#less of an incorrect quote and more of a not explicitly stated quote

[braxix]

Galadriel: You. Out.

Celegorm: But-

Galadriel: Out.

Celegorm: But I didn't do anything!

Galadriel: Yet. Now out.

[wingsoverlagos]

Today, I’d like to share one of Mark Lewisohn’s most entertaining fucked-up citations. This citation, Tune In 13-23, contains a rare example of Lewisohn almost saying something correct/insightful about Paul McCartney before hopelessly fumbling, as well as a far-less-rare example of Lewisohn correcting Paul on a bit of trivia while simultaneously mangling the source material. Here’s the text of the endnote itself:

In pink, Lewisohn lets us know that Paul, reflecting in the ‘90s on the events of 1960, did not correctly remember the name of the host. This is fine—I don’t take issue with Lewisohn correcting things the Beatles misremembered—but it’s very funny to see him correcting a bit of minutiae in the citation for two quotes he altered or misrepresented.

In yellow, we have what seems, on the surface, to be an actual insight about Paul: “Paul sometimes says ‘we’ in interviews when he means ‘I.’” This isn’t a paradigm-bending revelation—I’m sure my mutuals are all very aware of this habit of Paul’s—but it’s an insight nonetheless.

Or it would be, if this wasn’t said in relation to a quote where Paul clearly means himself and another person. So close, Mark! From Tune In:

Teenage Paul, out of his depth at a college party, pretends to be a singing Frenchman, creating ‘Michelle’ in the process. The first quote, the one where Lewisohn asserts Paul is using “we” in the singular sense, is from the Anthology (2000, p.198):

Do y’all see the problem here? “It was very sophisticated for me and George, so we were trying to hang in there and pretend we knew what was going on.” Emphasis added by me, just in case Mr. Lewisohn is reading and needs a little help.

This is not Paul saying “we” but meaning “I.” This is Paul explicitly stating how he and George felt. And like?????? The “clarification” Lewisohn provides in the endnote is completely unnecessary to begin with. There’s no reason to say Paul means just-him in this quote, unless Lewisohn is worried John will get lumped in with Paul’s loser teenager behavior. In that case, instead of lying and saying Paul actually meant just-Paul here, why not mention that George was at the party and out of his depth as well? Why do this??????

Onto Many Years From Now (1997):

The quote itself isn’t too altered. Lewisohn fails to mark the omission after “It was” with an ellipsis, but that’s small potatoes for him. The Irritating thing here was brought to my attention be @mythserene: even though Paul mentions three specific influences on his wannabe French style (Sacha Distel, Juliette Greco, and Maurice Chevalier), Lewisohn invokes an entirely different Frenchman, Jacques Brel.

With Lewisohn’s phrasing, he’s not incorrect. If Paul said “Joey Fatone and Justin Timberlake were huge influences on my choice to get frosted tips in 2001,” it wouldn’t be wrong to describe his appearance as “Lance Bass-esque.” But if you’re writing a musician’s biography, and that musician has named specific influences on their music or presentation, why would you not invoke those influences when the opportunity arises? Isn’t it more work—and less informative—to dig up some fourth French guy to slot in here instead?

Lewisohn thinks it’s worth the readers time to know that Paul forgot who hosted a party he attended as a teenager, at the same time putting in effort to avoid mentioning Paul’s stated influences.

[syabm]

"If someone doesn't respond by my arbitrary timescale, I won the argument."

That's not how it works.

>I’m not making assumptions based solely on headlines. I’m stating facts based on experience and being in that world. So shut the fuck up.

Repeating the same thing, but angrier and swearier, is no more persuasive to me.

>And just so we’re clear you thought interns wrote headlines at news organizations, so you lose any credibility that you might’ve thought you had based on that alone.

Again, you have not offered any evidence to disprove this. I said "for all we know". I did not state that it was the case.

My whole point was "the people making assumptions don't actually know anything about why it was written like this, or who did it".

For a journalist, you sure seemed to wildly misunderstand what I said, and seem to be standing entirely on your own assumptions and inflated sense of self-importance, instead of any evidence.

Okay, I admit, that's kinda standard for a journalist. At least these days.

>And as an earlier poster pointed out the whole point of the story was buried six paragraphs into an 11 paragraph story. . So that by itself proves that the headline was meant to be biased and that it was done on purpose. So you can keep arguing or just admit you’re wrong and then shut up. Or just shut up.

I don't know why you're quoting things I already explicitly addressed like they're some counterargument.

The story is only 200 words, total.

Rounding up.

Less than a minute at average reading speed. A little over when reading aloud.

If your position is "it's not people's fault if they don't read the actual article and make incorrect assumptions based on the headline", and "5-6 sentences is a great burden to read and most people won't get that far, therefore the paper is burying it", I don't know how I can change your mind.

I will not respond to any further posts - or abuse - from you. Which you will no doubt rationalize as proof of defeat.

[xiyao-feels]

Part One: Claims about the Song of Clarity/the Song of Turmoil and the Nie Clan

Intro - Pt 1 - Pt 2 - Pt 3 - Pt 4

SoC/SoT

1) The SoC is expected to heal NMJ completely

This one is fairly straightforward: one of the Nie cultivators literally says that he didn't expect the Song of Clarity /not/ to heal NMJ completely, around 12:30 in: "Master's illness is getting worse. I didn't expect that cleaning music can't completely cure him." While this could just be one person's incorrect idea, the cultivator he makes this observation to does not correct him, and in general, FJ does not at any point suggest that he is wrong.

As far as I can tell, the claim that the SoC is expected to completely heal NMJ is not made anywhere in MDZS or CQL; nor is there any suggestion the music had been used to treat the sabre curse for past Nie cultivators, so, indeed, how would they know what to expect? Moreover, in neither MDZS or CQL does anyone seem surprised that it failed to heal NMJ entirely, including LXC who would know if anyone would; rather LXC seems to consider his turmoil-induced progression entirely plausible despite (he thinks) JGY's consistent playing of Clarity.

2) A few brief passages from the SoC, even when played by someone with weak cultivation, can very quickly bring a halt to NMJ's violence

On multiple occasions we are shown the gold SoC very quickly visually affect NMJ, returning him to normal from sabre-curse-red. Twice, it halts him partway through significant violence—JGY preventing his attack on NHS in the beginning, and NHS temporarily preventing his attack on NZH. This is so even though NHS and JGY canonically have weak cultivation (ch 14 and 21 for NHS, a whole lot of chapters for JGY but see also this next paragraph).

Consider by contrast this passage from ch. 64:

Wei WuXian, “Jin GuangYao’s spiritual energy isn’t high. He wouldn’t have been able to take someone’s life with just seven notes. And killing him this way would’ve been too obvious. He definitely wouldn’t have chosen a song so powerful. But, if he could use the reason of playing the Song of Clarity for ChiFeng-Zun to calm his temper and continued to play it for three months, would the song be able to act as a slow poison and catalyse ChiFeng-Zun’s outburst?”

It's clear that JGY's ability to affect things via musical cultivation is limited, precisely because he does not have high cultivation.

As a side note: WWX's speculated timeline here is sometimes given as evidence that JGY was playing the corrupted SoC for NMJ /before/ the stairs incident. However, I'll observe that he is, indeed, speculating, and moreover that he is contradicted by his own experience in the Empathy flashback, especially as he also says—see the next point—that JGY would have used very little spiritual power in the unaltered SoC (ch 49):

Since then, Jin GuangYao would travel from Lanling to Qinghe every few days, playing Sound of Lucidity to help quell Nie MingJue rage. He tried his hardest, without speaking even a single word of complaint. Sound of Lucidity was indeed effective. Wei WuXian could clearly feel that the hostile energy within Nie MingJue was being suppressed.

And then, talking to LWJ and LXC following shortly on the three months quote above:

Thus, Jin GuangYao didn’t dare straight up play to him the dark song and instead took trouble to combine two songs of different styles with opposite uses. And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent. I’m guessing that he used little spiritual power in the Cleansing sections and only exerted power in the section of The Collection of Turmoil.

I don't think this is particularly mysterious—WWX has gone through quite a bit since experiencing these moments in the Empathy flashback, including the rest of the Empathy flashback where, since he feels NMJ's anger, he would have been experiencing a great deal of anger at JGY.

In CQL though WWX doesn't specifically give JGY's low cultivation as a reason for him to choose the SoT instead of the instantly deadly song, JGY does still have low cultivation.

In terms of FJ, I'd like also to note that in MDZS, there's a similar scene in ch 49 where NMJ is upset at NHS for not knowing where his sabre is, and tells NHS to burn the fans he's playing with; in FJ NMJ /actually/ breaks NHS' brush, and doesn't indulge in burning or threats thereof, but it's a clear parallel to the MDZS scene). However, there are a few significant differences. First, this happens before JGY starts playing for NMJ without LXC present; that is to say, regardless of when you think JGY started playing turmoil for NMJ, he could not possibly have started yet. Second, JGY defends NHS to NMJ's face, and in front of NHS:

In a hurry, Nie HuaiSang dropped a few fans on the ground. Jin GuangYao picked them up for him and put them into his arms, “HuaiSang’s hobbies are quite elegant. He’s dedicated to art and calligraphy, and has no propensity for mischief. How can you say that they’re useless?”

Third, although NMJ is angry, and expresses his anger through violence to nearby objects ("Nie MingJue slammed his palm onto a table, causing it to crack"), he does not actually directly attack NHS, or indeed actually harm NHS' fans—although NHS nevertheless falls to his knees in his terror at NMJ's initial approach.

And fourth, and most relevantly to this point, although JGY does save NHS from NMJ's anger here, he /explicitly textually does it by being a more appealing target/:

Jin GuangYao walked in from outside the hall. Nie HuaiSang looked as though he saw a knight in shining armor, beaming, “Brother, you’re here!”

In reality, it wasn’t that Jin GuangYao could calm Nie MingJue’s anger, but that since Jin GuangYao came, all of Nie MingJue’s anger would be directed at him alone, having no time to scold others. Thus, there was nothing wrong with saying that he was Nie HuaiSang’s knight in shining armor.

CQL is missing many of these scenes, but there is not as far as I remember any evidence that JGY could quickly stop NMJ's violence via music.

3) The SoT is so powerful that its brief corrupted passage will totally overwhelm all positive effects from the unaltered SoC, even if the player is using equal cultivation power throughout.

This isn't explicitly stated, but it's the only mechanism by which the plan of 'have NHS play the corrupted SoC' makes any sense at all. Otherwise, as far as I can tell, NHS would actually be helping NMJ, just more slowly than if he had the full SoC, since he would have no reason to use less power in the unaltered section. Indeed, we see the gold flow of the regular SoC affecting NMJ when NHS plays it, which suggests he's using regular amounts of power there. Consider by contrast what WWX says to LXC and LWJ in ch 64, as above:

Thus, Jin GuangYao didn’t dare straight up play to him the dark song and instead took trouble to combine two songs of different styles with opposite uses. And he combined them so well. They sound as though there were the same. His musical talent is indeed excellent. I’m guessing that he used little spiritual power in the Cleansing sections and only exerted power in the section of The Collection of Turmoil.

I am, I want to note, not an expert in the theory of musical cultivation, or in the xianxia genre. Nevertheless, the obvious inference from what WWX says there is if JGY had been using full power in the Cleansing sections, Turmoil wouldn't have worked.

And of course as I mentioned above, WWX gives a timeline of three months and calls it a slow poison. CQL pretty much matches here, giving the he didn't use much spiritual power in cleansing, the slow poison part, and indeed the three-month timeline.

The Nie Clan

1) When the curse is coming on them too strongly, they remove themselves to the tombs to die there.

This is explicitly stated by NMJ when he and NHS have fallen into the tombs.

As far as I can tell, there's no evidence for this in either MDZS or CQL. Indeed, in neither does NMJ seem to be doing anything to deal with the fact of his increasing anger—that is, he accepts the treatment of the SoC, but he doesn't do anything about the fact that his increasing anger and hence increasing use of violence are dangerous to the people around him. If anything, he seems rather in denial. This is probably more justifiable in CQL, where he dies at the stairs and thus doesn't have the chance to reevaluate post-stairs or post-burning NHS' things,* but nevertheless there's no sign of it.

*That is, we don't see him burn NHS' things in CQL, and in MDZS it happens after the stairs, so it seems reasonable to assume it didn't happen in CQL; that said CQL does not as far as I know actively tell us he did not burn NHS' things.

Previous | Next

[queencamden]

Do you think that the SIX fandom has become very toxic ????

That’s rather complicated. I’m not totally well-versed in fandom drama, as the major fandoms I’ve been in previously (School for Good and Evil, Six of Crows and Three Dark Crowns) are all fairly chill. However, I have noticed that it has gotten a lot less unified as time went on. I first joined around July (before I got my account, just looking at posts) and it seemed much more supportive then.

I think the fandom has just become very DIVIDED. I, like several others, have become more in the Tudorblr community than the Six fandom at this point, and because of this I’ve noticed a big divide in terms of views of historical accuracy. (That’s the lens I will be focusing on, as I don’t care much about other discourse)

The divide between history fans and Six fans (and the toxicity within fandom this leads to) can be summarized in three main points.

