#this is why I can't listen to podcasts ffs

[porcelain-winter-doll]

WEDDING VOWS WITH MATT STURNIOLO

in this ff you are saying your wedding vows with matt sturniolo

Wedding vows with matt sturniolo ❤

ᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔ THIRD PERSONᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔᰔ

It was a special day for both matt and y/n. After 15 years of being friends and being lovers they were stepping on a new page on their life.

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*Y/N'S POV｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

"Matt Bernard sturniolo" i giggled when matt rolled his eyes when i mentioned his middle name which also made the crowd laugh

" i have loved you for 15 years, 18 days, 19 hours and 7 minutes of my life. I love you with my whole heart with a passion that can't be expressed in words, only in kisses, glances, and years of adventure by your side." Matt teared up while listening to my vows and smiling at me

Some tears were spilling out of my eyes as i hold the piece of paper " i had a paper that had all of what was supposed to be my wedding vows. And we were 16 when you asked me to be your girlfriend. You told me i was the one who would you marry and have a family with, i didn't believe you since we were just lousy teenagers that year. But i quickly ran home to write a wedding vow. " matt chuckled and said " i never told you to write one" and i looked at him mad playfully

" as i was saying. I sat there for an hour trying to write a wedding vow, and so i finally wrote one and i taped it to my journal" the crowd was quiet but in a comforting way " i remember clearly i was scared to cry in our wedding due to a podcast you made w your brothers " matt nick and chris laughed at that " but look at you now crying on our wedding " matt playfully pushed me on my shoulder "Today I say, "I do" but to me that means, "I will." I will take your hand and stand by your side in the good and the bad. I dedicate myself to your happiness, success, and smile. I will love you forever. I promise to be your honest, faithful, and loving wife for the rest of my days." Matt looked at me as if he was looking at a goddess And smiled at me

I took a breath and said the following vows "I y/n l/n take you matt sturniolo to be my husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow"

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*MATT'S POV｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

Y/n my wife finished with her vows so it was my turn " y/n m/n l/n" y/n looked at me when i mentioned her last name " oh! My bad sweetheart its Y/n STURNIOLO now. " i quickly looked at the crowd which was my family and friends " ITS Y/N STURNIOLO NOW!" I told them and they laughed i saw chris dying out of laughter.

I looked at my wife again she has red lips and rosy cheeks which suited her " y/n, i used to despise you when we were 10 if you remember that" y/n looked at me and laughed " i do remember " she chuckled " only nick, chris, Nate and Justin knew about that, my mom kept shipping me with her actually which made me hate her the more " i confessed and nick shouted " NOW YOU'RE MARRYING HER" which made everyone laugh

" i never thought of marrying you until we were 16. I remember you ran into the rain to your house and you never told me why until the next month." I laughed at y/n "you told me you wrote a wedding vow for our wedding which made me think of marrying you even more. " i teared up a little bit while holding her hand

" "There is no remedy for love," says Thoreau, "but to love more". Today and forever, I will follow his advice and seek my remedy in your arms. I loved you since we were 15. I dated alot of girls back in my day but non of them became my girlfriend except for one" i looked at her with love in my eyes " and it was you, sweetheart" i saw her teared up and i wiped her tears with my thumb

"You are my every dream come true, and I can't wait for the reality we get to build together. I cant live in world without you y/n. actually unlike you i memorized my vow since i was 21 which was kind of weird considering i told my fans that i didn't want a big ass wedding" she playfully hit my shoulder " language! "

" i hope i never lose you, i hope it never ends.and I actually used to believe love was black and white. Until you came into my life. You made me believe in love and i really love you my love."

