern musicals as well but probably aren't as interested in the post-Sondheim era; no evidence of any strong correlation between this and any particular historical era/fandom. (If you are into a historical fandom, however, it's probably historical fashion, in which case you're probably a prolific costume gif-maker and we all thank you for your service.)

rating: blameless bystander

mostly consume "Golden" Age musicals+ real musical oldies (Gilbert and Sullivan) You're actually genuinely into musicals across the board but prefer vintage productions; if you have a historical era you're into, its probably just the history of musical theater/theater in general. You probably make up 75% of the Pirates of Penzance tag by yourself, although you may not be able to find Cornwall on a map.

rating: generally respectable non-entity

predominantly/exclusively into foreign, rock operas, or both (Mozart, l'opéra rock; Tanz der Vampire; La Légende du roi Arthur; Equal; Elisabeth; Dostoyevsky adaptations; Takarazuka productions) Congratulations, this is frankly the sexiest way you can actually be into musicals imo-- while you're passionately into your musical fandom of choice (despite possibly having to translate and subtitle it yourself) you don't generally find history satisfyingly weird enough (or weirdly sexual enough) to really get it's hooks into you. (You might be hella into folklore, though.)

rating: nice place, but I couldn't live there

actually into (broadway) musicals (old school edition) (Cabaret; Fiddler on the Roof; Wicked; Phantom of the Opera; Cats; Rent; Sweeney Todd; The Threepenny Opera) The category probably the most genuinely committed to musicals as a hobby. (Also most likely to be a grown adult with a job and a mortgage.) Presumably that leaves not that much room for developing a history obsession, but if it does it's probably focused on the Weimar Republic and the Hollywood Golden Age. When I see these folks engaging in fandom it's pretty much exclusively in relation to musicals and musical theater history, and not much else.

rating:

mainstream musical comedies (Book of Mormon; The Producers; Once Upon a Mattress; Little Shop of Horrors; Spamalot) You don't really give a shit about history and that's probably a good thing.

rating: true neutral

actually into (broadway) musicals (new school edition) (Assassins; Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812; Ragtime; Wicked; Hadestown) Most likely to tag memes with otherwise inexplicable things like "this is just like my blorbo leon czolgosz" and produce 500 annoying "incorrect quotes" posts with your show of choice that literally nobody else interested in the era cares about; on the other hand less than a hundred people alive even know who Leon Czolgosz was, and at least half of them only do because of musicals, so that's like a win overall right?? And at least the takes are interesting, and hey, they might actually really get into history through this. (Also of all the categories discussed here, the most likely to actually like sea shanties genuinely and not just bc of a tiktok trend, which you should definitely take as a huge compliment from me.)

rating: whether their contributions are good is questionable-- but they're doing their part providing highly necessary diversity within the historical fandom ecosystem and the waters would grow unhealthily stagnant without them

mostly 60s/70s movie musicals your parents raised you on (for some reason) (Cinderella, Fiddler on the Roof, 1776, the Sound of Music) Your parents probably weren't even into musicals themselves, these were just somehow normalized parts of your childhood cinematic experiences for some unclear reason (??) and at least one of them so deeply impacted your developing psyche that you had no choice but to go become fixated on a random historical period at 10 years old that nobody else cared about the way god intended (and why was it 1776?) And you've been stuck here ever since. (Also you are offended that I said somebody else was the most likely to genuinely like sea shanties-- don't worry folks, we know, you don't like sea shanties, you LOVE them.)

rating: the healthiest, most natural, most respectable musicals subsection to get involved in historical fandom, congratulations to the GOATs-- everybody else, take note

the wicker man is a musical, goddamn it (the wicker man and basically nothing else) First of all, you are gay. Secondly, you are opinionated AF. And thirdly, either you have no interest in history At All Whatsoever, or the line between folklore and folk history has already blurred beyond any hope of separation for you-- if the latter you probably watched Here's a Health to the Barley Mow when it was only available on VHS for $100+ and have regular, heated debates about Margaret Murray and whether Mark Gattiss even knows what folk horror is-- in short, you're a formidable beast-- but more likely your obsessive focus on one single musical in the world precludes your greater involvement in other fields, like history fandom.