1. History blogs and history-loving fans don’t understand/ are weirded out by fandomey fans.

2. Fandomey fans do not bother to consider the history.

3. Both sides are very aggressive on what they think is right.

Let’s start with the history blogs

They don’t understand the fandom

I hate to say it, but we’ve become the next Hamilton fandom: most Six fans get their info only from the show, and from this have developed their own, fandomey versions of the characters. The Anne Boleyn that the Six fandom loves is not the real Anne Boleyn. The Katherine Howard the Six fandom loves is not the real Katheryn Howard. However, (I saw a post about this once) the fandom is quite good at separating the characters from the actual people. (Most of) us know that the Angry Bible Aunt, Chaotic Heely Gremlin, The Mom Friend, The Dog-Loving Badass, The Babey-Brat, and The Sleep-Deprived Academic are NOT the Six Wives of Henry VIII. Because that is how fandom works. You take the most exaggerated versions of the characters in question and work off of them. ESPECIALLY in theatre fandoms, where most fans can’t even see the whole show. I think that’s why Theatre fandoms have a reputation for being cringy. The exaggerated, fandom versions of the characters are all they know.

I think a lot of the time, more history-focused blogs don’t get that aspect of fandom. Yes, Tudorblr has its own memey versions of these people (Anne Boleyn being extra, Henry being Garfield) but the content that they make are not solely these characters- because in the end the meme versions are characters. It’s hard for history blogs to understand that the fandom versions of the characters, are NOT what the fans actually think these people were like. This can lead to mocking, and attacking Six fans for being “dumb” or “cringy”. Certain blogs that are within the fandom that like the historical figures hate on fan blogs and that is NOT OKAY. For example, I saw a post where someone was making fun of Six the Kids, because they “would never be friends in the modern day”. Yeah..... neither would the Queens. And this is explicitly set in the universe of Six. History blogs should stop being high and mighty over fandoms having fun. HOWEVER.....

Fans don’t understand the history.

This show IS about real people. Who actually existed. In real life. And Six fans who ONLY reduce them to these characters can be very frustrating for people who are interested in the real people. Because Six is so popular the ONLY versions of these people you can often find on Tumblr are the Six versions. And I get it. Really I do. I used to be one of those Six fans who called KH “Kitty” (only for clarification purposes between the Katherines but still) and made memes about Anne being a chaotic gremlin. And then I looked up the actual history and I STOPPED. Not everyone has to go that deep, of course, or stop making these memes (most of them are very funny) but it would be good to respect the historical figures. I understand that it’s hard to do that in an incorrect quote, but maybe do what @sabrianna said in an earlier post and tag the characters as, say Katharine of Aragon- Six, so as not to clog the tags of people searching for the actual historical figure.

Like I said, the problem is not with making exaggerated versions of the queens. That is part of BEING a fandom. It’s not even a problem of using the characterizations from the show (such as chaotic Boleyn) What is the problem, is that many fans DON’T care about the history, or think they know everything about it. They make roleplays, ship the queens, e.t.c. but it’s all very out of character to the real women. I said earlier that most people can differentiate between the fandom queens and the real queens and that’s true. But some fans don’t. Some fans only know the queens from the fanon and the musical and because of that we get stuff like UwU Babey Katheryn Howard or people shipping Boleyn and Aragon, which is actually kind of disrespectful to the historical figures. At best, this leads to ire and harassment from Tudorblr, at worst to actual misinformation about the queens being spread by the fandom.

Both are overly aggressive in what they think is right

This is the big one and the major component of the “toxicity” of the fandom. Six is a musical about raising your voice, so it makes sense that it’s fans would be very outspoken. But it falls into a problem when they refuse to see the queens any other way. When it gets to people harassing others for stating differing opinions just to defend YOUR interpretation of a real person who actually lived, that is wrong. Because often your interpretation is NOT right, or at least limited. For example people who view Elizabeth and Mary as a black-and-white ‘good sister, evil sister’ dichotomy, when in reality they were both just as grey and complex as anyone else. But people will straight-up harass and argue with others who are just trying to explain that Mary’s background caused a great deal of her problems, and that Elizabeth did bad things too.

There’s just a lack of LISTENING which is a problem for a fandom based on history. (I know Six isn’t historically accurate, but a lot of fans are interested in the real queens). History is subjective. In my time researching historical!Katheryn Howard my opinion on her has changed around three to four times and that’s good. You are allowed to have multiple views on a thing, and when someone is trying to explain something to you, you don’t have to dismiss it. This goes for the history fans to. When Six fans make a factually incorrect statement, many history fans tend to condescend or belittle them which, as a Six fan, does NOT make us want to learn more. Simply telling us the true, often much more interesting, situation, DOES. Also, friendly reminder, most of the Six fandom are teenagers, and from what I’ve seen of Tudorblr it’s more of a mix of teens and adults. IF YOU ARE AN ADULT, DO NOT BELITTLE TEENAGERS FOR BEING WRONG. WE ARE ALREADY INSECURE ENOUGH.

Tldr; History fans, treat Six fans with respect, and acknowledge that their fandomey queens are not the queens you know and love. Six fans, respect the queens (and the history fans), do some research, and put *Queen’s Name*- Six in the tags, so that history blogs don’t ALWAYS have to see Six content. Both groups, respect others opinions. Stop constantly trying to prove you’re right. In the case of Six fans, you’re probably not (sorry) and in the case of history fans, most of the Six fandom are new to this and still learning.

Sorry for the long post @thedeadqueensclub I meant to have this finished a while ago. I don’t really know of any other fandom drama aside from the Tudorblr Vs. Six thing, so this is all I got for fandom toxicity (though there is definitely a lot more I haven’t covered)

I really enjoyed answering this, and would love if I got more asks (though it might take some time to answer them) It’s really nice to talk to all of you!

[whitehotharlots]

This is not going to be the end of MeToo

A dream is floating around the heads of Dirtbag Leftists. A beautiful, wonderful dream… A Biden nomination, and especially a Biden presidency, has shown the MeToo movement for what it really is: a collection of amoral careerists cynically, arbitrarily exploiting sexual assault claims to raise their own professional status and settle personal scores. The movement is ideologically bankrupt, monstrously hypocritical, and utterly unconcerned with helping vulnerable people. Everyone paying attention must now admit to this, and, once admitted to, the hags and scolds will no longer wield so much power, and will lose their ability to wreck actual leftist movements with specious accusations regarding finger wags and epigenetic trauma.

Oh lord, how lovely this would be.

Take this quote from Felix Biederman of Chapo Trap House, who says that a Biden presidency

would eviscerate the liberal media identity politics industrial complex. Because Biden-World has no use for those people. Like, Democrats just spent a week going “Don’t call it the Chinese virus.” Then Joe comes out there and he’s like “we’re gonna send them back, Jack.” [ . . . ] Someone was saying this entire primary was a referendum against Bernie and his ideas, (and depending on how much of a fucking loser you are [a referendum] on a podcast you don’t like). If that’s true, isn’t also true that this is a referendum on everything the liberal media has lectured everyone about since 2014? Doesn’t this prove that no one cares about that shit? Biden’s a complete refutation of all of that.

Biederman is one of the funniest and most astute political observers of our time. His observations here are correct from a moral standpoint. He is also correct from a “describing reality” standpoint. But he is not taking into account the degree that MeToo is and has always been propelled by cynical careerism.

The general consensus is that the arbitrary weaponization of MeToo is now so plainly obvious that anyone sharper than, say, Sady Doyle must recognize that and will have to account for it. For this to happen, however, we have to assume the MeToo’s purveyors are at all concerned with not coming across as amoral hypocrites. And let me tell you—I know a lot of these people, I have sat with them in classes, I have gone to their conferences, I am deeply immersed in their culture. They have no capacity for shame and even less for self-awareness. They don’t care if the entire world thinks them to be hypocrites—if anything, the scorn of outsiders only increases their self-certainty.

This has all been obvious since day one, and not just to cranks like myself. Call it the Law of Zero Tolerance: the more draconian a policy is, the more arbitrarily it’s going to be enforced. More conscientious writers are now insisting that MeToo has always been a humble call for authorities to be less skeptical toward sexual assault accusations, and for men on the whole to be more aware of how their behaviors can harm women. This is very reasonable-seeming. It’s also absolutely not how MeToo was handled. The hashtag was #BelieveWomen. It wasn’t #BeLessSkeptical. The formal line—stated explicitly, as clear as could be—is that men needed to be punished, that false or incorrect accusations were absolutely fine, that any and all allegations were abject and absolute proof of guilt, and that no matter how implausible or trivial or even physically impossible an accusation was, the accused always—always—deserved punishment.

Such a terrifying dynamic obviously could not be fully enforced—society would collapse. It has instead only gained traction in arenas that were already relatively equalitarian and liberal-minded: education, academe, media, and left-liberal politics. It was not intended to make these spaces more equitable; it was instead a means for women of gaining leverage within these spaces. That’s it. And because it’s always solely been an attempt to shift power dynamics, criticism has always been met with vicious resistance. As I’ve said: lots and lots of people have been aware of the movement’s cynicism since the beginning. Men and women have talked to me in private about it for over a half decade now. But they keep their mouths shut in public spaces because they realize that every neurotic shitty woman around them has now been gifted the power of the creepy kid from the old Twlight Zone episode who could wish bad people into the corn field. All they have to do is declare you a very bad man (or a very bad ally) and that’s it, your career is fucked.

No matter how mild, respectful, or thorough a person’s criticism may be, uttering a single word against MeToo renders one persona non grata within liberal spaces. Trust me, plenty of people have wanted to push back, but they kept their mouths shut because they valued their jobs. More people will want to push back now, probably, but the dynamic is still in place: shitheads have a new means of achieving power and prominence, and now that they’ve achieved success they have no reasons to suddenly start being decent.

Our society is designed to reward cynical liars. The less principles you have, the more shameless you are, the easier it is for you to succeed. The shitheads who have floated to the top of the MeToo heap are now even more insulated from scrutiny than they were before. And, trust me, none of them are going to give up a hint of power. They’re not gonna admit they were wrong or dishonest, that’s for damn sure. Instead, as the stakes have gotten higher and the landscape is growing even more austere, they’re going to double down. Bad faith will rule us all until the final collapse hits.

[pocket-infinity]

Alright so it’s fanfic time again...

This time it’s going to be my deep analysis of & theorizing on Lurien from @corruptapostasy‘s The Only Option (again, seriously, go read it; it’s so good). Massive spoiler warning

So, where to start? How about Chapter 7, where we first get information of Lurien without his mask, “He shook his head, his free hand coming up to slowly cup Lurien’s face, turning it side to side slowly, his eyes taking in the sight of scarred flesh, cracked shell, bleached of color and burnt of life, with those shining beacons of light staring up at him from long dead sockets.” As well as this, we get some rather interesting bits of knowledge from the Pale King, “He could feel his heart twist, his mind growing muddled with old sounds, sights, feelings. Blood drenching his claws as he spilled the blood of that miserable tyrant. Anger brewing in his veins, watching the poor creature in front of him lose his mind to the power it was locked under. Carving the mask that would bring him freedom.”

That’s a lot to take in, so let’s start with some questions: What caused the scarring? What exactly happened to Lurien? How do all of these things connect? Three questions, three complicated answers (at least to me).

So let’s start at the beginning, but we first have to figure out where that even is, don’t we? In Chapter 7, while speaking to the Pale King, Divine refers to Lurien as “The weird, little one?” who “... always followed you around?” This detail gives us some highly relevant information as to the timing of Lurien’s entrance into the narrative. So, to establish, Lurien first appeared at least immediately after Enkay’s death, given that the Pale King said, “I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. They left not long after he died, so they must’ve assumed She still lived.” So the troupe left shortly after Enkay died, and before the Radiance died, but Divine makes direct reference to him, so at the very least they had seen or met Lurien once before then.

That dates Lurien to before Enkay’s demise, but now we need a where. Personally, I’d be interested in a where from, but given I’ve only found two pieces to go off of (Divine noting that Lurien, “always followed [The Pale King] around,” implying that he didn’t speak much and stuck close to the king, and The Pale King saying, “I made a kingdom, a real one, not just a confined temple of worship filled with slaves and dreamers,” during his dream interaction with Enkay), the best I could assume is that there was some form of mind warping or control going on, though that is dubious at best (if I were to give my wildest guess, I’d say that Lurien was under the command of the Radiance and commanded to keep tabs on or “Watch” (I’m only half sorry) The Pale King, but, again, dubious at best). A confirmable “where” we do have is Lurien at the showdown between The Pale King and The Radiance, given that Monomon says, "You were... the closest to Her, while She..." As well as this, the specific phrasing of the quote, “Blood drenching his claws as he spilled the blood of that miserable tyrant. Anger brewing in his veins, watching the poor creature in front of him lose his mind to the power it was locked under,” from Chapter 7. Given that “Blood drenching his claws”, “spilled the blood of that miserable tyrant”, and “watching the poor creature in front of him lose his mind to the power it was locked under,” the implication is that these three happen consecutively, thereby placing Lurien in the right place at the right time to be witness to the Radiance’s death.

So, where do we go from here? What’s the patchwork for putting this all together? Well, my timeline would begin somewhere before Enkay’s death, given that the Troupe would likely enter a frenzy after that event, meaning Divine would be less likely to note Lurien’s existence. So my timeline would begin with Lurien, under the command or thrall of the Radiance, being assigned either as a person to spectate and report on the Pale King (the Radiance did seem to be a paranoid goddess), or as a slave assigned to the Pale King. From here we can follow the idea of him simply existing as a slave or scout as the reason he would be in the room as the Radiance died. So what after? From here my guess diverges into two distinct paths. One, Lurien’s mind just gets absolutely shredded due to the Radiance dying, evidenced by the fact that Lurien says, “My head.... I… I can still remember Her in my head...”during Chapter 5, as well as the phrasing of “watching the poor creature in front of him lose his mind to the power it was locked under,” during Chapter 7.  Two, the Pale King’s godly aura is too powerful for Lurien to handle, as evidenced by the fact that unmasked bugs have to avert their eyes from the Pale King’s visage so as to not hurt themselves, the fact that the Pale King, “Carved the mask that would bring him his freedom,” and the fact that the specific power it was locked under is never explicitly stated. Though one may be tempted to say that the Pale King looks Lurien directly in the face during that scene (which is a fair argument), by that point he had the omnipresent sight gifted to him by the King. In either case, the theories both meet on Lurien getting his mind back when he gets his mask.