" i always write your name with my last name seeing how it looks together. It always had a ring for me" i looked at the crowd " it didn't suit " and i looked at her again while the crowd looked at us " as of today we will start a new together not as friends not as bestfriends not as lovers not as finances but as husband and wife. As mr and mrs sturniolo " i looked at her again i admired her beautiful features

I took a breath and said my vows "I matt sturniolo take you y/n l/n to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part, according to God's holy law. In the presence of God I make this vow" i smiled at her and i teared up

✿✼:*ﾟ:.｡..｡.:*･ﾟﾟ･*Y/N'S POV｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

I heard the priest say kiss the bride. Matt was about to kiss me when the priest said something again " you both have to hold your kiss for 5 second " i looked at him and he looks at me and kissed my lips

I felt like it was just me and matt in the place. No one else. It felt fantastic i didn't know why but this kiss was something else for us. We always kissed before but this. This felt something. I knew for a fact that he was always the love of my life and my soulmate.

" okay enough!!" We heard chris say with a sassy tone and we both laugh.

We just know this new chapter wont always be rainbows and unicorns and i would always love him until my death.

4000+ FUCKING WORDSS... ANYWAYS DOES ANYONE WANNA SEE A PART 2 OF THEIR HONEYMOON??? 😭😭😭 I MIGHT RECONSIDER 😏😏😏😏

masterlist

[skayafair]

Ep 35-36

Wait, hold on. Do I understand it correctly that J is technically not dead but has just... completed the transformation and had to stay there? And Alyx is changing the same way now? So they can maybe at least be there together in the end? Tough luck, I know.

But damn Beckett! This bastard! >:(((

Cass and Silas, when they get the err relationship bits, make me blush like no other pairing or media ever has. I don't know why but it just feels so personal and real? Gods this podcast is superb in acting and editing. And writing.

I really like Lizzy in the past 2 episodes. She's very relatable and feels fully fleshed now. Also I need someone to give her a good supportive hug. To all of them, really, but to her especially.

I don't want to think of what happened to Allura and how everyone starting with Silas are going to react when the 1st shock is gone. Oh gods.

The gods are pissing me off, by the way, no news here. I half-wish them to turn out to be some kind of an AI because I love the "ancient advanced technologies" trope but we'll see.

I like how emotional and emotionally unhinged these episodes are. Podcasts really don't hold back do they... It's been very difficult to listen to ep 36. It's just... scary and heavy, but not in a horror way. Just in a life way. The worst (meaning the heaviest) part was the call to Silas' mom. I just couldn't believe he'd actually go and do this RIGHT AWAY. FFS! What?! Couldn't wait for a few days?? Or was it planned to announce them all dead all along?

Another thing I really like about Syntax is that the team members are slowly losing their composure the farther they go. Usually in plots like this the characters manage somehow (if the writers even care to make this a point at all) or seem to be just emotionally tough enough to bear basically anything. Team Alpha breaks down little by little until they start doing... dangerous things. They acknowledge they're at the end of their ropes but have no choice but to go forward. Plus before this last breach their situation wasn't as dire. This world seems to be willing to kill them with all it's got. And they aren't coping anymore. I like seeing this narative-wise - it makes them feel like actual living people, not heroes who stay sane no matter what because the story must go on.

I half-wish there was a happy ending where they get everyone they've lost back somehow. Aren't there gods? I thought Lizzy was going to fall and nearly started crying from how scared I was. It seems that since I've got my emotions back a year ago everything that touches my heart gets through with full force with no filter normal people have to not worry for characters as much as in real situations. Oh well. I'll ascribe that to great acting. But I also feel this isn't that kind of a story. It's not even about the deaths losing their impact - as someone who hates and fears this topic altogether I'd say no death can be made meaningless by coming back to life, because life is priceless no matter how one looks at it. No. It's just... they aren't coming back. And that's really grim. Usually I drop such stories because... really, I have enough grim and dark things irl. And just like most shows for the last few decades, it keeps getting darker. I seek solace and escape in stories. Others' suffering doesn't make me feel better - it adds to the one here, irl. But also... there's some kind of hope that still lingers in Syntax? And I've already got too attached to the characters to drop it. I hope it won't fail me like this. That there's some... point or meaning at the end of this road, that all they went through wasn't for nothing. Although I don't even know what this would mean now.