rating: observing from a respectful distance

pre-tiktok indie musicals (Hadestown when it was still a concept album) I know there are like a dozen of you that exist somewhere in the world; I've seen so little of any of you, however, that I don't have any fucking idea what you're like or what you think about history. 80% of you are probably actually just three Anaïs Mitchells in a trench coat, so you're at least scoring high on the General Overall Nerd meter but does that nerdery extend to a historical period? 🤷‍♀️

rating:

pretty much just recent musical adaptations of successful movies (Mean Girls, Heathers, Clueless, Legally Blonde) You aren't part of a history fandom bc none of your shows are set earlier than 1980 and your knowledge/interest in history comes down to "Victorians ate mummies, medieval people said "thou" and liked ankles, and everyone in Olden Times was problematic" so I'll consider the lack of involvement a rare blessing. Keep it that way.

rating: tolerable as long as you stay in your lane-- and away from history discourse

you just like Lin Manual Miranda (for what other reason would anyone enjoy In the Heights?) EXTREMELY loud and INSANELY annoying but interest in any historical period (as well as other musicals generally) seemingly shallow and short-lived, Thank Fuck

rating: obnoxious invasive species that will die off soon if it hasn't already

mainstream modern broadway, but conveniently only shows that have had a recent film adaptation (but only for 5 minutes during your court ordered Theater Kid Stage) (Le Mis, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Phantom of the Opera, Wicked)

rating: we all make mistakes

mainstream modern broadway, but conveniently only shows that have had a recent film adaptation (but you're not actually into musicals) (Le Mis; Sweeney Todd; Into the Woods; Phantom of the Opera; Wicked) These are just movies to you. You watch them for the same reason you watch any other "big" movie in theaters. Did you like these movies? Maybe? Was the 2007 Sweeney Todd an inescapable part of cultural consciousness at the time and so you watched it? Of course.

rating: you are too focused (perhaps without realizing it) on the current cultural zeitgeist to spare a thought for the trends and mores of the past. That's ok, I guess.

mainstream modern broadway, but conveniently only shows that have had a recent film adaptation (you are a grown adult) (Le Mis; Sweeney Todd; Into the Woods; Phantom of the Opera; Wicked) The edgier "Your Show" and the more you incorrectly believe it representative of musicals across the board the worst your takes--historical and otherwise-- are going to be. You're obsessed with one historical era that probably centers on some mid rando (a man, obviously-- women just aren't serious enough for you to fixate on, even if you are one) you've woobified as your "smol autistic gay bean" in the fucking year of our lord 2024 who you either kin, want to fuck, want to imagine fucking some other mid historical man, or some combination of all three; best case scenario it's literally a complete random weirdo, from Nikola Tesla to Franz Lizt to Gleb Botkin; worse case scenario (and much more likely) its an authoritairan dictator and/or war criminal; the worse a person your hyperfixation guy was (or the more into the French Revolution you got after watching Le Mis in 2012 and somehow thinking that's what it was about) the higher your chances of being a tankie now, in which case your history fandom initiation was probably an Edgy Political Teen™ stage in your youth which resulted in your long-term interest in fucking one of or both Stalin and Lenin, an interest which may now border on pyschosexual. May be into your historical period of choice enough that you got into academia to professionally pursue it or may simply pontificate about it on social media, but your takes will always will be untouchably toxic and mostly just focused on lionizing your Special Guy, often to the point of total ignorance about anything historical outside of their sphere.

rating: even if you've avoided becoming the worst evolution of this type possible, any historical fandom you touch will still become a fetid swamp on contact; god help you and everyone around you

exclusively extremely new-school or tiktok musicals (Heathers; Six; Epic: the Musical; The Lighting Thief; the goddamn tiktok Ratatouille musical attempt)

rating: GET OUT OF MY TAGS GET OUT OF MY FANDOM YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT HISTORY OR MYTHOLOGY OR MUSIC OR LIFE IN GENERAL SHUT UP SHUT UP DIE DIE DIE AAAHHHHHHHHHH

and there you have it!!

I genuinely think the tolerability and quality of a historical fandom is hugely determined by whether or not there's a musical connected to the political period, and the more musicals there are, the more basic those musicals are, and the more tragic eye candy men there are for middle schoolers to ship together, the worse the community is.

One of the great salvations of the classics fandom is that there basically are no musicals, so they're out here re-watching the world's graniest rip of I, Claudius instead.

American Revolution fandom was safe for a long time bc the only musical they had was 1776 which musicals-people don't care about and non-musicals-people don't know exists and all the men are too old for the typical jr high brainrot anyway, but then they went and made Hamilton and the resulting miasma just leaked all over everything. The almost immediate 180 of "Hamilton is cringe" is the only thing that potentially prevented permanent corruption.

And then meanwhile [redacted] fandom somehow glommed onto the most basic musical with a whole club of twinky guys to moon over, but despite it being set in the 1830s somehow they all gateway-drugged it and wound up obsessing over the period 40 years beforehand instead??