“But what about the scars?” I hear you asking. Yes, the ever important scars. Good introductory information can be found in the Pale King’s quote upon first beholding Lurien’s visage in Chapter 7, “He shook his head, his free hands coming up to slowly cup Lurien’s face, turning it side to side slowly, his eyes taking in the sight of scarred flesh, cracked shell, bleached of color and burnt of life, with those shining beacons of light staring up at him from long dead sockets.” Three major questions: where did the “beacons of light” come from, where did the scars & cracks come from, and where did the bleaching of the shell come from? The first is easy; it’s the omnipresent sight. The light glows out of a mask hole when he uses it in an earlier chapter. The second and third are where things get much, much more complicated. The scarring and shell could either come from the showdown with the Radiance (unlikely; Lurien would have most probably died from any attack) or could have been due to long-term abuse or punishment by the Radiance. The bleaching of color is largely unknowable from the reading I’ve done, but my best guess would be that when the Radiance died she gave off a bright light (similar to the light of her eye-area and bursts of essence when she dies in-game), and this caused Lurien’s skin to be burnt or bleached somehow. This light-based explanation would also neatly package Lurien’s “long dead sockets”; he was blinded during the battle with the Radiance.

So, yeah, that’s all I’ve got for this one. Even if it was way off-base and completely incorrect in every way, it was still very fun (and a good excuse to re-read more).

Now time to go think about the whole Grimm/Enkay/Nightmare King situation...

[geejaysmith]

Wolf 359: A running list of things I have a heightened appreciation on second listen, pt. 2

Part one here. 

SEASON 3:

Pan-Pan: Still a little miffed they didn't explicitly do the "we have to huddle to conserve body heat" trope. Yes, it's corny, but also shut up, let my touch-starved space disasters cuddle.

So Eiffel stopped Hera and Minkowski arguing in season 1 to address an emergency, and now with Eiffel absent, the team starts arguing again. The fact he doesn't exactly have much Pride In His Own Self-Sufficiency to get in the way of "hey! Guys! Remember, imminent death? More important priorities happening?" tends to defuse situations like this aaaaaand now he's absent.

"Cutter will send a squad of psychos to come up here and kill us faster!" ...she's not wrong.

"Pick a corner and relax! Hop to it!" I just like this line delivery.

"The entire station is a SPACE YUKON and this thing is overheating!" I know, it's like it's symbolic or something.

Episode 29: "we all feel responsible for losing Eiffel and are lashing out because we're scared and sad and grieving and fear getting backlash while we're vulnerable if we admit we need help, and we don't know what to do but keep going because the alternative is breaking down and possibly never getting back up again." Alternatively:  "It's Metaphors All the Way Down."

Mayday: Eiffel's frustrated screaming.

Brain Ghost Minkowski showing up like "Yeah, we know I'm a hallucination, or Weird Alien Shit, or maybe just a clever metaphor representing the abstract process of thought, but who gives a crap, this is more interesting than listening to you talk to yourself for an entire episode."

BGM: Hi, I'm your thought processes externalized using a face and personality that you subconsciously think you need to hear from in this situation, possibly because you think so little of yourself you need to hear it from somebody else first. Eiffel: Oh hey cool, this is just like this one web comic I kept up with sometimes back on Earth- BGM: Not another word.

Eiffel getting slapped by Brain Ghost Lovelace, who is a projection of his thoughts.

What is that whispering in his head that reminds him of the Hermes' name supposed to be anyway? Score one for my Weird Alien Brain Shit theory. Having Lovelace's alien juice in your system comes with such fun side effects.

"I dunno, I only know what you know." "Shut up, don't go meta on me." / "Hilbert wouldn't know that word! He's never even heard of Empire!" Yeah, toldja: it's Brain Ghosts.

Brain Ghost Hilbert may represent the realist in Eiffel and the brutal, calculating reality he doesn't want to confront, but Brain Ghosts Minkowski and Lovelace are his cooler head and ingenuity, working him through staying calm and devising a way to survive, and Brain Ghost Hera, who appears when Hilbert tells him it's hopeless, telling him that against all the odds he will be okay, is his stubborn determination to never, ever quit. They're all his determination to live when Doug might want to just stop trying. They're the better parts of himself, reflected in the voices of his friends.

And Hilbert. But I digress- HOLY FUCK, I just realized the brilliance in the one-two punch of the Brain Ghost Brigade contrasted with the previous episode's Stress Fracture Argue Crew, it's The Sound And The Fury all over again.

Paging the Wolf 359 incorrect quote blogs: "Save my friends! And Zoidberg Hilbert!"  

Sécurité thru Don’t Poke the Bear: Maxwell! I've missed you! (':

"And I build pretty awesome battle drones on the weekends." ...Does Maxwell have her own souped-up version of one Jamie Hyneman's Blendo?

Eiffel, realizing he's starting to sound like Minkowski: My god, what have I become.

Eiffel mumbling to himself in general. "This is hell and I'm in it."

Is it just me or is Kepler's pig story not as agonizingly drawn out to listen to the second time around?

A Matter of Perspective: Funzo: 12 different board games, three of them TCGs and maybe at least one TTRPG, all tossed in a blender, because Pryce and Cutter are psychopaths.

The Funzo manual is the size of the actual Bible and don't try to convince me otherwise.

How into the game the girls all get.

Headcanon: Minkowski and Lovelace are both the types to get stupidly competitive over any kind of game regardless of their initial level of investment.

Eiffel keeps a photo of (it's implied) him and his daughter taped to the underside of his console...

"He looks so... happy." shUT UP

"I had no idea Eiffel had a-" daughter. Was it "daughter" you were going to say Minkowski. Well, no one else knew you were married til you brought it up, so turnabout's fair play.

"You think you know me? You know the artist formerly known as Warren Kepler, you've met my job. Aside from that, there's no one left for you to know." In light of the series finale, I, uh... I don't if I like this, Scoob. Also, stop reminding me all these people are human persons underneath all the desensitization to horror and violence.

"Happy birthday, Eiffel." They remembered! Hope this one is less traumatizing than the last, Doug.

"Happy Kwanzaa!" "Lovelace."

"Long Story Short, that's the last time I saw Maxwell's feet" wh. What. What happened involving Maxwell's feet. What's. why-

And to make a long story short, that's where my "Maxwell has hands for feet" headcanon came from.

Need to Know: Minkowski's dreams, apparently, include both creating musicals and commanding a deep space mission. She's gotten the latter way the hell off the bucket list, somebody with actual songwriting skills want to get in and write the former with me?

Lovelace overindulging on painkillers for her broken arm after losing Officer Fisher... "It was a difficult time." ):

Aaaand serious implications of the above are immediately headed off by Lovelace quacking aggressively at Jacobi.

Fire and Brimstone: where is my fanfiction about Lovelace overseeing Minkowski during her solitary confinement?

The Backstory Episodes: Zach Valenti wrote all the backstory episodes! I just find that kind of sweet.

Once in a Lifetime: Small detail I only noticed on my second listen, after a fanfic put the thought in my head: Minkowski's parents are only referred to in the past tense. Oof.

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice. We had a hiccup in staffing for this upcoming quarter."  So... according to the wiki's timeline, the launch for the second Hephaestus mission was some time in late March 2013. The beginning of this episode (and Eiffel's) states it takes place in 2013, with 3 months of training, meaning they were probably brought on board in January and the whole thing moved *ridiculously* fast. Everything points to them wanting to get people up in space as quickly and with as little fuss as possible, giving the newcomers no time to think it over or do additional research. Once they start the training program, they're probably too busy to look further into Goddard's deep space missions, and are likely in an environment where Goddard Futuristics can cut them off from other information sources. The people they select are relatively isolated (Minkowski and her husband being an exception) - the easier to make them disappear. Even Lovelace has been stationed at "a lot of very isolated, very quiet outposts", the implication being her superiors wanted her somewhere out of the way. Kind of makes me wonder about the rest of the Hephaestus 1.0 crew...

Greensboro: Nice ominous foreshadowing you've got there vis a vis Captain Lovelace and "are you an alien?"

Decommissioned: "We're not about to force anyone to do something they don't want to do!" ...Marcus Cutter deserves to have his trousers ablaze constantly.

All Things Considered is still a bit confusing (because I somehow keep listening to it while doing something else) and I'll need another listen to figure out what probably actually happened, but it is also hilarious.

"Eiffel had engaged the machine, but that's why I build in extra safeguards. My mistake, clearly, was to assume that would be enough to stop the slapstick routine."

“All Things Considered”: Did you have fun with this over-the-top romp of hilarity and and hijinks, dear audience? Good! Because that was us burning off our comedy quota for the rest of the season. Get ready for six whole episodes of nonstop emotional gut-punches!

MEMORIA.

Just... Memoria.

Putting this quote here because of Reasons: "Three years... Three and a half years... I've had this thing in my head breaking me, and making me think it was all my fault, that there was something wrong with *me!*"

So Memoria is still one of the best episodes and the last five minutes fuck me up in a special little way.

Time to Kill: "Or the one outside is the real Jacobi... and the alien is already in here with us." The funny thing, Maxwell, is that you were half-right and didn't even realize it, and you *were* just speaking to Lovelace.

So... do alien duplicates only get reloaded from the singular "snapshot" of the person, or does getting flare-scanned once give them a continually updated source of info? What I'm getting at is: if another Jacobi shows up post-finale, would he need to be filled in on events between his horrible, terrible death and the present?

Persuasion: Maxwell switching to First Name Basis to get Jacobi to be honest with her.

I always forget until the scene after that Hilbert is totally setting up the Space Telephone to manipulate her, but of all the ways he could've gotten Minkowski around to "we are disposable and need to act *now* before these people decide they're done with us", it still kinda touching that this is the method he chose.

Desperate Times/Desperate Measures are just a blur of "oh god oh god oh god" and it's just as nailbiting the second time around. One thing I love about this podcast is how comfortable it is with (for its medium) long stretches of silence, which can feel a LOT longer when you have no other forms of feedback except dialogue to know the first gunshot was just a warning.

So you really *do* feel Minkowski breaking out into laughter when Eiffel tries to invoke Air Force code is a release of the tension that's been building for multiple episodes. Like he's finally gotten through to them just how far this has all gone and how much further it could still go. I keep saying this: when the situation starts to threaten violence, he's got an amazing gift for keeping the rest of the crew in touch with their common humanity when the rest get far too used to a world that runs on self-interest and subterfuge. Hell, he even gets Hilbert and *Kepler* opening up over the course of the story (presuming Kepler is being honest when he talks about being a shell of himself, but even though he was trying to manipulate Eiffel, that doesn't exclude there being a kernel of truth in those words).

Speaking of Kepler: he's definitely riding the adrenaline high of the situation and it turns him into a monster with a manic streak. It makes Jacobi's and Maxwell's relative calm all the eerier by contrast. Those two really do make you forget that all of this is... pretty horribly routine for them.

Until they meet their match, that is, when the women of the Hephaestus refuse to stand down, and each of them is unspeakably badass in their own way. What Kepler didn't account for is that they're ready and willing to die together rather than sacrifice one another for their own survival.

Although again, the irony of the situation is that just dropping the station into the star could have let them avoid, /gestures at season 4. BUT I'm not gonna rain on the Badass parade here.

Bolero, aka "The podcast kicking me in the feelings while I'm down."

The way Minkowski orders everyone else out of the room before Brain Ghost Lovelace conversates with her.  ...did she pop up in the middle of that conversation, I wonder? And all this when psi-wave radiation is spiking, apparently. Coincidence?

Oh come on Hera, war is no reason to end a friendship- Look, I came here from Metal Gear. I see folks dunking on Hilbert and I'm just over here like "he's still not as revolting as Huey Emmerich."  

Listen I've seen enough of Warren Kepler and Marcus Cutter in this fandom to know y'all aren't above liking a bad guy, you just prefer the ones who're having fun with it.

"You're gonna come to my funeral! And you're gonna like it! ...I mean you're gonna feel really sad! And cry! And stuff! GOT IT??" Ah, good ol' Eiffel.

THE COMPUTER ALSO HAS BRAIN GHOSTS

"If I'm not your doctor, then what are we?" "We're... complicated?" Listen, Eiffel, if you're not careful, I'm going to start shipping you and Hilbert ironically For The Lulz, and we all know where shipping things ironically always leads.

Errybody gets brain ghosts this episode. Again: I accept that this is a device that's more interesting than an alternative method of expressing these same ideas, but the ambiguity of a Watsonian explanation (is it all in their heads? Do they really see an apparition of some kind?) lets me do my Weird. Look, I once wrote in a joke in a fic about Death from Discworld complimenting a Quirky Miniboss Squad member from Metal Gear Solid 3 on his taste in interior decorating arena design, and that spawned entire subplots in projects for two different fandoms, and eventually roped in a third fandom to elaborate further on their now-intertwined cosmology. Do not underestimate how much I can give myself to work with.

The last ten minutes of Bolero also fuck me up in a special way, partly because We Are Dealing With the Hard and Unavoidable Fact of Death but also the aliens are about to throw a curve ball that'll... alter that last part a little.