Well. I know the story is good when I can't drop it even despite all the triggers. It's just pity it started as a feel good series with mostly just adventures and exploring and went on like this for 2 seasons, and now I postpone listening to it because I need to pull myself together to face what's going on there. I guess I can still relisten to those 2 seasons as a feel good thing though 😅

[imminentinertia]

I'm revisiting this as @the-conversation-pod brought up some interesting points here (thank you - I'm not a podcast listener but the transcript is great for people like me, and I enjoyed the episode so much). Also I can't seem to let The Eighth Sense go.

The above post was written well before the show ended, and neither of the two Hedwig themes was directly revisited, nor did the Hedwig guy show up again, but I'd say that Ji Hyun - who underwent some character changes after his accident - went hard on "deny me and be doomed". He doesn't deny himself, and nor did he ever, really, and he doesn't let Jae Won deny him either.

Ji Hyun has upped his levels of sass, and the Hedwig guy gets the first taste of it, and when The Conversation suggests it's "this show taking shots at performative queerness happening with BL in particular" that makes so much sense. It's a lot more subtle than the hamfisted attempt made in Step by Step (and retracted by editing the episode post-airing, good lord my friends, own your criticism ffs), but it can definitely be read into Ji Hyun and Ae Ri making fun of and dismissing the Hedwig person - who then stomps off fully dressed in his costume, in a foil of Hedwig's own exit stage stripped of their everyday clothes and wig.

Hedwig person's other half is firmly lodged outside him, still.

I agree with The Conversation on this being a clunky part of the show, and I think it's the only actual misstep. It looks to me like Werner du Plessis and Inu Baek made the extremely rare mistake of overestimating their audience, and that they themselves couldn't have predicted the general take of "wtf is up with the casual transphobia" - which I, who know HatAI well and love it dearly, didn't see coming at all and was very surprised by.

Would anyone get the lesson of learning your cultural history as a queer? Hopefully some did, hopefully some looked HatAI up and watched it, and hopefully those who did refrained from dismissing it as ancient and problematique ten minutes in.

But I doubt it, to be honest, I think the casual viewer either moved blithely on or got mad at T8S.

So when The Conversation goes "[Ji Hyun and Ae Ri] engaged with the source material, they understood it, and they moved on, whereas he's cosplaying as Hedwig, a gay character. Does he appreciate the life of this gay character?" I'm all YES THAT'S IT. He IS fucking cosplaying. He picked up on the drag, and the two main themes are there to find for anyone with access to a search engine, but he missed a hell of a lot going on in the film.

I do wonder why Hedwig person latched on to Hedwig and not something neater or sexier or prettier - HiaTI is gritty and grim while also sparkly and bright. He may be on his way to finding his other half within himself, eventually, but he seems to have missed a few steps on his way and that's how he ends up with his surface analysis in costume while the actual gay guy does a good job of his analysis assignment.

I also wonder why Werner du Plessis and Inu Baek didn't use a more accessible film for this, fave or not (I'm sure they have fave films that would have worked more to the purpose), but everyone's allowed a misstep. Or maybe they got exactly the reaction they wanted. The show is for the young people, not I-had-to-walk-50-kilometres-in-a-snowstorm-to-get-my-queer-film-fix people like me, so personally I would have recommended a classic that the younger crowd might be more familiar with.

I may have some feelings and possibly some actual thoughts about Hedwig and the Angry Inch's appearance in The Eighth Sense. Under a readmore because of spoilers - for both.

So I'm old enough to have seen HatAI in a cinema in 2002, and it's a very important film to me. It's an iconic queer film classic by now (and an iconic queer musical classic), but it's also a cult film and certainly not something I expect everyone to know about.

My first reaction to the Hedwig person scenes in T8S was something like "oh my fucking GOD they're doing HEDWIG I love Inu and Werner so fucking much, but oh, that's an odd thing to do, making Ji Hyun and Ae Ri be that dismissive to Hedwig person?".

Nothing in a show is accidental or random, certainly not full scenes such as these, and I think there are a couple of ways referring to HatAI in T8S* could go.

Keep in mind that I have no idea if it can be expected that a Korean audience knows HatAI, but then again, it's obvious that Inu Baek and Werner du Plessis intended T8S for an international audience as well as a domestic one. HatAI is still not a reference I'd expect the international target audience of a Korean romance between two students to get.