[bookofmormonmemes]

ive been tagged

@swan-darkwingsOk so idk if this is allowed i should probably be doing this on my main blog but idc this got me excited umm @swan-darkwings tagged this blog in this thing and so now i owe her my life. and this post. so here

disclaimer: i. talk. way. too. much.

Rules: answer 30 questions then tag 20 people you’d like to know better

Nicknames: usually just lillie but in the past i went by Lemon and then Lavender and i had some friends who called me Impossible and i had one friend who called me Bug. but i dont really use any of those anymore cus pokemon sun & moon introduced a character named lillie and inspired me to reclaim the proper spelling of my name. representation matters

Gender: moooostly cis female right now but im probably actually some form of nonbinary im not sure at the moment

Star Sign: aquarius

MBTI Type: literally no idea. Ive taken like 8 different variations of the test and they all gave me something different. the last one i took gave me i think enfj but it included percentages of how much of each trait you had over the opposite trait and i was just barely squeaking by in like all of them. maybe i dont have a personality

Height: 5’3” and all my younger siblings are either currently taller than me or going to be taller fairly soon [cries]

Time: 11:01 pm currently but imma queue this thing to post in the morning so who knows

Birthday: february 17th and i expect all of you to send presents

Fav Bands: mmm owl city & oingo boingo

Fav solo artists: taylor swift, lindsey stirling, wait owl city is technically a solo artist too isnt he huh

Song stuck in my mind: this one like...omgsh it’s in a bunch of vines and i have no idea what it’s called but it’s like a. it’s like a saxophone i think? Or some kind of brass/woodwind thingy and it’s like agh it doesn’t have words but the notes are like a long C and then it goes up to a short A E G and then A E D and those few notes are like perpetually stuck in my head and if anyone could tell me what song it is i would be forever grateful

Last movie watched: shrek 2 but only the first half cus i got distracted by something on tumblr

Last show watched: a bunch of random adventure time clips on youtube

When did I create my blog: umm this ones been around for i think a month? ish?? a little more than a month? Idk my memory is trash. but ive had my main blog for like four years

What do I post abt: extreme couponing

Last thing I googled: the definition of ‘incur’ to make sure i was using it right when i said i didn’t want to incur the wrath of georgia w. bello’s ghost

Do you have other blogs: as a matter of fact

Why did you choose your url: cus i wasnt gonna let someone else choose it for me (ง'̀-'́)ง

Following: 301...could do with some more

Followers: 338...could do with some more (actually though this blog is the one with the most followers and it absolutely blows my mind, my main blog has 156 followers and the rest have like <15)

Fav Color: all shades of purple, all shades of pink, most shades of yellow (though the yellow part is a fairly recent development that i entirely blame on steven universe, thanks rebecca sugar. and thank you patti lupone)

Average hours of sleep: hahaha you expect me to do Math during Summer

Lucky number: 17 and pretty much anything with 7, also 39

Instruments: took a year of piano in 2nd grade (which DOES count absolutely 100%) and then violin from 5th-10th grade

What i’m wearing: brown tank top and polka dotted jammie pants that im suddenly realizing are the colors of the ace pride flag, shout out to all my awesome ace followers

How many blankets do I sleep with: there are currently 5 on my bed and ideally i would sleep under all of them. however this is summer so i just suffer

Dream job: if i could get paid for memeing i would be so happy...but honestly im gonna be going to school to be an english teacher which is my realistic dream job that i can very easily picture myself being very happy doing. my unrealistic dream job would be a disney face character which Could be realistic if i lived near any disney parks, and of course itd be amazing to make it as a full-time author or actor but i dont have the patience or confidence to really pursue those super seriously lol

Dream trip: round the world honestly. currently my top dream destinations are ireland, colombia, iceland, the phillippines, and the middle of the ocean

Fav food: okay this is very specific but a tuna fish sandwich except the tuna is mixed with a spoonful of mayonnaise, a squirt of mustard, and a handful of chopped cucumber and/or celery. bonus if you add lettuce or tomatoes or dill pickles. it’s the best lunch ever and it’s technically healthy and i love it so much

aand that’s all the questions so as far as the tagging goes i want to tag all of you because i want to get to know literally all of you so much but 338 is more than 20 so im just gonna go down the top 20 in my notes

@tanosoka@j-the-latter-gay-saint@beepala@inariedwards@hair-fiber@likenolion@afterlifeincorporated​​​​​​​@tanosoka@trellyellyoxenfree @thepoetrytheoristcalledmoriarty @beepala @deetledeet @inariedwards @afterlifeincorporated @tanosoka @j-the-latter-gay-saint @merlissa @likenolion @hair-fiber