Like, words cannot describe the "Dead Man's Curve in the wet" hard right turn of going from being in mourning for several beloved characters (including my favorite) to SURPRISE, SHE'S BACK! I love it.

I'd have to check the scripts to be sure exactly because some words got lost in Lovelace's respiratory spasms but I do like to imagine the her head wound closing up in front of a horrified Eiffel and Minkowski, with a side order of glow-y shit. I've drawn too many Homestuck god tier revivals I guess.

Update: I DID check the recording script's stage directions to see just how disgustingly physical the whole event is and okay, so no weird glowing shit (I reserve my right to depict it that way anyway) but I'm delighted to report that the gross anatomical-ness I was picturing? It's worse! It is so much worse!

The goddamn AGONY that is the Special Episode being TWO HOURS LONG when it comes right after the BIGGEST CLIFFHANGER IN THE SERIES.

You have NO IDEA WHAT KIND OF TEMPTATION IT WAS TO SKIP THIS AND COME BACK TO IT LATER

LOVELACE 1.0 I LOVE YOU BUT ALSO I WANNA TO SEE WHAT'S HAPPENING TO FUTURE-YOU RIGHT NOW

Change of Mind: love the framing device placing this episode as within Lovelace's mind during her successful cranial reconstruction saving throw.

"Buncha nerds, gonna crash my-"

Just how familiar she is in this place, with these people... Hera was installed in her sister's grave (as another post put it), but Lovelace lives in the gutted cadaver of her home.

Zach Valenti's Lambert voice *does* sound like a bad Minkowski impression.

"I have a physicist to put the fear of *me* into." That's my girl. She kind of was more of an ass pre-Total Party Kill, though? Like come on, Isabel, how necessary *is* all this arguing with Lambert?

Fourier's voice is very nice, also. Very soft, very easy on the ears.

I'm now appreciating how it sounds like Fisher is the older and calmer mediator among the crew.

Also the image of Isabel just floating out in space and listening to some chill tunes is sooooo good.

Hey Doc, did it turn out Fisher was too perceptive to live. Was getting caught outside in that meteor shower really an accident. Hey. Hey Hilbert. Answer me. 

Also goddamnit, has EVERY character in this series has read Harry Potter?

Did the Fishers always differentiate each other by audio channel? I had to rewind the scene when I realized Lovelace's questions in my right ear weren't getting an answer.

"Say you're a big pink elephant!"

*gunshot* *gross biological dissolving noises* WHY

"Just because somebody made you something doesn't mean that's all you're going to be - you can be more!" I wrote this line down prior to the end of the episode's confirmation that it's a Big Thematic Point.

Aaaand we're back to the framing device, and with that, season 3 wraps. Or maybe season 4 kicks off? Either way, hell of a way to kick it off.

Cecilia Lynn-Jacobs had a hand in writing this episode? Aw... that's sweet...

So, yeah, headcanon: Alien resurrection does the weird glowy thing to close any obviously fatal maladies, then the gross biological viscera part kicks in, hence Lovelace sounding like she's trying to hack up her lungs as soon as she starts using them again.

Listen, sometimes the gross biological viscera parts are my favorite parts, okay? Okay.

[scary-flag]

I'm don't think that every fic that writes Stede taking care of Ed is necessarily racist. I see it from a perspective of a chronicaly ill neurodivergent person though - if I was to write a fic in which Stede washes Ed's hair or does anything like that, it would be to show Stede taking care of him because Ed is in a bad mental state after going full Kraken. You know how it is when you're like that and you can't force yourself to go take a shower or eat anything? Fics that write such situations like that aren't inherently racist just because of their skin colours. Personally I find it a rather comforting story trope here. You know, not in babysitting kinda way, more in a "i see you feel unwell, so I will help you" kind of way.

Not sure how I feel about the yummy lavender soap, as we're clearly told he fucking tried eating Stede's soap but honestly? Personally I headcanon it as Ed going "lol why not try how it tastes?" because it smells good. It might me being a weirdo but who never felt the temptation to do such a silly thing for sheer shits and giggles?

Not sure if I explained well what I mean, as I'm not a native speaker of English, but I hope people understand.

Also @chocolatepot is making a good point - hell yes Ed's rich. It's explicitly said in canon :)

He says in ep05, quote: "I have more riches than you can shake a fucking stick at"

He could possibly read, as apparently the real Blackbeard did, but the truth is some pirates just did not bother to learn to read or write, and it's 1717 after all. From a historical point of view him not knowing how to read would rather be a conscious decision of not giving a fuck because he did not need it than lack of education. Being a pirate captain he could have easily employed a scribe/purser and ask him to teach to do so. So why the "X"? Tbh I'd go for a plot of some kind like Violet Baudelaire did when signing her marriage certificate to Count Olaf in A Series of Unfortunate Events, when she used her left hand so the signature will be incorrect and thus nullify the marriage. But he would likely tell Stede about it, so I'd say he just did not feel like learning how to read because he had other things to do.

And honestly I think some people are forgetting it's about the idea of pirate masculinity. Blackbeard's crew is all black leather and violence and being tough, so why would he act in a different way even if he wanted? We are clearly shown that he wanted to enjoy all the fancy stuff, but why would he idk wear fancy shirts when they were impractical or use scented oils when he had to appear ruthless to hide behind the mask of dread pirate Blackbeard? Stede is the first person that shows him that he can be himself and do all these things without becoming less of a pirate captain. Not because Stede is some white savior but because he's the GENTLEMAN PIRATE, like, the embodiment of being a captain while also being able to enjoy all the fancy stuff.

Again, thanks for coming to my Ed talk, please don't shout at me lol

more fics in every universe where Ed is brilliant and rich and literate and clean; fewer fics where some white man has to babysit and show him how to take care of himself

[fishsupportgroup-blog]

Good Omens Fandom Welcome Pack (4/3/17)

Yo my dudes!!!! So I got a message from @dirktective-assassina who just found out that there’s a good omens fandom so I figured I’d try and pull together some resources as an up to date fandom welcome pack :D It’s pretty long and comprehensive so I’ve put it under the cut.

So first things first: the ship name of Aziraphale/Crowley isn’t Crowaphale or anything like that but is Ineffable Husbands. We also sometimes use Air Conditioning (like A/C if you see?) although this is less used now than it was, largely because of the way tumblr tagging works versus livejournal and it’s a bit of a hassle to traipse through posts of people’s air conditioning not working, but there are still posts on that tag and it's a good way to find older fan-works. Other wise we generally just tag as Good Omens.

As with a lot of fandoms with a slightly longer history, livejournal used to be the main site for the good omens community and we transferred across bc, let’s face it tumblr is a hell site but it’s also a hell of a lot more accessible than livejournal. However, there are still a lot of things going on with livejournal!!! my main resource there is the Lower Tadfield Air Base: Fighting off Armageddon since 2003! The Good Omens Holiday Exchange is also organised on livejournal, I’ve linked to this year’s entries :)

Which brings me onto fic!! (Some of these fic will be explicit but they all have warnings at the beginning). Two fics always recommended in older fic rec lists are The Sacred And The Profane, and A Diamond Sky Above Titanic (although, personally, they’re not really my favourites). Also, The Lower Tadfield Air Base has a good fic tag :) Finally there’s this post which also adds some extra links and info on joining the good omens fandom, it also has a gen fic section if that’s more your cup of tea.

My main source of fics however, comes from our Lord and Saviour, Archive Of Our Own. Just take note when you’re using the search tool you fully type in Aziraphale/Crowley rather than letting it autocorrect you to Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) then you’ll only get 217 works in comparison to the 1178 fics available and all the fic of Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens) is filed under Aziraphale/Crowley anyway. If that makes any sense?

Personally, I’ve been horribly remis in tagging my own favourites because I’m fairly useless. However, I know I love Fridays by ylc. If you like human! aus then I also really love Ordinary People by daeger which has a wee Jewish painter Crowley :D

Ruby Tears by @not-a-space-alien is also a really good fic in highlighting the fandom’s perspective on Crowley: essentially in that he’s a HUGE FUCKING NERD who tries so hard to look cool and suave and is actually just very vulnerable and sweet and loving. Aziraphale, on the other hand, is very much an oblivious banana that’s too self-obsessed to really recognise this and has an incorrect view that Crowley is The Adversary and should be thought of as such. There has been A LOT of AMAZING meta on this, I would really recommend @futureevilscientist‘s essay on The Arrangement as p. much essential reading. They also have a tag for meta which I also really recommend.

My final fic to recommend is HAS to be the Crown of Thorns series by @irisbleufic (often shortened to cot). For me, this is The Fic, you know, and I feel like it really defines the Good Omens fandom in many ways. It’s based on the fanon that after the events of the apocalypse, Aziraphale and Crowley moved into a cottage on the South Downs together. All the details of the fic are in the introduction :D Other Iris fics to recommend are Regulars and What to Say (and How Not to Say It) if like me you’re trash for 3rd person pov. Finally as someone from York I’m honour bound to mention Promises to Keep.

We also have some Amazing artists in the fandom, people like @kogla and the like are just so great to have posting content for us!! basically just turn to the good omens tag and follow some of the suggested blogs (see below) we’re always posting everything :D One of my faves is this one by @6utton (who also gives me my raffles fix). @lunasong365 has also sent me this beautiful video and their playlist of other videos :‘) You also have the good omens tag on the hell site of deviantart

Also in terms of art, @askajcrowley is utterly brill, they don’t post much anymore but when they do I cry because they’re great.  If you want a really interesting view of how fandom has changed over time, go back through their posts as far as you can, it’s seriously worth it. In terms of fandom changing, the Good Omens fandom has generally imploded; it did used to be a very big active fandom, with a lot of ask blogs and a much greater focus on the other characters besides Aziraphale and Crowley. The current day fandom does feel bad about not talking about the other great multifaceted characters but we don't tend to do much to rectify it, as not-a-space-alien highlights in this post.

The older fandom also used to have A LOT of discourse surrounding fancasts. Oh God. Suffice to say if I ever see another post casting Bajkfbgjgiug Cskjfbgkjfba/Tom Hiddleston in all the roles I will actually throw up. This trend lead to our Worst Meme, Cage Omens: in which all the characters are played by Nicholas Cage. This meme likes to make a reassurance every now and again, so FOR GODS SAKE DONT SUMMON IT. (We all secretly love it).

Speaking of fancasts, we should probably mention adaptations. When the news of the latest adaptation came forward, a lot of us were very apprehensive because We Have Been Here Before. Lots. Like 5 Times. (I think in like ‘02 there was going to be one with Robin Williams but It was just after 9/11 and everyone ran as fast as they could from apocalypse based media). However, this one does look like it’s going ahead and will be airing next year maybe :) We do also have the beloved radio adaptation, which we will all suggest had it’s flaws but was also p damn brill. (The BBC sometimes replay it around Easter?)

However the discourse over fancasts did actually raise some pertinent points to do with race, with a lot of people feeling really uncomfortable with how white the suggestions were for characters that have no explicitly stated race. This is especially the case in regards to Aziraphale where there might be inbuilt preconceived conceptions of a white angel. This post and @a-poc-alypse‘s commentary on the subject I think is really important. I think the fandom now makes a concerted effort to try and produce more diverse art and the like, and I think we are better than we were, but it is something we have to actively work towards rectifying.

Other discourse of far, far less importance is in regards to their wings. Essentially, a lot of older fanart has Crowley with bat like wings which a lot of the fandom disagrees with, and there’s a lot of discourse about the colour of their wings too. Traditionally, Aziraphale is depicted with white wings and Crowley with black, but as is oft pointed out within the fandom, the colour of their wings is not stated and, given the significance of heaven and hell just being names for sides with no tangible distinction, and that demons are of angel stock, this separation has been questioned. Basically, the consensus now is play around with it!!!!! My head canon is that Az has owls wings and Crowley has duck wings :D

As for Hogwarts Houses, no one actually knows tbh either of them could fit into any house I think? We've had a lot of discussions and I think the ultimate conclusion we’ve come to is just go with what you want. At the moment I think I like Gryffindor Crowley and Ravenclaw Aziraphale. Some good Harry Potter AUs are Potter Omens by sadaf, St. Joseph of Cupertino, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles, and the Legacy of James Bond by Interrobam, A Look into a Magic Mirror by athousandelegies, and Saturday by Elvendork.

This leads to another point which is the links Good Omens have with other fandoms. There are Obviously the links with Supernatural given that their Crowley was literally named after ours, but there are also a weird amount of Wolfstar (Remus Lupin/Sirius Black) crossover fics and a lot of them involve them all sleeping with each other?? Anyway. I’ve also noticed that p. much all the Raffles fandom tend to be Good Omens fans too.

Finally you have the Shakespeare/Marlowe fandom so there are a lot of jokes in fandom at the moments about Crowley/Shakespeare (ship name: Snakespeare). I’m laying the blame firmly on @macdicilla and this post.

Music!! I LOVE @ajcrawly‘s The Ritz Does Not Admit Nightingales but 8tracks is useless for UK pals atm. Every playlist of Good Omen will have Queen and A Nightingale Sung in Barkley Square, I’m sorry I don’t make the rules.

And then there are the blogs!!:

@audiomens (with transcripts of the radio 4 adaptation)

@incorrect-good-omens-quotes

@thisbutgoodomens (taking posts and making them Good Omens, tag them if you think there’s a post they would appreciate!!)

