#when i stopped reading op back in like 2014

[piratespencil]

This is so funny to me. Reducing them down to their simplest attributes. Turning them into symbols.

#this is some bouba kiki shit #also!! i said this in the tags of another post but i've finally gotten to the point in my op reread where i've hit the moment #when i stopped reading op back in like 2014 #that's almost ten years ago holy shit!!!! wild #i know a lot of what happens in later arcs bc i've been keeping up with the op fandom online #but it's weird to be reading chapters that i've never read before... new and fresh op content #(i stopped reading around chapter 750 btw) #(and this is from the sbs at the end of chapter 757) #one piece #zosan #kk talks about stuff #kk talks about op

[booksandabeer]

Stucky, Fandom Longevity, and "Primacy Bias"

There’s this post that's been floating around the past few days about how the Stucky fandom in its heyday produced fic and art masterpieces like they were all collectively possessed by an unprecedented spirit of creative insanity. It’s a good, fun post and I agree with the person who wrote it. (not rb'ing because I didn't want to hijack their post with something that's only tangentially related).

It was indeed a magical time and the creative output in both quantity and quality in the two-year period following the release of CA:TWS is—with perhaps a few exceptions—unmatched by anything that I’ve seen before and since. However, going through the notes on that post, I noticed something that left me a little irritated and quite frankly sad since it is in congruence with, and to a certain extent the confirmation of something that I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

For one thing, there are so many people in the notes expressing sentiments along the lines of “it was such a wonderful time; I wish I could go back; I miss these fics; I want to read these fics again,” etc., etc., you get it. And it feels a little silly pointing this out, but…you can just do that? Almost all of these fics are still right there, waiting for you to be (re)read. Yes, a lot of people left the fandom after The Great Devastation of 2019, but their stories didn’t just disappear. It's not like there is now a big, black hole where the Steve/Bucky tag used to be on AO3. So, if you miss these fics and you want to revisit them—just do it. Chances are the authors will be delighted that people are still finding and enjoying their stories all these years later. And—since apparently this needs saying, too, judging from the notes on that post: A lot of people seem to be very concerned with losing ‘coolness points’ for openly admitting that they still miss the ship and often feel tempted to dip their toes back into the Stucky pool. I don’t know how to tell you this, but if someone tries to shame you for simply enjoying or missing something, they are an asshole. Not to mention that all this is happening on tumble.com—'coolness' doesn't exactly live here. And that is a good thing, to be clear. Fandom is not about being cool. It’s about being as enthusiastic, as silly, as absolutely fucking unhinged about the things you love as you want to be. So, stop caring what other people think and enjoy yourself.

The other thing is that there seems to be a pretty widespread misconception that the Stucky fandom hasn’t produced any good fanworks after 2016.

First, that is patently and demonstrably untrue. There is so much incredibly good fanfiction and fanart still out there. Not as much as back in the day, sure, but it still exists. And more is being posted every day! Even some of the OG Big Names are still around. One of the most beloved Stucky series that started all the way back in 2014 was updated as recently as December of last year. The artist, who I believe the op is referring to as creating ‘baroque’ paintings, posted their latest Stucky art not even two months ago.

Second, I find this “primacy bias” more than just a little insulting to the many hardworking and incredibly talented people who are still putting their blood, sweat, and tears into creating for this community. And it’s one thing if people who have long left the fandom believe or say something like this, but it’s frankly irritating when I see people who are still very much active—and therefore definitely should know better—feed into that same false myth. Yes, it sucks that the Stucky ship isn’t as big as it used to be, but that doesn't mean there isn't any 'fresh talent' to be found anymore. I’m also not saying we shouldn’t still celebrate and recommend older works—I do it all the time! And it sure as hell doesn't mean everyone has to reblog absolutely everything all the time, either. Your blog, your rules.

But maybe we should put a little more focus on the good things, on the creators and the community we have now, especially if we want that community to still exist in another ten years. I mean, imagine you’re a person who’s just gotten into the fandom (because yes, there are indeed still new people discovering Stucky all the time) and one of the first things you’re being told is “eh, nice that you're here, but you’re about 7 years late; the big party is already over.” Does that seem like a fun space to hang out in to you?

So. Let’s all—and I do not exclude myself from this because God knows, I love to complain—spend a little less time mourning the ‘good old days’ that are never coming back anyway, and instead focus our attention on enjoying and appreciating both the incredible treasure chest of an archive we have AND the wealth of high-quality art and fic that is still being created by this wonderful community every single day. With this in mind:

🥳🎊Happy Stucky Week 2023!!! 🎊🥳

*I want to make it very clear that this is a general thing that’s been on my mind lately and that I’m trying to work through here—probably not very coherently. I'm not trying to tell anybody 'how to do fandom' and I’m most definitely not vagueposting about any particular incident, person, or group in this fandom. This isn’t a callout post. It’s an I have a lot of thoughts and feelings about this and I don’t know what else do with them post.

#stucky #stucky fanfic #fandom culture #i once again have no idea what to tag this #fanfiction forever #fanart forever

[phoneybeatlemania]

How did Mary McCartney have cancer? And when did Paul find out?

Hiya anon—apologies about the late response here, hope you still see it though!

I was *very* confused when I first read this, because I thought you meant Pauls daughter Mary and I was like “what?? I haven’t heard about this!”. Eventually realised though that you were talking about the famous Mother Mary. 