@truefactsaboutlies@clever-cyborg@burnt-kloverfield@ariannadon@enigmaris@kensalyn477@bean--teen@beauty-in-the-falcon​​​​​​​​ @truefactsaboutlies @nermrod @clever-cyborg @burnt-kloverfield @ariannadon @enigmaris @kensalyn477 @bean--teen @beauty-in-the-falcon

(i do actually honestly want to get to know you specific individuals i recognize almost all and apprecitate all of you in my notes, though absolutely feel free to not do this if u dont wanna. And if you see this and werent tagged and wanna do it UR TAGGED ANYWAY I REALLY LEGIT WANNA GET TO KNOW U)

anyways thank you for reading and we will get back to our regularly scheduled memeage momentarily

[yvesdot]

would love to hear more about ur anti-F451 ideals <3

wait depending on why ur opposed to it the heart may have been tonally inappropriate

(in response to this)

Nooo don’t worry! Funniest message/addition I’ve received in a while.

I personally don’t like Fahrenheit 451 in part because I’m an honest Bradbury fan and I think the plot structure is fundamentally disappointing. Perhaps I’d feel differently on a fourth read, but I find many of his short stories much better written.

However, the main issue I have with it is that it is taught by progressive people as if it is progressive. Let me tell you: it’s not. Bradbury was not responding to real, precedented book burning (usually of progressive and/or minority-authored texts—F451 was published ~20 years after the Nazi book burnings). What’s the book he’s most worried about? The Christian Bible, which is the central text that Montag seeks to protect, despite his inability to comprehend it. This is all we really need to know about Bradbury’s grip on reality.

Take a look at this speech by Beatty, the police chief villain of the novel, as to “how we got here.” Warning: even more racist than you expect.

Now let's take up the minorities in our civilization, shall we? Bigger the population, the more minorities. Don't step on the toes of the dog-lovers, the cat-lovers, doctors, lawyers, merchants, chiefs, Mormons, Baptists, Unitarians, second-generation Chinese, Swedes, Italians, Germans, Texans, Brooklynites, Irishmen, people from Oregon or Mexico. The people in this book, this play, this TV serial are not meant to represent any actual painters, cartographers, mechanics anywhere. The bigger your market, Montag, the less you handle controversy, remember that! All the minor minor minorities with their navels to be kept clean. Authors, full of evil thoughts, lock up your typewriters. They did...

...It didn’t come from the Government down. There was no dictum, no declaration, no censorship, to start with, no! Technology, mass exploitation, and minority pressure carried the trick, thank God. Today, thanks to them, you can stay happy all the time, you are allowed to read comics, the good old confessions, or trade journals.

...You must understand that our civilization is so vast that we can't have our minorities upset and stirred. Ask yourself, What do we want in this country, above all? People want to be happy, isn't that right?

Colored people don’t like Little Black Sambo. Burn it. White people don’t feel good about Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Burn it. Someone’s written a book on tobacco and cancer of the lungs? The cigarette people are weeping? Burn the book.

(bolding mine)

Quotes like this one reveal his true, misplaced anxieties: Bradbury perceives the Oversensitive Minorities as the book-burners. Bradbury himself was not always a shining star of progressivism even in his most progressive-leaning writing (see his portrayal of Black people in various pseudo-progressive short stories). Does this mean nobody should read him, or F451? Of course not; I’m a Bradbury completionist myself. The meme post is honestly hilarious, which is why I didn’t want to be one of those Um, Actually! people—it’s not really relevant, in my opinion, to the joke. Good post, OP! I mention this here to put Bradbury’s fears of offended minority readers in context.

From Faber, the mentor figure with the Bible:

It's not books you need, it's some of the things that once were in books. The same things could be in the 'parlor families' today. The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios, and televisors, but are not. No, no it's not books at all you're looking for! Take it where you can find it, in old phonograph records, old motion pictures, and in old friends; look for it in nature and look for it in yourself. Books were only one type or receptacle where we stored a lot of things we were afraid we might forget.

Bradbury’s real concern (outside of minority backlash) was television. While he was right that technology would progress and become more handheld (and often all-consuming), his fears seem to come largely from a view of television as “replacing” reading, which it has made no real signs of doing. This is actually the reason F451 is so popular: the majority agrees, and has always agreed, that books are irreplaceable and television is “low art.” This book has mass societal appeal... because it ultimately challenges nothing about society.