@goodomensheadcanons

There are the blogs I’ve mentioned above, like @not-a-space-alien and @macdicilla (you can’t have one without the other), and @futureevilscientist, @irisbleufic, @kogla, @lunasong365, @askajcrowley, @a-poc-alypse, @ajcrawly

Also worth following are, @milkythefrozen, @pridoo, @maniacalmole, @ladylier, @thisisadecisionimayregret, @la-petite-robe-jaune, @sous-le-saule, @rocksalive, @nemeankitten, @everything-good-omens, @fyeahgo and tbh there are heaps more, I’m sorry if I’ve missed you off, I have a memory worse than like 99% of the population (according to my educational psychologist). If you want to be added just put a reply or message me or smth :D

Finally, I’d like to thank @not-a-space-alien for their welcome kit, @futureevilscientist for theirs, @ladylier for giving me ideas to talk about, @lunasong365 for showing me their playlist, and @a-poc-alypse for pointing me in the direction of their tags.

Okay. I think that’s it?? If you have anything further to add just post it below or message me or put it on the tags or replies whatever basically. If you disagree, or I’ve got something wrong, or you want to be added/taken away as a source then don’t hesitate to tell me!! (but please don’t send me hate, I’m trying my best and I’ll work hard to compensate)

:D

[thiefking]

What's the Two Looker theory?

the tldr version is that there are currently two lookers existing in the same universe, and that its going to be very relevant very soon.

but of course, that shortened version is worthless, because who would believe that without enthusiastic and lengthy elaboration? GET YOUR SEATBELTS ON CAUSE ITS TIME TO TALK POKEMON THEORY

(spoiler warning for sumo postgame ahead! also, seriously, you might want to go get a snack or something. this is long. really long.)

first up: you gotta know that gens 1-5 (and the remakes in those gens) are all in a separate but similar universe to the one in gen 6 and beyond. for convenience, ill call the first universe uni a and the second one uni b. 

(fyi most people refer to uni b as megaverse, but i want the names to match and nonmegaverse doesnt really... roll off the tongue quite as well, so,)

so you might be wondering what the fuck that means and how we know its true; to answer this we need to take a quick look at pokemons current timeline!

im unsure on which one of them came before the other in the timeline, but xy and oras both happen chronologically before sun and moon do. we know this because of dexio and sina appearing with the zygarde and mega evolution stuff, and wally appears at the battle tree as an older and more experienced trainer. 

these are canon, however for right now its mostly just hypothesis that chronologically speaking, after alola its sinnoh. the pkmn breeders from alola look IDENTICAL to the cowgirls/farmers from sinnoh, which doesnt seem to prove much about the order of things but it doesnt disprove anything either; its more like retrospective icing on the cake, since ill be explaining why i think this will be the timeline later on.

so, keep the idea of sinnoh coming after alola in mind. its also important to consider the idea of mega evolution as not just a game mechanic but an important plot point! basically, universe a has no mega evolution, while universe b does, and the differences in the plot between rse and oras are NOT retcons; theyre entirely different universes!

that might not look like it makes much sense on its own (without elaboration or if youre still attached to the belief that mega evo is JUST a game mechanic and not plot relevant or an indicator of anything) but its important to mention now, since as i explain more itll hopefully make more and more sense. 

believing this theory means you have to think about it like this, so while this isnt completely canon yet, its necessary to treat it like it is until you fully understand what this theory is all about and why it would make sense. if youre not convinced afterwards, then so be it! ... i mean, i dont understand how you WOULDNT be totally on board with this, but im not you and maybe youre not quite nearly as into spacetime shenanigans as i am.

now we head into sumos postgame stuff with the interpol! during this, we learn that there are people known as “fallers” that “fell” into a universe from another parallel universe through a mysterious portal, and seem to have lost most if not all of their memories. fallers attract ultra beasts, as the ubs believe they can somehow get home using them, sensing that this person is also not from this universe. 

looker explains that he was once sent on a mission to detain/kill an ultra beast. his team included a faller, who was unwittingly being used as bait for the ultra beast. looker felt pity for the ub and neglected to kill it, unfortunately giving the ub a chance to kill the faller, which it promptly took.

then its revealed that anabel is a faller, who was found washed up on a beach muttering something about protecting the battle tower, which is where you could find her in rse. 

but see, the battle tower doesnt exist in oras, instead replaced by the battle resort, and you do not meet anabel at any point in oras. the battle resort is also where you meet an amnesiac looker, muttering about a mission, speaking in a peculiar way, which is noticeably different to the way he speaks in xy and sumo. he did not make an appearance in rse, this isnt just reused dialogue.

hmmmmmmmm.

lets put looker aside for a moment though and focus on anabel. while theres a possibility that right now there are two anabels, it seems that she and the battle tower never existed in this universe... but mega evolution does. the anabel we see in rse is the same as the one in sumo; she crossed over from uni a into uni b.

now, lets look at some facts here!

in platinum, bw and oras, looker has a... peculiar speech pattern. if you look up his quotes on bulbapedia, youll see what i mean; its very noticeable.

... looker completely lacks that specific quirk in xy and sumo. hes goofy, yes, but its nowhere near the same. its important to note that oras happens between xy and sumo, and again, that looker didnt show up in rse and that dialogue is completely new. the differences in these speaking patterns are not mistakes. they are fully intentional.

next up: lets crush a few doubts about this theory you might be having right now!

“this is a kids game! surely this is WAY too convoluted. pokemon isnt that deep, they wouldnt bother with a plot this complicated.” wrong. nope. incorrect. buddy, did you play sumo or any gen 5 game? i can only assume you havent, cause not only were the plots in those games the most detailed and involved and emotional, they were BY FAR the best. additionally, kids are a lot smarter than youd think, and i also not only know theyre going to explain everything, i know HOW theyll do it; but i digress.

“youre implying there are two lookers because one speaks a certain way and had amnesia but isnt it possible theres just one, who either isnt a faller or is a faller but had no megaverse/uni b equivalent, and he got his memories back by the time you meet him in sumo?” wrong there too! remember, its CANON that xy and oras happen BEFORE sumo.

now remember anabel, who doesnt have her memories back and had no idea she was a faller.

and remember that xy/sumo looker is very, very explicitly stated to not be a faller, because otherwise, HE would have been the bait on that mission and HE would have been the one who got killed.

xy/sumo looker is definitely not a faller.

but dppt/bw/oras looker is.

if at this point youre still having doubts, heres a question. can you offer any other explanation that is all based on canon information, without retconning anything or making something up, and have it all make perfect sense and resolve all of the issues that come with going against this theory?

yeah, i cant either.

hopefully at this point you should be fairly convinced, but hold on! i still havent explained why i think sumo will chronologically happen before the plot in the dppt remakes! i was all like “this will make sense later” but i didnt talk about sinnoh much at all and havent completely gotten you on board with this yet! well guess what yall ITS SINNOH TIME

a quick note though: past this point is a lot of personal observation/opinion and speculation. its meant to explain why i think this theory is spot-on, and elaborate on what i think is going to happen. im not speaking for anyone else but myself and im not stating my own opinions as fact or concrete proof; though i am saying that i think im right about this.

with that out of the way, lets begin! its going to take a while, but the buildup is necessary (imo at least) and yes, this is in fact relevant to the theory.

something to notice is that the stories in pokemon games have been progressively getting more involved and interesting. there was hardly anything in the first two, gen 3 started getting more involved but its not much to write home about, gen 4 took it up a notch, and then gen 5 the life ruiner broke the fucking scale and punched me in the face.

so, we have all these plots, getting more detailed, but... not a whole lot is tying them together at first. sure, a few lines make reference to other games, johto and kanto are connected both plotwise and literally speaking, theres even that cameo character in bw who was a rocket grunt in a previous game! but theres nothing really significant that ties things together.

well, at least until gen 4.

in gen 4, we of course meet looker, who as a member of the interpol has reason to make further appearances in other games. and then he shows up in every game afterwards, sometimes for a while, sometimes only briefly. less significantly but it does help the point im about to make, we also get caitlins first appearance, who ends up being part of unovas elite 4, and johto is a part of gen 4 as well, which was already a point of connection between regions, but gen 4 added the sinjoh ruins, connecting the games within the same gen!

after gen 4, the games vary in how much they connect to the others, but it definitely changed the standard.

and then sun and moon came out.

even the very start of the game: you move from kanto to alola, meet alolan variations of kantonian pokemon, meet grimsley and colress from bw/bw2, meet dexio and sina from xy, and watch sadly as lillie breaks everyones heart and leaves for kanto.

then, after that, you can go to the battle tree and meet not only red and green, but cynthia, steven, and wally, and you can find grimsley, colress, dexio and sina here too. or, you can go participate in the postgame plot with looker and anabel, who are also returning characters; though anabel is significantly more unexpected than looker. it was pretty unexpected finding out caitlin was part of unovas elite four, huh?

and hey, didnt sinnoh have a lot of weird space/time shit? palkia and dialga are the gods of time and space, and giratina has a whole other dimension where everything seems wrong and alien and mildly uncomfortable, with a strange area theme that seems just slightly off, where you meet/battle the games biggest antagonist, who has become mentally unhinged by spending time there.

oh... and alola has fallers and ultra beasts, who came from other timelines/universes... and you go into ultra space, which is a whole other dimension where everything seems wrong and alien and mildly uncomfortable, with a strange area theme that seems just slightly off, where you meet/battle the games biggest antagonist, who has become mentally unhinged by spending time there.

plus, gen 4 is the first where you can at any point walk around with your pokemon behind you, making you feel closer to your pokemon than ever, and alola shows a significantly stronger connection between humans and pokemon than ever seen before, even compared to xys introduction of pokemon amie (the trials, ride pokemon, the fact that humans are specifically stated to have influenced several alolan variations, z moves, the ceremony for choosing your starter, everything about the aether foundation/type: null, if you consider ultra beasts pokemon then lusamines a very literal example, there are LOADS of examples)

... and diamond and pearl are next up for remakes.

in gen 7.

paired with alola.

i wonder if the two games are going to be EXTREMELY connected?

personally im willing to bet that the distortion world IS ultra space, i think itd make a lot of sense of cyrus knew what happened in alola and became interested because of it, and that team galactic will be pursuing ultra beasts (which there will likely be more of). 

i also think uni a!looker and uni b!looker are going to meet.

imagine with me for a moment.

diamond and pearl remakes come out. you enter jubilife city, where you meet looker! you have a conversation, he introduces himself, then disappears. 

you move on, and-- oh! theres looker again! you say hello, but he strangely doesnt recognize you and introduces himself again. ... odd.

you see him again. he recognizes you and references your first conversation, but doesnt seem to know anything about your second.

a fourth meeting. once again, he doesnt remember your previous conversation, and also seems to be doing something entirely different, and... hell, he doesnt even SOUND the same...

now, after a while of this, hes realizing somethings up. hes a fucking member of the interpol, hes goofy but hes not an idiot. he guesses that he has an impostor, and begins searching for this impostor so he can confront/apprehend them.

sometime later, maybe in the postgame, maybe in the maingame, you meet him again and have a short chat, when hes suddenly interrupted by a phone call. he hangs up and informs you that someone spotted his impostor, and speeds off to go deal with this. he doesnt tell you where hes going, but he didnt need to; you can easily guess from the phone call that you should head to jubilife city.

there, you see two lookers arguing with each other, and loads of shenanigans ensue because looker is so goofy and endearing theres no way its not going to be hilarious and silly at first; but then when everything calms down, shit gets serious, and anabel ends up showing up.

im willing to bet shes going to feel some kind of connection to uni a!looker; nothing specific, just an odd, unidentifiable feeling that... ah, it eludes her. strange indeed that he seems to also feel... something, that he cant identify at all; he just knows its there. is it... kinship of some kind? but that wouldnt make sense, theyre both certain theyve never met, and theyre certainly not related. how curious!

of course, that only remains a mystery until they figure out this other looker is a faller, and everything starts simultaneously making more and less sense.

of course thats all just my own prediction for how itll happen, but i dont think im far off base at all and i think itd be completely in line with both lookers character and how pokemon games operate.

now, a lot of people believe that this theory means one of the lookers has to die, and to that i say what. no. look, that “there can be only one” shit is completely unnecessary and i REALLY doubt that theyre going to kill off a looker, especially considering how much everyones grown to like him (or at least everyone ive ever spoken to who knows who he is. seriously, hes too lovable for this.)

instead, i think the following will happen!

1) the lookers partner up and work together (and tell people theyre just twins)

2) they find a way to send uni a!looker back to universe a, or somehow create a way to communicate/travel between universes

3) we learn more about what happened in universe a, and why both anabel and looker were mumbling vague things about urgent missions when they were found washed up on beaches

im not sure that all of these will happen in the same game (in fact i highly doubt it) but it seems like the logical progression of things. 

i think im out of things to say so there you go! thats the two looker theory and how i think itll play out in canon! there are likely a few things im missing, but im fairly certain the information i provided isnt incorrect, just possibly incomplete (sure hope not though cause ive been writing this response for no joke four hours straight). hope it helped and also converted you to the two looker theory club, or the tltc. if you join you get a free croagunk sticker and also a heart-shaped locket with a picture of looker in it if you dont already have your own

[word-katamari]

matpat pls

I know, I know -- we’re all, to some extent, excited about For Honor, and with its release date so close, we’re all lapping up as many videos as we can and buying tickets aboard the hype train.

During my hype-routine, I stumbled across this video. As entertaining as it is, I can’t help but feel that it’s a treasure trove of misinformation, and that its central argument is inherently flawed.

Ordinarily, I’d let this go -- because, after all, it’s a video about Vikings vs Knights vs Samurai -- the premise is fucking batshit, and supposed to be merely a fun thought exercise, and hopefully, hilarious.