Your other half is within yourself

The central theme in HatAI is Hedwig's search for their** other half. That is all ye olde Plato's soulmate theory about Zeus splitting each human into two. However, Hedwig's conclusion is that your other half is within yourself (on a number of levels, and sometimes, as with Hedwig's fluctuating gender expression, it's a bit on the nose. It's still a wonderful film). The film ends with Hedwig/Hansel walking away, alone, naked, after a scene that is both unsettling and forgiving.

The Hedwig person in T8S gets a walking away alone scene too, although fully dressed, after an also rather unsettling but not forgiving scene where Ji Hyun and Ae Ri are dismissive and a bit rude - perhaps partly because since almost dying, Ji Hyun has run out of fucks to give about anything much, perhaps partly because the odd almost-pass the Hedwig person makes at Ji Hyun needs to be turned down for Hedwig to fit their own story.

And possibly Ji Hyun and Ae Ri, for a narrative point to be made later, must be condescending in these scenes, making fun of the Hedwig person's admittedly over the top presentation.

Either way, going down the "your other half is within yourself" path would show some finding strength in oneself (as Ji Hyun does all along, and perhaps Jae Won needs to learn?) may not hand over a happy ending in the sense that Ji Hyun and Jae Won live happily ever after.

Deny me and be doomed

This quote is often interpreted to mean that Hedwig/Hansel can't deny themselves - the person they were meant to be, up until their life really went off course. It can also be interpreted as Hedwig's right to be seen, to be acknowledged by their surroundings, to not be ignored.

So who must not be denied in T8S? Possibly Ji Hyun, who will have Jae Won and who's come out to his friends and who will not let anything get in his way anymore. Possibly the Hedwig person will resurface to teach them a lesson about this or pay Ji Hyun and Ae Ri back, like Eskild schools Isak about his homophobia in SKAM.

Possibly it's a lesson Ji Hyun is supposed to bring to Jae Won, for him to stop denying himself and tear himself loose from the trappings of the chaebol, the rigid hierarchy and the conservatism.

Going after the being seen point in HatAI might make for a bigger chance of a happy ending/Ji Hyun and Jae Won living happily ever after, as they could see each other - without being Plato's two halves of a whole.

I don't have any answers and I'm always reluctant to analyse too much until the very end, but I needed to get some thoughts about Hedwig and The Eighth Sense off my chest. Also I'm absolutely certain I've forgotten lots of points from earlier episodes that need to be tied in with this.

(On another T8S topic, the overly bright cinematography and disjointed narrative in episode 6 made sense to me after watching episode 7 - I believe Jae Won was the narrator, he definitely wasn't in the best of shapes, and he twisted and glossed over events and shoved the aftermath of the accident away, as it was represented only by him sitting alone on the beach. Also the music-less intro to episode 7 was so claustrophobic I nearly screamed.

Also do we really need to do coming out to your mate scenes that explicitly accepting. I found that a little jarring, I'd expect Joon Pyo to jump rather more around in the salad.

Also also that was an incredibly satisfying punch, Jae Won.)

*Sorry if the acronyms are annoying, but there are only so many times a person can stand to write or read Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The Eighth Sense.

**Stephen Trask, one of the creators of HatAI, refers to Hedwig as they these days, so I do as well.

[lilgreenpup]

I always think I can listen to podcasts while I draw

until I look back at my music playlist while drawing and realize I don’t remember listening to the last five songs that just fucking played

[agent-bash]

Hi, I hope this is okay to ask. I’ve tried googling (somewhat similar situations) and I’m getting conflicting answers. So I’m listening to this podcast where they discuss the show 911: Lone Star and it got me thinking. There’s this on scene/situation that the station responds to and the one host who wants to be a ff/EMT (I forget which one) is saying that this one character shouldn’t be a paramedic at a firehouse because he won’t enter the situation and how they have to give everything, maybe even their life. I mean this character is pretentious as hell, but that’s a different problem and I actually agree with the character.