Every generation acts like new tech, new adults, new everything is terrible. (1) (2) (3) (4) This makes the book popular again and again as people insist that now technology has finally gone too far (as opposed to when he wrote it? he wrote it about your generation!), but it’s something a real visionary should have been able to see past. It’s classic, uncreative paranoia.

It’s honestly embarrassing for Bradbury to count television out of “infinite detail and awareness,” particularly because it’s only developed further in that direction since. Take Bojack Horseman, Squid Game, Mr. Robot, or any other critically acclaimed television show in the last decade: we’re seeing an explosion of real art here, using the unique elements of the medium to produce better writing. Bradbury was wrong, and he should have recognized it.

So, if it’s not well-written or insightful, what is F451 teaching? Why is it present in classrooms across the country? I read this book in high school myself, and I am shocked that progressive teachers continue to assign it as though it can tell us anything (other than, perhaps, how the group in power will always manipulate social causes to portray themselves as the victims). Bradbury wasn’t right about the future, outside of some predictable technological progression. Books aren’t being burned just because they’re books (or, God forbid, because they’re Christian. Good Lord.) The Evil Minoritees have failed to bring down the giants. Nobody is going to put up four screens in their living room, because the furniture would block the screens.

F451 is a lovely beach read. It elicits those big, easily-provoked emotions: what if I am the only smart one left alive! What if all books are disappearing! What if low art is prevailing!! I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that self-aware indulgence, the way people love books about strapping gentlemen and maidens who fail to exist in real life. We just have to be aware of that inaccurate manipulation of our emotions, and perhaps come to understand that this educational text isn’t as educational as we once thought.

P. S. Bradbury once wrote a New Year’s piece for Playboy, at the turn of the century, about what he expected to happen in the 2000s. He predicted the ultimate return to glory of...! cassette tapes. Let that be a lesson to other visionaries ^__^

[bookwyrminspiration]

Are kids these days still reading the Twilight series? I read the first book and watched the first two movies in like 2008/2009. There was a whole forum of edgy teens like me who thought hating Twilight made you cool. Are you telling me this series still has an active fandom?

I can't speak for everyone but I think the general answer is no, and that the kids these days have simply absorbed the same rhetoric that's been repeated over and over without actually knowing anything about it more than superficially (like team edward vs team jacob, sparkly vampires, bella being boring)

However! I am one of the kids these days still reading twilight, and yes there is still very much people talking and interacting with the saga. It's not the same as it used to be based on what I know, and is more like..."twilight is cringey and a disaster but it's my cringey disaster." Like 95% of the people still posting and talking about it are under absolutely no illusion that it's a "good" or high quality series, and we're well aware of it being basically a self-insert "i'm not like other girls" story for a racist mormon writer.

But if you go through the tag, "the twilight renaissance" that's where a lot of the posting is being done now and I personally find it very entertaining. I think you'll get what I mean if you look about people being under no illusion it's good. Lots of critiques and shitpost-esque things going on

There's a sort of camaraderie around reading/enjoying twilight now specifically because of groups like the forum you mentioned. Because of the vitriol and connotations of liking twilight, it's become sort of a comfort in opposition. This post explains it better (and this meme) but like, it's bad but we're having fun. I don't know how to express it

so yeah, there's still an active twilight fandom, but I don't think a lot of people are really getting into it. There's exceptions to this of course, but this is all based on what I've seen so I could be misjudging

[sentienttoast]

Oh wow I just found this post sitting in my drafts from like months ago here it is I guess haha

Tag game: Name a song for each letter in your username.

Thanks @c-morrigan for the tag! :)

T: The Ballad of Sara Berry - Lindsay Mendez

H: Hello! - The Book of Mormon Cast

E: Everybody's talking about Jamie - ETAJ Cast

G: Get Down - Genesis Lynea

A: And You Don't Even Know It - ETAJ Cast

R: Rue - Girl in Red

L: Leave Luanne - Jay Armstrong Johnson

I: I Found a Girl - The Vamps

C: Chant - Hadestown Cast

B: Buttercup - Jack Strauber

R: Respect - Aretha Franklin

E: Ex-Wives - Six Cast

A: All You Wanna Do - Aimee Atkinson

D: Dead Mom - Sophia Anne Caruso

S: Say My Name - Alex Brightman & Sophia Anne Caruso

T: The Other Side - Annapantsu & Cami-Cat (Cover)