However, with the Game Theorist’s claim that they ‘treat old school yard debates with the seriousness of post-graduate dissertations’, one can’t help but feel that they intended to take the topic seriously, and present an informative and intellectual view to their general audience.

This does not seem to be the case.

While I’m sure Matpat and the Theorists had no ill-intentions with their poorly researched video, their points were presented confidently under scholarly pretenses; which, to me, is at best careless, and at worst, disingenuous.

Obviously, it wouldn’t be fair, nor constructive for me to simply leave it at that, so I will now correct and debunk this video.

Let it be known that while I do know a thing or two RE: this subject matter, I do not know everything, and (especially when you consider the sources available) cannot possibly know everything regarding Vikings/Knights/Samurai. Some things have been lost to history.

So, let’s get this started.

1. A FUCKIN’ SUMMARY: your argument is invalid

The Game Theorists, in an effort to come to a conclusion on the question of ‘who would win -- Vikings/Knights/Samurai?’ decided to ‘make the fight fair’ by ruling out any anachronistic armament/technology, and limiting the three factions to equipment/tactics/training that they’d have access to in the 11th century (1000-1100CE).

From this, they concluded that:

The Vikings would be eliminated immediately, due to their ‘poor equipment’

Samurai would defeat Knights due to their focus on the bow, and their ridiculous wealth (allowing them to purchase the best armaments and retainers)

I believe this conclusion to be incorrect because:

The Vikings did not have ‘poor equipment’

Wealth should be equalised in this scenario, much like armament/technology, due to the varied nature of individuals within the three competing groups

Kyuudou (mounted archery) does not confer as much an advantage as implied

Furthermore, as Matpat was unable to state the context of the battle (ie. whether we are talking about 100v100v100, or 1v1v1), it is unclear who the actual combatants are; as 100 fighters are fundamentally a different beast compared to 1.

While I understand that Matpat did explicitly use a 1v1v1 scenario to ‘play the fight out’, he also cited the Samurai’s ability to hire retainers/soldiers/bodyguards to cover his weaknesses as an advantage -- which would be irrelevant in a 1v1v1 scenario.

As such, I will be counter-arguing with a focus on 1v1v1, and only address team combat when appropriate (ie. when debunking Matpat’s claims).

Without further ado, here is why the Vikings would put up a better fight than claimed:

2. VIKINGS: badass for a damn good reason

Right off the bat, the video loses all credibility by positing that ‘vikings’ were ill-equipped, ‘defensive nudists’ with ‘garbage weapons’ and the ‘medieval equivalent of tissue paper’ for armour. They also make the meaningless claim that they would ‘easily crumble against someone who knew what they were doing’.

First, let me remind everyone that the Vikings were raiders, yes -- but they were also settlers, traders, mercenaries, and conquerors. They were an entire culture of people who had, by the 11th century, been from Thracia to the Americas; and not only that -- returned to Scandinavia with both goods and knowledge.

As such, it would be an insult to the Viking legacy to insinuate that they were nothing but nude barbarians.

Contrary to what the video states, the Vikings did have access to quality arms and armor.

For one, Viking armament was generally equivalent to that of their Western European counterparts, considering much of their armament was acquired from other European Kingdoms to begin with. It’s noteworthy that an entire classification of swords are named after the Vikings because a large portion of them were found in Viking graves!

Furthermore, there is a direct mention of armored Vikings in the Saga of Olav Haraldsson (47. OF THE BATTLE AT NESJAR). To quote it directly, it is stated that: “King Olaf had in his ship 100 men armed in coats of ring-mail, and in foreign helmets.” As the Battle of Nesjar happened in 1016CE, it’s quite clear that any determined/wealthy enough Viking would have access to a mail hauberk.

Not only that, but in the Saga of Harald Hadrade (97. SKIRMISH OF ORRE), it is stated that in the Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066 CE), Hadrade’s forces ‘threw off their coats of ringmail’, which resulted in heavy casualties. This is further evidence to 11th century Viking access to mail armour.

Additionally, ever since the 10th century, the Vikings consistently flocked to ‘Miklagard’ (aka. Constantinople, aka. the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire) to join the Varangian Guard (appropriate music); many of which returned home. Do you really think these crack shock troops of the Basileus himself would not return to Scandinavia with a few pieces of Roman gear with them; let alone their training and experience?

Matpat also seems to discount or not acknowledge the effectiveness of the shields employed in that era. Yes. Viking shields were made primarily of wood -- but that didn’t make them ‘shoddy’ or ‘poor quality’. In fact, wooden shields have been the norm across centuries -- and work just fine against most conventional medieval weaponry (like arrows).

All of this completely contradicts the basis of Matpat’s argument -- that the Vikings would be out of the running due to inferior equipment. That claim is blatantly untrue, and it’s clear that the Vikings would be on par with the Knights in terms of equipment -- if not identical.

I would also like to dismiss the claim that the Vikings ‘would easily crumble against someone who knew what they were doing’. This is a nonsensical claim that can be applied to any fighter. A Navy SEAL would easily crumble against someone who knew what they were doing. A child would easily crumble against someone who knew that they were doing. In martial arts and combat, there is always someone better.

To conclude this segment, I will now summarise and counter the duel which Matpat narrates:

The Viking charges in a display of bravery.

Why? What’s the purpose of charging into a fight without properly assessing the situation? They’re Vikings, not idiots.

And then he takes an arrow to the back.

If he were fighting smartly, he wouldn’t. He’d be behind his shield. Or loosing arrows back.

Blade to the side.

This implies that the Viking doesn’t know how to use their shield, or how to fight. Considering Matpat has the Knights use longswords (???), this seems unlikely. I’m a longsword fencer. I have difficulty fencing i.33 guys and gals with their teensy bucklers. A big, Viking round shield would provide an edge over a two-handed weapon, due to the fact that you can effectively close off entire lines of attack, while simultaneously striking.

The Viking’s desperate axe swing ‘rejected’... His rudimentary armaments no match...

A sturdy, wooden shield and a damn dinner knife can serve perfectly fine in a fight, as long as the fighter knows how to use them. I don’t thin, it’d be unreasonable to assume that the Viking in this scenario would know how to use his weapons.

3. WEALTH IS IRRELEVANT: seize the means of consumption!

Wealth is definitely important, when considering conflict -- but that’s like saying breathing is important when considering living.

Money means better equipment and training; but it’s also finite, and dependent on an individual’s factors.

Most Samurai would be able to afford expensive equipment, due to the fact that the Samurai class is a much smaller and more specific class than ‘Knights’ or ‘Viking’.

However, there were likely incredibly rich Vikings and Knights as well; just as how there were less-wealthy Samurai.

As such, I feel it would be more in the spirit of the scenario to consider that all three combatants were equipped with the best armaments they’d have access to in the 11th century.

4. WHY KYUUDOU ISN’T THAT EFFECTIVE: and why ringmail is so damn popular (even in Japan)

Let me start by saying that horse archery is effective -- against unarmored targets.

The moment you throw mail and shields into the mix (of which the Vikings and Knights had aplenty), those arrows suddenly fall off a cliff in regards to effectiveness.

Yes. Mail. Ringmail. Chainmail.

Contrary to popular belief, mail (riveted, not butted) was highly effective at preventing piercing damage. Don’t believe me? Here’s a video of a pilum being thrown full force at a properly made set of mail. Of course, Eldgrim explains that there’s still a lot of kinetic energy being transmitted through the armor, but with the gambesons (padded armor) that many wore beneath their hauberks, this would mitigate some of the impact.

Most videos you find on the internet that show mail being penetrated usually shows butted mail -- which is an absolutely useless form of armor.

The only type of damage that butted mail can effectively prevent is slicing. I don’t mean a chop or a swing of a sword -- I mean a sawing or a drawing motion, and let’s be real here -- a padded jacket can do that, and be much cheaper.

Riveted mail is a different beast entirely. While it’s not impervious to all piercing attacks, it is impervious to most -- and coupled with a gambeson, and a good helmet, the wearer will drastically reduce their vulnerability to a Samurai’s arrows.

Furthermore, in an arena setting, a Viking or a Knight could easily just turtle the fuck up behind their shield, and wait for the mounted Samurai to... Run out of arrows -- or come to them.

Matpat also brings up the mobility of ou-yoroi armor for some reason. I can only assume he brings this up to imply that the mail hauberks used in Western and Northern Europe in the 11th century were heavy and clumsy -- but considering that full sets of ou-yoroi weighed around 30kg, they aren’t particularly the lightest sets either.

Not only that, but their design and shape, compared to mail, makes their wearers less dextrous, and agile. The bulky pauldrons, arm guards... Etc.

Mail, by contrast, is flexible. It’s like wearing a shirt. Sure, it can be heavy if you let it hang from your shoulders, but if you tie a belt round your waist, all that weight gets evenly distributed along your core, and bam, it really is like wearing a shirt.

Therefore, ou-yoroi being designed to allow for the most mobility is a non sequitur. It’s made even more nonsensical when you consider that all armor (save for jousting armor) is made for mobility -- how the fuck else are you gonna fight in it, then?

Also, Matpat mentions that ou-yoroi covers more areas of a person’s body -- when in reality, 11th century ou-yoroi covered just as much as a mail hauberk. Upper body, upper legs.

5. OTHER MISCONCEPTIONS AND CONCLUSION

At around 9:30 of the video, Matpat introduces knights as having used Longswords during the 11th century. This is incorrect. Longswords became popular/in-use primarily during the 14th century. It is an anachronistic technology in this 11th century scenario.

He also tells us to look to the Warden class for some ‘really accurate knight weaponry’ but... idk man, that is probably the longest and bulkiest longsword i’ve ever seen... (distal taper, where?)

There are a few more that I’ll save for a later article -- but for now, I’ve downed way too much coffee to be healthy, and will now move to my conclusion:

If the best equipped and trained Viking, Knight, and Samurai were put into a battlefield -- there is no clear picture on who will win.

Also, do some damn research.

[abbyjcho]

They Say, I Say - Written for UC Berkeley ENG 190 (Fall 2019)

KING CLAUDIUS

'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet,

To give these mourning duties to your father:

But, you must know, your father lost a father;

That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound (90)

In filial obligation for some term

To do obsequious sorrow: but to persever

In obstinate condolement is a course

Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief;

It shows a will most incorrect to heaven, (95)

A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,

An understanding simple and unschool'd:

For what we know must be and is as common

As any the most vulgar thing to sense,

Why should we in our peevish opposition (100)

Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven,

A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,

To reason most absurd: whose common theme

Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried,

From the first corse till he that died to-day, (105)

'This must be so.' We pray you, throw to earth

This unprevailing woe, and think of us

As of a father: for let the world take note,

You are the most immediate to our throne;

And with no less nobility of love (110)

Than that which dearest father bears his son,

Do I impart toward you. For your intent

In going back to school in Wittenberg,

It is most retrograde to our desire:

And we beseech you, bend you to remain (115)

Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye,

Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

(1.2.87-117)

Heaven appears 40 times in Hamlet. In the first instance of the word “heaven” in line 95, the more appropriate meaning from the OED is: “the abode of God and of the angels and persons who enjoy God's presence, traditionally regarded as being beyond the sky; the final abode of the redeemed after their life on earth; a state or condition of being or living with God after death; everlasting life. Opposed to hell.”  The quote,“Teache the people to gett heuen with fastynge” from R. Tracy’s Supplycacion to Kynge Henry VIII written in 1544 most closely corresponds to the first instance of “heaven” in Claudius’ speech. In the second instance, the more appropriate meaning from the OED is: “Instrumental and locative”.  The quote “Words of the Heau'n-prompted stile” from  written in 1606 byJ. Sylvester and G. de S. Du Bartas.  

The most relevant special dictionaries that would contain “heaven” are Shakespeare's Religious Language : A Dictionary which defines concepts like "soul," "pray," “absolve" and Shakespeare's Demonology which defines the ideas of ghosts, fairies, spirits, superstitions, and magic.  Shakespeare’s Religious Language contained an entry for heaven which defined it as “Another name for God and God’s omnipotence, his providential agency, or his dispensing of eternal justice and mercy”.  This is the most accurate description of heaven that lends its relevancy to its use in Hamlet.  The idea that heaven is locative and instrumental, as described by the OED is implied through this definition in the described omnipotence of God as well as his providential agency.  Although Shakespeare’s Religious Language gave a helpful definition for “heaven” and its uses in Shakespeare’s works, the Demonology did not include an entry for “heaven”.  However, it did contain a definition for Hell.  This is interesting because the existences of both Heaven and Hell are intertwined with one another; there is no Hell without a Heaven.  It is described in Milton’s Paradise Lost as Satan falls from Heaven and descends into Hell.  The Demonology describes Hell as: 

“Where there are devils, demons or fiends in Shakespeare’s works, there is also often the notion of hell, along with hellish artifacts and related demonic creatures. The Christian hell was conceived to be an underworld, like the classical underworld which was also an afterlife, but in this case flamingly hot and a site of torture for damned souls after death. Ghosts might return from hell to plague the living – several of Shakespeare’s, such as the ghost of King Hamlet, refer to tortures endured after death in either hell or purgatory.”

This definition does not imply the existence of a heaven, but its appearance in the Demonology without the appearance of “Heaven” shows the heightened importance of Hell over Heaven. 