I understand that the job is dangerous and yes you go in every shift knowing that you could lose your life. But in this case the paramedic was refusing to go into an active minefield to reach a patient until the bomb squad got there. To me it feels the same as sending your paramedics into a building where there’s an active shooter, knowing said shooter hasn’t been contained by the police and the scene isn’t secured yet (part of what I tried to google cause googling the mine field part comes up with nothing).

So, I guess my question is can the fire department send paramedics into a mine field, knowing it’s active, without waiting for the bomb squad? Or even into an active shooting situation where you can definitely hear shots being fired?

Sorry for this weird ask…

A minefield? Like landmines? Where we can't tell if the next step will set off a bomb and kill us and potentially our patient? No, we can't be ordered into a situation like that. And any captain that would try I would say 'well after you then.' It is well beyond our purview and a really stupid thing to do. Being a firefighter or a paramedic means understanding the difference between the reasonable risk that comes with our job and ... suicide.

We will get called to the scenes of active shootings (or stabbings in some cases), but we're not to go in until it's cleared by police. We're there for triage and treatment of those able to get out, and to help those on the inside only after it's clear to do so. But until we get that clear from the cops, we're not to go in. We could make an already bad situation so much worse if we did.

So no, just no across the board here Nonny. While we do risk our lives, the goal is for all of us to come home. It's the same reason why when the LT, the Captain or Chief says 'get out' of a burning building we get out. Not another minute because we thought we heard someone. Not another 30 seconds because we know we saw someone enter that room there. Not another anything because get out means get out now. And ignoring that means you're probably going to get yourself and someone else on your team killed.

Does that suck sometimes? Yes, because we want to help. Have I had get-out calls that stick in my gut and keep me up with what if's? Yes. But I've also seen what happens when that's ignored, and it doesn't make people the hero they think it will.

[va9art]

I think I’ve been quiet for way too long and I should come back and fangirl about it.

Before I go down the many lines of praises I have to just to let you know all about, all things considered, I think of myself as a huge Dramione fan but one that relatively to the majority of us in the fandom, doesn’t consume just as much.

I read fanfictions, but no that much - I read more books. (those sold on bookshop, you know the old paper concept).

I enjoy HP characters - but I somehow don’t branch out. (I tend to stick way too often with DHr and generally consider branching out when it’s a Draco/Hermione/Theo 🤷‍♀️)

I go crazy mad for certain fanfics too - but somehow I limit myself to rec those ff when asked, and generally leave only kudos.

So, if I’ve learned anything from @winewandsandwafflingpodcast I certainly need to step up my games.

First and foremost:

1. If you happen to read this post, go and click on the tag above, then find the podcast, put your headphone on and press play. Enjoy, darling.

I am now going through the very pleasurable job of catching up with the last few months worth of episodes - that somehow I missed to keep up lately, so typical of me, and I cannot express my gratitude to @frumpologist and her host @ladykenz347 enough for this podcast and their discussions. I am having such a great time listening to you fangirl-ing hard and simultaneously discuss on very deep level the analysis of fics and most importantly the fandom itself! You’re constantly touching important aspects of the world we live in - though only virtually, and I think your critical points of view, together with the voices of guests that you bring from the fandom, are a much needed review that we need to hear, explore and share together. So, really, thank you.

And it’s because of them and their Episode 8, that I finally branch out-branch out. With none other than:

‘The Secretary’ by @pacific-rimbaud

Summary:

Threatened with the loss of her trust fund allowance, wild child Pansy Parkinson takes her mother up on an offer she can't refuse: a job at the Ministry of Magic as personal secretary to tightly wound bureaucrat Percy Weasley.

The job is demanding, and so is her boss, in ways that Pansy never could have imagined.

When their mutual desires begin to spin out of control, how will Pansy convince her boss that sometimes, the only rules you need to follow are your own?

A loving tribute to the pure and criminally underappreciated magic that is the ParkWeasel ship, and the 2002 film Secretary.