I: I Say No - Carrie Hope Fletcher

C: Carribean Blue - Enya

K: Killer Queen - Queen

I'm tagging @iwan-out , @till-death-do-us-party , @sapphos-favourite-daughter , @buy-me-mcdonalds , @petalsbleedingbeak , @diet-pepsi-but-with-spikes , @bonniesgoldengirl , @one-piece-wire-fangirl , @thespeedycricket , @ultradoux , @eggastential-biscuits , @manghoes , @metis-the-moon , @yeetusmaximustheepic , @the-dream-and-meme , @anjukoneko , @twoangrygeese , @channah , @crithir , @dearrbhla , @irishshauna , @loonylula , @beeistrying , @anomalous-heretic , @unsuspicious-nobody , @glaciers-simping-skater , @dami-cant-cope , @writtenfoxscreams , @graupig , @mintyclintybarton , @definitelynotatheatrekid , @disastrousgaydisaster , and @orphankin ! No pressure if you don't want to do it of course, and even if you didn't get tagged, anyone who sees this on their dash can participate!

[theshedding]

Lil Nas X: Country Music, Christianity & Reclaiming HELL

I don’t typically bother myself to follow what Lil Nas X is doing from day to day, or even month to month but I do know that his “Old Town Road” hit became one of the biggest selling/streamed records in Country Music Business history (by a Black Country & Queer artist). “Black” is key because for 75+ years Country music has unsuspiciously evolved into a solidly White-identified genre (despite mixed and Indian & Black roots). Regrettably, Country music is also widely known for anti-black, misogynoir, reliably homophobic (Trans isn’t really a conversation yet), Christian and Hard Right sentiments on the political spectrum. Some other day I will venture into more; there is a whole analysis dying to be done on this exclusive practice in the music industry with its implications on ‘access’ to equity and opportunity for both Black/POC’s and Whites artists/songwriters alike. More commentary on this rigid homogeneous field is needed and how it prohibits certain talent(s) for the sake of perpetuating homogeneity (e.g. “social determinants” of diversity & viable artistic careers). I’ll refrain from discussing that fully here, though suffice it to say that for those reasons X’s “Old Town Road” was monumental and vindicating. 

As for Lil Nas X, I’m not particularly a big fan of his music; but I see him, what he’s doing, his impact on music + culture and I celebrate him using these moments to affirm his Black, Queer self, and lifting up others. Believe it or not, even in the 2020′s, being “out” in the music business is still a costly choice. As an artist it remains much easier to just “play straight”. And despite appearances, the business (particularly Country) has been dragged kicking and screaming into developing, promoting and advancing openly-affirming LGBTQ 🏳️‍🌈 artists in the board room or on-stage. Though things are ‘better’ we have not yet arrived at a place of equity or opportunity for queer artists; for the road of music biz history is littered with stunted careers, bodies and limitations on artists who had no option but to follow conventional ways, fail or never be heard of in the first place. With few exceptions, record labels, radio and press/media have successfully used fear, intimidation, innuendo and coercion to dilute, downplay or erase any hint of queer identity from its performers. This was true even for obvious talents like Little Richard.

(Note: I’m particularly speaking of artists in this regard, not so much the hairstylists, make-up artists, PA’s, etc.)

_____

Which is why...in regard to Lil Nas X, whether you like, hate or love his music, the young brother is a trailblazer. His very existence protests (at least) decades of inequity, oppression and erasure. X aptly critiques a Neo-Christian Fascist Heteropatriarchy; not just in American society but throughout the Music Business and with Black people. That is no small deal. His unapologetic outness holds a mirror up to Christianity at-large, as an institution, theology and practice. The problem is they just don’t like what they see in that mirror.

In actuality, “Call Me By Your Name”, Lil Nas X’s new video, is a twist on classic mythology and religious memes that are less reprehensible or vulgar than the Biblical narratives most of us grew up on vís-a-vís indoctrinating smiles of Sunday school teachers and family prior to the “age of reason”. Think about the narratives blithely describing Satan’s friendly wager with God regarding Job (42:1-6); the horrific “prophecies” in St. John’s Book of Revelation (i.e. skies will rain fire, angels will spit swords, mankind will be forced to retreat into caves for shelter, and we will be harassed by at least three terrifying dragons and beasts. Angels will sound seven trumpets of warning, and later on, seven plagues will be dumped on the world), or Jesus’s own clarifying words of violent intent in Matthew (re: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” 10:34). Whether literal or metaphor, these age old stories pale in comparison to a three minute allegorical rap video. Conservatives: say what you will, I’m pretty confident X doesn’t take himself as seriously as “The true and living God” from the book of Job.