“Heaven” is word that appears over 450 times in all of Shakespeare’s work.  It is an interesting word because heaven as a term can be used as both a noun and a verb.  The noun form refers either to a place either above the Earth or the location of God and the angels that signifies that opposite of Hell.  The verb form refers to  a transitive state: “To transport into heaven; to make supremely happy, enrapture; to beatify; (also) to make heavenly in character or appearance” (OED).  These two definitions both refer to transcending one’s current state and becoming something higher than they already were.  This transition into a higher calling is seemingly out of place in Claudius’ speech to Hamlet at the end of Act I, Scene II.  Claudius is a hypocritical character who, in this speech, is instructing Hamlet to stop his excessive mourning.  Hamlet’s trappings of woe are nowhere in comparison to that of his mother, who Hamlet accuses of over-playing her part.  Claudius genders sorrow, by calling it “unmanly grief” (1.2.94), and then goes on to further shame Hamlet by telling him that his mourning is “show[ing] a will most incorrect to heaven” (1.2.95).  Heaven, in this context, is not a location but rather is an extension of God and a higher power that will hold judgment.  

The next instance of the word “heaven” occurs again in Claudius’s speech to Hamlet about ceasing his mourning over the death of his father.  In this use however, the word “heaven” is used to imply that heaven is a concept akin to the natural cycle.  “Why should we in our peevish opposition/Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven,/A fault against the dead, a fault to nature” (1.2.100-102).  Claudius equates heaven to both the dead and nature.  Death and nature are concepts that are intertwined with one another; death is a natural occurrence and all natural things will die.  Heaven is not natural because it is a created and imagined holy place.  In this way, Claudius faults not only nature but also the created.  Claudius implies that Hamlet’s sorrow is for something imagined and goes against the natural cycle of life and death.  This speech leads off with an example of a cycle, where “…your father lost a father; /That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound/In filial obligation for some term/To do obsequious sorrow: but to persever/In obstinate condolement…”  (1.2.89-93).  This cycle is implied to be inescapable and natural, but it is the job of the sons to “persever” (1.2.92) and continue the cycle.  By persisting in never-ending sorrow would disrupt the cycle of nature, thus going against heaven, which is the land of God, who set human nature.  

The differences between heaven in line 95 and heaven in line 101 is subtle and nuanced, but becomes incredibly important. In the context of line 95, heaven is used to hold Hamlet to a higher power that will judge his actions as wrong.  This use of heaven makes the word more commanding than its use in line 101.  In line 101, heaven is implied to be a created aspect of the natural.  It is cyclical in nature but is inevitable.  Both uses of heaven imply that it is a highly powerful entity and is something that should be revered, but they touch on different aspects of heaven that are not explicitly apparent in the many different definitions of heaven that are brought up by both the OED as well as Shakespeare’s Religious Dictionary.  Heaven can be both the location of God and the angels, but it can also be an extension of God and his judgement.  The different uses of heaven can seem to change its meaning very slightly, but the differences between location and entity are extremely distinct, as one can be used to directed to whilst the other will do the directing.  In Hamlet, Claudius uses both to dictate that Hamlet stop his mourning of his murdered father.

[therealestatesparkblog]

7 Types of Tenants That Are Harder to Insure (& What You Can Do About It)

Insurance is all about mitigating risk. Im hoping to make some of the concepts around insurance less intimidating in my first series of articles about insurance for real estate investors here on the BiggerPockets platform. If you have feedback for this articleor insurance information youd love to see explained in plain Englishplease let me know about it in the comments! Anyway, back to the subject at hand. The big box companies especially will run screaming from the seven types of tenants described below. Read on to learn more about the seven types of tenants that are most difficult to adequately insure and how to handle these situations, whether you decide to attempt to screen out these types of tenants or proceed with the deal knowing you have these tenants in your rental home. Whatever you choose, I have practical advice and tips for you. Lets dive in. 7 Kinds of Tenants That Major Insurance Carriers Dont Usually Cover These are the types of tenants that consider riskier from the insurance companys point of view. We have also included some insurance solutions you can employ if you have these types of tenants, or plan to invest in a property that will house such tenants or operate as the types of business discussed below. 1. Section 8/Rental Assistance Tenants Only a handful of carriers in the country will insure Section 8 tenants. Of the thousands of companies nationwide, that isnt very many. If you or your property manager start taking in Section 8 tenants, you must make your insurance company aware of this situation. Failure to do so is misrepresentation. The best thing you can do if you must have Section 8 tenants is speak to agents of the companies offering this specialty coverage. Tenants receiving rental assistance from a variety of other programs may be treated the same as Section 8 tenants by insurance carriers. Underwriting guidelines will determine whether a carrier will treat tenants receiving subsidized housing differently. Some may insure if these tenants constitute less than 15% of the occupants of a multi-unit building. 2. Individuals Operating an In-Home Day Care State law will outline when someone is considered to be operating a daycare. The lines can get blurry for those who care for other peoples children for any reason. Babysitting one or two kids several times weekly is generally OK. But state and local laws outline how many children can be watched and for how long before someone is considered to be running a business. A tenant may come forward and state that they are operating a licensed daycare in compliance with relevant law. If youre a landlord with tenants running a day care without your permission, even if it as unlicensed, talk to the tenant first. We have some tips on how to do so below. You can check them out under Heading #7 (Assisted Living), which gives an example of how you can have this conversation with your tenant without causing yourself more problems.

3. College Students There are different levels of coverage for types of housing. Lets take a look at the basics. If theres more interest in this topic, Im happy to write more in the future about the levels of student housing and what investors can do to keep their premiums and other insurance costs as low as possible. Student Rentals Underwriters look to see how close your property is to a university campus, whether the property owner is marketing explicitly to college students, or whether all of the leasing dates fall along the same timeframe as school years. Those items are dead giveaways that a property may be student housing. Student rentals have higher costs than normal market rentals, but are a lower level of coverage than, say, our next category. And again, dont think you can get sneaky on this issue: If youre busted marketing to college students (remember, the insurance folks can see everything your prospective tenants can!), expect to pay the price for this deceit. If you genuinely just own property in one of these areas but arent marketing directly to students, you may be able to get a normal market rental (i.e. cheaper) rate for your policy. Sorority and Fraternity Houses Fraternity and sorority houses especially may be treated differently from an insurance perspective. In fact, they are an entirely separate specialty class. Many carriers who allow student rentals will still exclude these types of houses. This isnt that crazy, considering the type of debauchery going on in these homes daily. Between unrestrained binge drinking, tons of people in and out of the home, and the inevitable property damage (which can usually be blamed on aforementioned binge drinking), you cant really fault the insurance company for charging more. Liability costs for injuries, even those that are clearly the tenants drunken fault, can be massive. Plus, there are plenty of other scandalous lawsuits waiting to happen that dont bear repeating in polite company. Again, if you must invest in a property involving a sorority or fraternity house because your heart compels you to or you have some compelling financial reason, be sure to consider the actual cost of what the specialty insurance will be. Graduate Students These students are considered more responsible and may be accepted with the same type of coverage you would use for a normal market rental. Because graduate students may or may not require a specialized policy, you will have to check with your carrier to know for sure. Market rent apartments that simply allow students to live there are another gray area. If the property is not explicitly student housing but still has student renters, most policies will treat this situation as a typical market rental. 4. Individuals Running Assisted Living Businesses If you or your tenant are running an assisted living business, keep in mind that facilities for adults may require specialized coverage. Some of the factors that will influence the cost of this coverage include: Types of individuals living in the home. The elderly may be treated differently from individuals with physical or mental disabilities.Hours of operation and degree of care. Round-the-clock care facilities may be costlier to insure than daylight or night-time only facilities. The same goes for high levels of care versus lower levels of care.Licensing status. There are four types of assisted living licenses. Knowing which kind the business operating on your property needs is essential for insuring the property properly. The types of assisted licensing include a Standard License, Extended Congregate Care License, Limited Nursing Service, and Limited Mental Health. Ensure the facility has the proper licensing. If your tenant is the one running the business, ask him or her about licensing. If your tenant is running the assisted living business, you can have him or her pay for the cost of insurance coverage. This will offset your costs, and if the tenant is likely to remain for the long-haul, may be a great way to guarantee the continued passive income we are all after. 5. Owners of Restricted Breeds of Dogs Most major insurance carriers have dog restrictions. How strict or lax they will be depends on your provider. Always check this information prior to permitting pets on the property. If you dont know where to look, ask your agent. Were here to help you! Keep in mind that even service animals may be restricted, completely legally. You may choose to have a tenant with a dog even if your insurance company has restrictions. However, check what those restrictions are to know if the animal will be covered. If their breed isnt restricted, well, doggo-party on! If you choose to have tenants with dogs that are in fact restricted, you may. But if that dog bites somebody, your insurance carrier most likely wont be covering any claims. Some plaintiffs may even go to the effort to sue you civilly. 6. Short-Term Tenants Week-to-week rentals are more difficult to ensure than most. Insurance carriers that do home and auto have made adjustments to cover insurance for vacation rentals. This is a fairly recent change that reflects the fact that these markets are more established. Related: Which Types of Insurance Coverage Should I Have on My First Rental Property? There are two major companies that specialize in properties purchased explicitly for Airbnb or other vacation rental formats. This option may be preferable for an investor who purchases a property that will be a vacation rental most of the time. 7. Transitional Living and Halfway Houses Carriers view the types of tenants in these homes as very risky, which theyre largely not even incorrect about. However, there are many types of transitional living homes: housing for those who have experienced domestic violence, individuals with credit or financial constraints who are working towards more permanent housing, and the growing sober living home and addiction recovery support industry. The point is, transitional living helps a variety of people in neednot just felons and rapists. Is this a bias problem? Maybe. A tightly controlled sober living home that is run-well can actually be the cleanest house on the block. Reputable facilities routinely drug test clients and conduct breathalyzer tests on clients returning from weekend outings or at random. So while the reality may be that a recovery home is the only house full of 20-somethings on the block that isnt partying on the weekends, drug use carries unfair stigma but also a degree of risk that insurance companies justifiably may not wish to take on. Halfway house tenants tend to have poor credit and often criminal backgrounds that make other types of housing unfeasible. These types of homes are ultimately very good for society. Some business models are more lucrative than others, but be sure to include the actual cost of your insurance quote for greater accuracy while you examine your deals. Fortunately, many of the pointers for the assisted living category can also be applied here. Talk to your tenant about their situation, whatever it is. Lets imagine for the sake of simplicity you have a tenant, Betty, with many children, who routinely babysits her friends children as well. It comes to your attention that Betty may be meeting your states definition of running a daycare. Speaking to Betty about this situation is a great first step. She may not know she is breaking the law or may be able to provide documentation that the children seen on the property are actually family members. She may be willing to stop her operation once she knows her housing is on the line. If she continues to break the law or implies she might, ask her to stop. Make it clear what shes standing to lose. You may be able to come up with a different arrangement where Betty assists with handling the policy coverage change/extra expense, particularly if shes running her business by-the-book and not under-the-table. If you encounter a situation like this and are unsure of what to do, chat with a friendly real estate attorney. Weve got tons of great attorneys here on BiggerPockets who are all too happy to share their thoughts, but ideally youll want to retain your own for matters such as entity formation and asset protection. Consults with great attorneys are often cheaper than youd think. Less experienced attorneys may offer free consults, but your time will be very limited. If you have an hour or two worth of questions, write them down and get connected with a legal professional with experience dealing with real estate investors.

How Notto Deal With Difficult-to-Insure Tenants We investors are always looking for workarounds when we encounter obstacles. While creative problem-solving is no doubt a great skill to develop, there are two common mistakes people make once they have selected the types of tenants described above but dont wish to pay the price. Mistake #1: Lie About the situation to the insurance company. Not mentioning it is a bad approachthats considered misrepresentation. If you dont say you have any Section 8 tenants, for instance, but you do and you know about it, the insurance carrier can deny your claim. You may be in a better situation if, say, youve owned a property for 10 years and chose to price it affordably. Originally, you had no Section 8 tenants, but your property manager has since allowed some on the lease. You may be able to negotiate in that situation, but if you knew or should have known about the tenants, lying is the worst thing you can do regarding any claim. Related: Landlords: These Are the 4 Types of Insurance You May Need Mistake #2: Deny applications in a discriminatory manner. This is where it is handy to have a legal professional to bounce your concerns off of. This doesnt apply to all of the categories above. However, those affecting vulnerable populations usually do. Here are some things you cant do on your application if you want to avoid discrimination accusations that lead to litigation nightmares another BiggerPockets poster has written about here in the past. Check out that article if you really want to know all of the gory detailsand how dark it can get. Stating in the application that you wont take specific kinds of people. This is begging for a lawsuit. You can state you wont tolerate a behavior, but never a person for who they are. So you can say that you wont permit drug use on your property, but you do not want to say, I wont rent to drug addicts or people with a history of drug addiction. Why not? Because addicted and alcoholic tenants are a protected class under the Fair Housing Act. Its not worth the headache of even a nuisance lawsuit. Educating yourself on the Fair Housing Acts protected classes can help you determine what is legally considered discrimination.Asking irrelevant or unfair questions that imply discrimination. Asking questions about a persons sexuality is a good example of this. Some landlords have prejudices or personal biases and try to head these off with specific questions. If those questions overlap with protected classes, youre leaving yourself vulnerable to a situation that may very well land you in court regardless of which insurance policy you use. The reality is, you can choose whomever you want to live in your property. There are other ways to vet for behaviors that make individuals risky to rent to. Follow the tips below to avoid discriminationor more accurately, the threat of a brutal discrimination lawsuit. Not all protected classes are obvious, which is why I recommend getting to know more about them. For example, you also cant deny someone for their family status. Family status may include factors like number of children, blended or unconventional families, older family members choosing to live together, and other situations which you may not like, but cannot use as grounds for denying on an application. If you know you dont want to take a certain type of tenant on, look at what about that tenant sketches you out. Is this a person who is likely to have a poor rental history or poor credit? Its perfectly legal to deny an application on those grounds. Behaviors and non-protected classes may be items to address in your lease agreement. For example, individuals who smoke are not protected, nor are individuals with dogs. A restricted breed owner cant sue you for discrimination if you clearly state No pets are allowed on the property in your lease. However you choose to handle this issue, ensure youre on the right side of the law and screening all applicants the same way. You can even use one of those handy-dandy lawyers I mentioned above to develop a fair and legal screening process that you can use for each and every tenant. How to Handle Higher-Risk Tenants and Select the Right Policy Fortunately, there are insurance solutions for all of these types of tenants. If you are a landlord, you may decide to avoid these types of tenants altogether when selecting a tenant for your property, provided you arent discriminating. But if your heart or pocketbook compels you to take some of these higher-risk tenants on, Ive got good news. All of them can be insured. The question for you will become whether doing so is worth the cost. This question will require you to know the exact cost, but also take other factors into consideration. If the tenants are running businesses, perhaps they will assume the cost of the policy. The more you know about the situation is crucial, and yet another reason to always communicate directly with tenants. Speaking of the power of knowledge, keep in mind that you should Select Appropriate Insurance Options and Know Their Costs Before Investing Specialty insurance can be 150%-300% higher than a traditional landlord policy. If you are getting involved in a real estate deal that includes these types of tenants, that is something to consider ahead of time. You may find yourself a great deal involving these types of tenants, but later find that once youve applied actual insurance costs, it isnt such a great deal. The cost of insuring the property should be figured accurately in any pro forma so you know what youll really be spending. Most of us know the value of having a buffer in our pro formas. Ideally, you should have botha buffer for unexpected costs and an accurate, up-to-date figure for your projected insurance costs. One Final Important Tip Get an actual quote in hand before making offers on properties that involve these types of tenants. Dont go with a verbal or over-the-phone agreement. You want the actual piece of people to determine the cost of insuring your real estate business. It is best to give your agent one to two weeks of lead time to research the best options for your quote. Whether you choose to dodge these tenants altogether or proceed with a promising business that involves these types of tenants, I wish you the best of luck. Im always available to answer questions for the BiggerPockets community. While I post frequently in the forums, I look forward to hearing back from some of you hear!