Here I come:

This fic had me - all of me: attention, heart, fangirl wailing, all of it, from the very beginning. It shouldn’t really come as a surprise, since I absolutely adore PacificRimbaud’s writing style and stories. I am not quite too sure I can put Party Lines behind this fic, there is no need surely since one is a Dramione (surprise surprise) and the other one is a ParkWeasel, and why shall I even throw in there Major Arcana a Lucius Malfoy/Andromeda Black Tonks? This creator here has an extraordinary ability to make you instantly fall head to toe for rare pairs that you usually forgo, because - really, I know my linkings - and no, you don’t. The second you step into one of her story, the minute you begin to say ‘oh well, but that sounds nice,’ you’re so damn past the point where you can go back to your comfortable pairs, so much so that you might just want to change your introduction on Tumblr and just add the tag ‘whatever PacificRimbaud’s rare-pair present you with - I ship it’. I surely should, because now I’ve just locked eyes with a Draco/Scabior tag and I am trying to stay calm, because truly I should know my bloody likings, shouldn’t I?

I am one that adore, above all, Dom/Sub fictions without any worries to say this out loud, but I understand how this might not be the proverbial beloved cup of tea of one’s likings, so I should explain why this kinky fanfic won’t have you cringe in any possible way. Because she makes it sounds and feels so natural. Your read it and it makes sense. Particularly this fic, has the capacity of introducing a kink at the right moment, cleverly pacing it out throughout its 6 chapters. I liked personally how this was a fiction based on the discoveries of these sexual kinks, more than the narration of such things acted out exclusively. It has psychological description of it that just adds depth to the relationship - one I never even explored once in my life. And that now I’m digging for.

If asked, what’s the one thing that got me widening my eyes and going loudly ‘yessss, girl’, is Percy ending his working day on white paper, miniature crow, flying notes, neat and precise description of what Pansy should wear the next day. Down to her knickers. If you know, you know, if you don’t, read this fanfic right away.

Lastly, this writer here not only has created this (as many others) beautiful piece of fanfic, which I absolutely worship, but has also created an artwork for it! And I find it extremely lovely! I love her style (one that reminds me, and I mean this the outmost respect for both artists, the Fernando Botero’s style) and I feel so much for her that’s she’s written her fic and drawn for it, too. Damn, girl, you rule. (Also, I had the big, massive, apocalyptic magnitude size honour of having inspired her once to write a one off for a piece of art I made and which I am shamelessly going to tag along, because why not, the artwork might be average, but the story’s chef’s kiss! ‘Off the Ground’) Darling, I should have come and praised you high and loud a long time ago - it’s just not my modus operandi of participating in the fandom. But here it is, although you also write some rare-pairs that don’t meet the same degree of visibility and notoriety, as long as it makes you happy participating in it, I’m here for it and extremely grateful for your sharing it with us.

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

No offense, but I know. I'm aware of what he did. The other more understandable reasons he got away with it...they weren't quite my point.

Said point was one I made in the longer version of my post which I clearly should've left in the original to begin with: it's not just the plagiarism.

He included not just internet articles and posts but books that have been around for years. He talked about such a wide variety of topics, apparently not just media analysis but HISTORY. That's the really alarming thing to me. He talked about real people's lives, he talked about real cases, about periods in recent history. And as far as I can tell, very few of his core audience caught the wrong facts he spouted until Todd in the Shadows' second video hit his channel.

And I'm not really directing this at the people who weren't big fans. I'm talking about the people who actually listened to multiple of his videos, instead of just using them as background noise, often videos on serious topics. The fact that until the expose, this man still made thousands of dollars on patreon off accumulated donations, THOUSANDS, says way too many people were taking him as their primary source.

Because I'm sorry, but I refuse to believe quite so many of them would have let so much slide if they were learning from more people than just mostly him. Yes, he plagiarized from good sources. And he also would sometimes diverge from said sources to make shit up or start fudging details. If more people were learning about these topics from even some of said sources, I don't think it would've been quite so easy to keep burying it when claims of plagiarism and misinformation were raised.Or at least, people would have been more likely to later do some hunting and realize he was wrong.

(No James, one of the most infamous lesbian writers to have her books banned for obscenity, was not let off the hook by prudish men cause they didn't know how to even HANDLE the idea of queer women, as James claimed. God his obsession with constantly downplaying and acting like queer women weren't Really as oppressed, as if particularly butch women and trans women weren't facing police violence too and sexual violence (as queer women still often do) really was something. But clearly other people wanted to believe that).