A little known fact as it is, people have debunked the story and evolution of Satan and already offered compelling research showing [he] is more of a literary device than an actual entity or “spirit” (Spoiler: In the Bible, Satan does not take shape as an actual “bad” person until the New Testament). In fact, modern Christianity’s impression of the “Devil” is shaped by conflating Hellenized mythology with a literary tradition rooted in Dante’s Inferno and accompanying spooks and superstitions going back thousands of years. Whether Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Scientologist, Atheist or Agnostic, we’ve spent a lifetime with these predominant icons and clichés. (Resource: Prof. Bart D. Erhman, “Heaven & Hell”).

So Here’s THE PROBLEM: The current level of fear and outrage is: 

(1) Unjust, imposing and irrational. 

(2) Disproportionate when taken into account a lifetime of harmful Christian propaganda, anti-gay preaching and political advocacy.

(3) Historically inaccurate concerning the existence of “Hell” and who should be scared of going there. 

Think I’m overreacting? 

Examples: 

Institutionalized Homophobia (rhetoric + policy)

Anti-Gay Ministers In Life And Death: Bishop Eddie Long And Rev. Bernice King

Black, gay and Christian, Marylanders struggle with Conflicts

Harlem pastor: 'Obama has released the homo demons on the black man'

Joel Olsteen: Homosexuality is “Not God’s Best”

Bishop Brandon Porter: Gays “Perverted & Lost...The Church of God in Christ Convocation appears like a ‘coming out party’ for members of the gay community.”

Kim Burrell: “That perverted homosexual spirit is a spirit of delusion & confusion and has deceived many men & women, and it has caused a strain on the body of Christ”

Falwell Suggests Gays to Blame for 9-11 Attacks

Pope Francis Blames The Devil For Sexual Abuse By Catholic Church

Pope Francis: Gay People Not Welcome in Clergy

Pope Francis Blames The Devil For Sexual Abuse By Catholic Church

The Pope and Gay People: Nothing’s Changed

The Catholic church silently lobbied against a suicide prevention hotline in the US because it included LGBT resources

Mormon church prohibits Children of LGBT parents to be baptized

Catholic Charity Ends Adoptions Rather Than Place Kid With Same-Sex Couple

I Was a Religious Zealot That Hurt People-Coming Out as Gay: A Former Conversion Therapy Leader Is Apologizing to the LGBTQ Community

The above short list chronicles a consistent, literal, demonization of LGBTQ people, contempt for their gender presentation, objectification of their bodies/sexuality and a coordinated pollution of media and culture over the last 50+ years by clergy since integration and Civil Rights legislation. Basically terrorism. Popes, Bishops, Pastors, Evangelists, Politicians, Television hosts, US Presidents, Camp Leaders, Teachers, Singers & Entertainers, Coaches, Athletes and Christians of all types all around the world have confused and confounded these issues, suppressed dissent, and confidently lied about LGBT people-including fellow Queer Christians with impunity for generations (i.e. “thou shall not bear false witness against they neighbor” Ex. 23:1-3). Christian majority viewpoints about “laws” and “nature” have run the table in discussions about LGBTQ people in society-so much that we collectively must first consider their religious views in all discussions and the specter of Christian approval -at best or Christian condescension -at worst. That is Christian (and straight) privilege. People are tired of this undue deference to religious opinions. 

That is what is so deliciously bothersome about Lil Nas X being loud, proud and “in your face” about his sexuality. If for just a moment, he not only disrupts the American hetero-patriarchy but specifically the Black hetero-patriarchy, the so-called “Black Church Industrial Complex”, Neo-Christian Fascism and a mostly uneducated (and/or miseducated) public concerning Ancient Near East and European history, superstitions-and (by extension) White Supremacy. To round up: people are losing their minds because the victim decided to speak out against his victimizer. 

Additionally, on some level I believe people are mad at him being just twenty years old, out and FREE as a self-assured, affirming & affirmed QUEER Black male entertainer with money and fame in the PRIME of his life. We’ve never, or rarely, seen that before in a Black man in the music business and popular culture. But that’s just too bad for them. With my own eyes I’ve watched straight people, friends, Christians, enjoy their sexuality from their elementary youth to adolescence, up and through college and later marriages, often times independently of their spouses (repeatedly). Meanwhile Queer/Gay/SGL/LGBTQ people are expected to put their lives on hold while the ‘blessed’ straight people run around exploring premarital/post-marital/extra-marital sex, love and affection, unbound & un-convicted by their “sin” or God...only to proudly rebrand themselves later in life as a good, moral “wholesome Christian” via the ‘sacred’ institution of marriage with no questions asked. 