So please feel free to ask questions, add your comments and thoughts, or otherwise continue the conversation in the comments section below. Thanks so much for reading my first BiggerPockets piece and I look forward to hearing from you all soon! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/7-types-tenants-harder-insure-it/

[autism-asks]

is there any better alternative to 'high/low functioning' when talking about what kind of autism you have/how "severe" it is? because i am what would be called high functioning and pass as NT most of the time, and i feel like i should acknowledge that i'm privileged in a lot of ways compared to people who are more visibly autistic/need greater support than me but without upholding ableist standards of behaviour??

I personally really like to simply state how much help someone needs. There’s no ambiguity that way.

So one could say ‘this is Sarah and she needs help with making food and personal hygiene’ or ‘this is Max and they don’t need help in their day to day life unless they’re sick’ etc.

That way there’s no confusion over what help someone does or doesn’t need and there’s no inherent ableism in it either, just simple facts.

So for me it would be ‘I’m Wren and I need help getting started on tasks and I need to be reminded to eat, drink and go to bed on time.’ (Though I am still in the process of figuring out exactly how much help I need, this is just what I’ve come across needing help with so far.)

Of course if you’re talking about someone else, you shouldn’t say how much help they need unless they’ve explicitly communicated to you it is okay for you to do so.

-Wren

There is not an alternative to “high/low functioning” that is not ableist as the idea that autism is a spectrum of severity is ableist. I know you put the word severe in quotes, but the way you speak throughout the ask shows a conceptualization of the autism spectrum as a line from more severe to less severe. 

Further, the use of “more visibly autistic/need greater support” implies that the two go hand in hand, which is incorrect/rooted in ableism. There are autistic people who are very visibly autistic who need very little support while there are autistic people who are not noticeably autistic who need a lot of support or any other combination of those traits (among many others). 

Autistic people are incredibly varied and our experiences/abilities cannot be neatly summed up into a couple categories. Anything that tries to replace functioning labels directly will always be ableist. 

If you want to acknowledge any privileges you may have, describe them. Say that you are an autistic person who generally passes as neurotypical and needs minimal support, if those are things that are relevant to the situation. Talk about the specific ways in which you are privileged that are relevant to the conversation. 

However, it is not necessary to constantly acknowledge your privilege in the ways you express yourself. Often, when stating that you are autistic, the privileges you may have may not be relevant to the situation at hand. 

Further, the idea “passing privilege” is one that is hotly debated amongst people of many marginalized identities. It is true that as someone who is less visibly autistic you will be treated differently than someone who is more visibly autistic, but is that a privilege? Is it a privilege to have your needs and difficulties ignored, or, worse, dismissed? Is a privilege to have to suppress yourself to be more accepted by the world around you? Your struggles may be different than those of a person who is more visibly autistic, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your struggles are lesser. Remember, oppression is not competition.

-Sabrina

[ourplanetary-blog]

March for Life anti-abortion rally in pictures

New Post has been published on http://ourplanetary.com/march-for-life-anti-abortion-rally-in-pictures/

March for Life anti-abortion rally in pictures

Hundreds of people crowded onto Parliament Hill and waved placards with slogans which include “Choose Love, Choose Life” during the yearly March for Life anti-abortion rally.

A House Bill That Seeks to Remove Tax Credits for Abortion

In May 2011, The House passed a bill that could cast off government tax breaks for any clinical cost related to abortion. The bill that was passed by a vote of 251 to a hundred seventy-five had all the Republicans and 16 of the Democrats rallying behind it. The invoice cautioned among other things the put off all tax credit for abortion which might be claimed as deductions under medical costs. It also eliminates any tax credit which is given to employers that offer Healthcare benefit to their employees if the Healthcare issue consists of abortion as a part of their insurance. The health benefit vendors include all fitness spending programs which include the Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), and Health Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSAs). However, the invoice permits for the deduction of charges associated with an abortion if the abortion is induced by a pregnancy out of incest or rape or if achieved if the being pregnant posed lifestyles threatening danger to the mom as recognized by a medical doctor. The passing of the invoice comes amidst an outcry from abortion activists who regarded the circulate as curtailing abortion.

On their face, the supporters view the circulate as retaining the government finances away from a practice that has a massive public objection. Currently, the authorities spending on abortion is constrained by using the Hyde Amendment this is passed annually. However, if the bill passes in Congress from invoice to regulation, it completely enforces the Hyde Amendment. Democrats, who majorly adverse the bill, stated that the bill intended stretching the meaning of presidency spending to consist of the credit claimed via personal spenders. They felt that the invoice was untimely and that interest has to were spent on addressing different pressing issues such as rising gas expenses, the authorities deficit, and job introduction. They felt that it was now not the time to check out the morality of the regulation.

A critique of the invoice reveals that indeed, the Republicans may be more interested in creating a statement than they may be approximately the tax credit. The scientific fees credit could be very huge today and genuinely any medical rate can qualify for a credit score. From swimming costs to the fees of clarinet training, you may surely deduct nearly all health and scientific related expense. Furthermore, clinical prices are a part of the itemized deductions with the quantity in excess of seven.Five% of the Adjusted Gross Income. This amount will rise to 10% of the Adjusted Gross Income come 2013. Therefore, removal of abortion as a deductible clinical expense won’t have a widespread effect on taxes.

However, looking at it from the Republican’s attitude, abortion is one vicinity that Republicans and Democrats part methods and a win against abortion generally interprets to a win for Republicans. However, in terms of Congress, many Democrat Senators have downplayed the invoice pronouncing that it had no risk in Congress. Furthermore, the Obama administration has already said that the president could veto the invoice, have to it skip.

The End of Abortion

Christianity has been hijacked by way of right-wing zealots who have demeaned the teachings of Jesus. When they quote the bible, they take terms out of context and interpret them with a severe emblem of literalism that distorts or ignores their considerable opportunities of that means. Even worse, they exercise a selective literalism – taking actually the ones words and terms that superficially assist their agenda, however ignoring Christ’s words whenever they do now not. As if this have been not enough, they then poison public discourse by insinuating, or pointing out unabashedly, that to vote for regulations or applicants who disagree with their software is tantamount to ‘sin’. I am not a Christian, however, I even have a deep admire for real Christianity, as I even have for all real religion. This, however, is something much much less.

Given the insistence of the Christian Right in taking the phrases of the Bible critically and living with the aid of its precepts, it is instead amazing to realize that in their two principal cutting-edge battleground issues – abortion and homosexuality – Christ says nothing in any respect. The Catholic Church gets around this through noting that they’ve continually considered Church tradition and priestly interpretations of “natural law” as vital to their doctrines, however, the Protestant motion is based totally on Martin Luther’s spoil with those Catholic thoughts: Evangelicals insist at the phrases of Scripture alone for his or her authority.

Of direction, there are some terms here and there that are dredged up and misinterpreted in an try and at ease biblical sanction. In Deuteronomy, as an instance, Moses tells the assembled Israelites that they have been given a preference between “lifestyles and prosperity, demise and destruction.” He assures them that if they will love the Lord and observe his commandments they may stay long happy lives and be blessed. If they shrink back from God they will just as assuredly meet with destruction. “Now pick lifestyles,” he advises, so that they may be blessed and revel in the land that had been promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Some opponents of abortion have extracted Moses’ injunction to “choose existence” and turned it right into a rallying cry and bumper-sticky label for his or her unrelated motive. This is standard, however, it’s semi-funny obviousness serves to emphasize the truth that the Bible itself is neither for nor towards abortion. (I ought to observe that I turned into a current gift at a examine group in which numerous incredibly difficult to understand biblical passages had been interpreted to guide the proper of abortion this is popular via many in Reform Judaism.)

On the alternative hand, the Bible has a terrific deal to mention approximately divorce, and a literal analyzing of these statements does now not go away a great deal room for quibbling approximately their meaning. According to the prophet Malachi, God explicitly says “I hate divorce.” According to Paul, “A husband need to no longer divorce his spouse.” And Jesus states unequivocally that “each person who divorces his wife, besides for sexual immorality, and marries some other female commits adultery.” This is pretty clear! So why aren’t the right-wing protectors of morality lobbying to outlaw divorce? Perhaps because a few too many contributors to the organization have ‘selected’ to ignore those scriptural admonitions and are becoming divorced themselves. On the alternative hand, it is still especially clean, even though turning into instead much less so, to imagine that girls-who-pick out abortion, and gays, are not contributors of the group: they may be ‘different’, and all kinds of effective poor emotion can without problems be directed at ‘them’.

Actually, there has been a time not that long ago whilst the divorce issue became important in Republican politics. Nelson Rockefeller, who was divorced and remarried, couldn’t get his birthday celebration’s presidential nomination at the least in the element for precisely this cause. But two decades later, the delegates were fawning over another divorced-and-remarried candidate, Ronald Reagan. Suddenly, the clear biblical injunction in opposition to divorce become a be counted of no challenge. The imagined injunction towards abortion took middle level. It has proven to be a very politically-useful trouble. Reagan (who had previously signed an invoice as Governor of California that legalized abortion) kept the problem very lots alive for eight years as did Bush I and II during their tenures. People rallied, and continue to rally, to the cause. People with little or no hobby in retaining the sanctity of existence on the subject of warfare, capital punishment, discrimination, or the degradation of hunger and poverty, emerge as morally outraged to the intense over this trouble. They rant towards the Judiciary, the Humanists, the Liberals, and of the path the Democrats, and Conservative Republicans do not anything to quiet their fervor. The simple fact is, these people bring out the vote.

All of this, of the path, avoids the query of the rightness or wrongness of aborting a fetus. But it would be hard to locate many folks that could provide the opinion that abortion is a superb element. No one likes abortion. The difficulty isn’t the ‘goodness’ or ‘badness’ of abortion: it is a sad and dreadful desire with massive moral, psychological, and notsecular repercussions. The issue is whether it would be proper or incorrect, sensible or silly, to make it unlawful. And right here there are grounds for hoping that we will sooner or later position this query to relaxation if the political hacks and media charlatans would simply forestall ruling humans up.

Most proponents of anti-abortion legislation well known that such laws will no longer forestall the occurrence of abortion itself, or even slow it down very a good deal if in any respect. Most take into account that making abortion unlawful will boom the frequency of botched surgical procedure, horrible injury, and needless demise. Most well known that most effective a critical exchange within the cultural and moral climate can without a doubt lower the frequency of abortion. A relentlessly pornographic media will hold to inspire undesirable pregnancies. A lifestyle that entertains its kids with regular persuasion to searching for intercourse without responsibility will remain to inspire unwanted pregnancies. All of this has to trade and now not by passing restrictive legal guidelines. The obligation lies with us, with our personal ‘suggestibility’, the staggering ease with which we abdicate all efforts to assume and motive and choose for ourselves, and agree with and do whatever we are instructed to trust and do. It’s no longer that the authorities are not doing enough. It’s that we’re passive.

If the Religious Right clearly desires to stop the tragedy of abortion, and not merely stir human beings as much as vote for his or her applicants, it’d be some distance extra useful to focus their energies on the cultural, ethical, and sociological climate: finishing poverty; encouraging humans to boycott the media exploitation of sex and violence; teaching our boys that treating women respectfully and becoming accountable fathers is the real definition of Manhood; teaching our ladies that they’re cherished for their minds, hearts, and souls, no longer just their bodies; encouraging adoption; and perhaps even remembering that the Gospels are speculated to be ‘correct news’ – no longer a justification for being nasty and punitive.