FFS, the man claimed that LGBT activists in the 90s only cared about marriage to assimilate (not to be able to visit your dying partner in the wake of the AIDS crisis or be protected from having your stepchildren taken away cause you can't adopt them legally and all that, just cause they were Boring) and didn't try to advocate for protections against employment and housing discrimination, when that was only one of the biggest causes said activists pushed in the 90s and 2000s????

That "all the cool gays died of AIDS" thing got some pushback tbf, more than most of his bullshit ever did. But the fact is, he still had a decent number of fans who apparently saw NO problems with that. He got quoted on podcasts, run by people who aspire to talk about serious issues, for saying that our modern American masculine body image was invented at least partly because American soldiers in WWII were jealous of the "hot" bodies of Nazi soldiers. He really said that with a straight face. And people who make their living at least claiming to be well-informed, who absolutely should have known better or at least double checked first, called him an intellectual for it. I just. Fucking hell. I don't feel like I need to explain why that's fucking embarrassing, and downright frightening if you care about accurate history at all.

If anyone who presented themselves in a less polished way (or who wasn't a cis white guy) had said all that?? They probably would've been eaten alive.

He did get criticism, I know, but not nearly enough for him not to get away with it for years. There were few enough voices of dissent and exposure in the comments that he could easily shut them up by whining about harassment and how they were trying to threaten him and few if any people pushed back.

He spread one of the all time most infamous homophobic myths, that the SS was actually overrun with gay men and as fAr as I knOw, most of his fanbase never said shit. Many people have known this was a myth for years; but apparently not his die hard fans!! Their main source on queer history or even WWII history in general was this YouTuber apparently. Yay!

"can anybody in the audience honestly say they factcheck every single little factoid they come by?" No of course not. But maybe we should start?? Not Every Little Thing Ever, nobody's perfect, but yeah. Yeah we SHOULD absolutely fact check, if we're taking someone as a Serious historical source, and they don't source from other people properly so it sounds like it's coming from them...the way James did all the time??

No of course it's not realistic to think you can or will catch everything. But yes, people DO have to get into the habit of fact checking more carefully so this doesn't keep happening on such a scale. Or idk, have other people as a source of information?? Maybe youtubers and tiktokers shouldn't be taken as seriously or more seriously than actual historians anymore as a whole?

Yes, he quoted a lot of articles and internet stuff, but also...apparently most of his audience has never actually read the TONS of books and articles on queer analysis or media or on overlooked parts of our history that he quoted, either.

I'm not really mad at you specifically, I hope it doesn't come off like I'm just trying to yell at you or blame you personally. I know you probably meant well. I rewrote this a couple times to sound calmer, but it was difficult, and I'm sorry if I didn't succeed. I'm just so tired and disappointed in so many other people, and it felt, to me, like your response was missing the point I tried to make.

Yes, Somerton did put some thought and effort into this. And also, he's still not an evil genius. I do think he wouldn't have gotten away for so long or been so successful in the first place if 1) he didn't present himself in the right way to seem Serious and Educated (being white and having good equipment and talking like a rather conceited professor is a big part of what that means to a lot of people.) 2) more people took Learn Your History more seriously and put in more work than they do. Both things can be true, and I believe they are.

Yes I know I know are you tired of hearing about this guy yet I should be and yet somehow I'm here

Potentially unpopular opinion: James Somerton wasn't some evil genius, he just paid for nice editing and presented himself the way he knew people wanted to see. Let's face it, more people than would ever admit it will apparently eat up anything, absolutely anything, that you say...if you Seem Academic and Trustworthy (translation: be white and talk in a "serious" tone...being a cis man isn't necessary, but it sure did help). He isn't some hypercompetent cunning Machiavellian master manipulator, he just knew his audience. He's no different than any regular con man. People mistake good presentation, including...moderately good production value, for actual substance all the time. Many con men succeed because they know how to seem credible, whatever that means to their marks.