Inequality defined.

For Lil Nas X, everything about the society we've created for him in the last 100+ years (re: links above) has explicitly been designed for his life not to be his own. According to these and other Christians (see above), his identity is essentially supposed to be an endless rat fuck of internal confusion, suicide-ideation, depression, long-suffering, faux masculinity, heterosexism, groveling towards heaven, respectability politics, failed prayer and supplication to a heteronormative earthly and celestial hierarchy unbothered in affording LGBT people like him a healthy, sane human development. It’s almost as if the Conservative establishment (Black included) needs Lil Nas X to be like others before him: “private”, mysteriously single, suicidal, suspiciously straight or worse, dead of HIV/AIDS ...anything but driving down the street enjoying his youth as a Black Queer artist and man. So they mad about that?

Well those days are over.  

-Rogiérs is a writer, international recording artist, performer and indie label manager with 25+ years in the music industry. He also directs Black Nonbelievers of DC, a non-profit org affiliated with the AHA supporting Black skeptics, Atheists, Agnostics & Humanists. He holds a B.A. in Music Business & Mgmt and a M.A. in Global Entertainment & Music Business from Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia, Spain. www.FibbyMusic.net Twitter/IG: @Rogiers1

[rye-in-a-coat]

Into The Blue Wall (Post. 5)

Most "Mandela Effects" are just simple misunderstandings like Fruit Loops, Kit-Kat or Curious George having a tail. Others are more big like Sinbad's Shazam. But today in this episode of Interweb Mysteries, I'll talk about this one post in Reddit of which as far as I know no other big YouTube channel has covered. This is the case of THE MARMINS.

It all originated in the subreddit r/TipOfMyTongue. In February 3rd 2015 a post was created with the title "[TOMT][TV SHOW][1990's] my sister remembers a TV show with white hippos".

OP was a british man in his 30's; his previous posts were in local London subreddits, repair related subreddits and r/Memes. The post said the following:

"MY SISTER SAYS SHE WATCHED THIS T.V. SHOW WHEN SHE WAS 8 OR 9 (EARLY 90S) BUT SO FAR WE HAVEN'T FOUND IT. She recalls it had white hippos as the main characters but also other animals. They all lived in some rural area and had adventures. However she also remembers being scared of some episodes as they had horrible creatures. I think it's possibly european, but not sure. Hope someone else knows what the bloody hell she is talking about."

Comments naturally came, it seemed like people all remembered the show but they weren't able to pinpoint exact details other than disturbing or vague memories.

"one of the most creepy episodes was this one with a big purple-black brown. the music and shading was super eerie"

"I remember distinctly there was this super creepy magician guy in a plain body suit, I hated every bit of him"

"the episode about this goblin that came from a hat gave me nightmares" "THE ONE WITH THE WEIRD ICE LADY!!!! I THINK I SAW THE SILHOUETTE OF A BODY INSIDE HER AND THOUGHT SOMEONE WAS TRAPPED IN THERE AND IT GAVE ME SO MANY SLEEPLESS NIGHTS THINKING ABOUT IT"

To this point people were a bit skeptic as all of this looked like a creepypasta or an ARG. But then a woman with the online name of "Ms. Floret Blossom" gave an actual helpful comment:

"I think it was adventures in... Something, fuming valley?"

Shortly after other names came up: Marmin, Muffled, Mow, Meén, Mormon and Mårsmin. People from Hawaii to Japan, from Argentina to Finland; but strangely no american users shared any experiences.

A subreddit got created: r/TheMarmins, the discussion of the topic really went nowhere for years and maybe this is why the topic didn't reach big YouTube mystery channels like Whang!, Rexpo or Highly Sociable.

However recently something got discovered...

Japanese user アスター魔女 shared an image they had found in an abandoned japanese stock image blog. The image depicted a comic strip in full colour. Three characters having a conversation in english and a transliteration of the speech in katakana, under the panels the translation in japanese. The title was "hey so, I found an image with possibly the white hippo we're looking for."

All the people were so amazed as the characters were the ones they all have been talking about for years. However, no one remembered the third brown rat character, so some people thought it couldn't be the source.

The current theory is that The Marmins were originally japanese books for teaching children English and someone made an anime adaptation of these. People don't remember the show to be educative so probably the whole English learning thing got dropped. Another detail is that none of the characters' names are mentioned.

Will The Marmins ever be found? This is mystery 1 of this video. The second one has to do with a strange server in the social media Bonfire...

from YouTube video "Interweb Mysteries | Part 23." from the channel "Jack-Max Detective".