According to Beatles bible, Mary McCartney had breast cancer, and on October 31st 1956, just over a month from her 47th birthday, she died of an embolism following an operation to stop the cancer spreading. (x)

However, @delightfullyatomicfest points out in a post that there are some inconsistencies when it comes to the timeline of Marys illness and how Paul and Mike found out. Essentially though, in some biographies you’ll find that Marys cancer went undiagnosed until 1956, while in others you’ll find she was diagnosed in 1948/1950. OP makes some interesting points, and Id highly recommend giving their post a read for further information on this!

In Chris Salewicz’s biography, he writes of Mary being in agonising pain over the summer of 1956, after dropping Paul and Mike off at a scout summer camp: 

It was on this return journey that the nagging ache that Mary had felt in her chest for some weeks suddenly erupted into shrill agony. So far, she and Jim had dismissed the small lump that had appeared on one of her breasts as just one more irritating symptom of the "change of life" that Mary, at forty-six, was beginning to undergo. But on that drive back to Allerton the pain she suddenly experienced was so intense that she had to lie down on the back seat of Olive's small car. With this physical hurt almost matched by an excoriating mental anguish caused by the fact that her worst secret fear was perhaps being realised, Mary went straight to bed as soon as the car pulled up outside their trim, terraced house at 20 Forthlin Road, Liverpool 18. After a few hours, however, the pain subsided, and, with a nurse's distaste for symptoms of hypochondria, Mary stubbornly refused to mention it to any of the doctors she worked alongside. 

But Mary's symptoms would not be ignored, and a few weeks after the boys' return from scout camp, twelve-year-old Michael surprised his mother one afternoon in his parents’ bedroom. Clutching a crucifix and a photograph of a relative who was a Catholic priest, Mary McCartney was quietly sobbing to herself: the pain was returning sporadically, each time with an increased anger.

Within a month, even Mary had run out of excuses for not seeking medical assistance. After an emergency consultation with a specialist, she was promptly admitted to Liverpool's Northern Hospital. Cancer of the breast was diagnosed: a mastectomy was immediately prescribed. Exploratory surgery, however, revealed that the cancer had spread far beyond the area where the symptoms had manifested themselves; it was decided that removal of her breast would accomplish little, if anything. The probings of the surgeon's scalpel, moreover, seemed to have unleashed the worst, final fury of the disease. Mary received the last rites and had rosary beads tied around her wrists. “I would have liked to have seen the boys growing up,” she whispered to Dill, her brother Bill's wife. Within a matter of hours of being admitted to Northern, Mary Patricia McCartney's life had ended. — McCartney: The Biography by Chris Salewicz (pg. 8-9)

By all accounts neither Paul or Mike knew about her cancer, with Paul stating in the anthology: 

My mum dying when I was fourteen was the big shock in my teenage years. She died of cancer, I learnt later. I didn’t know then why she had died. […] When she died, I remember thinking, ‘You asshole, why did you do that? Why did you have to put your mum down?’ I think I’ve just about got over it now, doctor. (x)

Mike also said in a 2014 interview:

“We were the original Fab Four—Mum, Dad, Paul and me,” says Mike. “When she died, I blamed everyone, including God, until I slowly worked out why she died. I think the reason was for us to learn from her death and treasure every second of life.” — Interview with Mike McCartney, 2014 via @maclen100

Furthermore in Lewisohn's Tune In, he writes: 

Mary McCartney had her 47th birthday on 29 September, receiving all the usual felicitations for ‘many happy returns’. She now knew otherwise. Around this time, amid discretion so great her two children knew nothing of it for a long time to come, she went into hospital for a mastectomy. Breast cancer had been diagnosed. Jim knew the score but adhered to Mary’s wish that Paul and Mike not be told: mum was the word. The closest either came to finding anything amiss was when Mike investigated a curious sound coming from his mother’s bedroom. ‘I could just hear this strange noise, it sounded like crying, so I went into her room and there she was doing her rosary beads. I said, “What’s wrong, Mum?” and she said [swiftly], “Nothing, son.” She knew what was happening.’ (pg. 152)

Paul and Mike may have been kept in the dark about her cancer diagnosis, but it does seem they were made aware of her illness given that they visited her in hospital shortly before she passed: 

Despite instructions to rest, the day before she went into hospital she cleaned the house and washed and pressed her sons’ clothes. She wanted, she told her sister, to leave everything ready, “in case I don’t come back”.

The following day Paul and Michael went to see their mother after the operation. There was blood on the white sheets. “It was terrible,” Paul would remember. — Ray Connolly, 2013

"So when she got ill, she just got ill. And when she went to hospital, she was just in hospital for a short while. And it was all not spoken about it. And it wasn't until much later that I learned that she had, in fact, died of breast cancer. — Paul McCartney, NPR interview, 2001

Following their mothers death, they were sent to live with their aunt and uncle. In Salewicz biography, one of Pauls school teachers recalls see’s seeing him on the day of her passing:

It was Durband, who was Paul's form master for the three years leading up to his taking his O level GCEs, who in 1956 sent a letter around to the other teachers, suggesting tolerance of any sense of strangeness emanating from Paul McCartney. “He'd had a bad break, his mother had died. He did go through a bit of a rough patch then. I think it shattered him a lot; maybe it made him turn to other things, like practicing his guitar and getting away from the school environment, which was very academic. But his mother's death certainly didn't have the effect of making him become noticeably difficult. I vividly remember on the day it happened him coming into the class, in room thirty-two, and going to his desk, which always used to be under a window. He was still very nice, very polite, and always softly spoken…” (pg. 33-34)

Unfortunately, I haven’t come across any sources stating how either Paul or Mike found out about their mothers cancer—so I haven’t got an answer for that.

It does however seem that Paul learnt of her cancer diagnosis sometime in the years 1956 or 1957, given that Julia Lennon, Johns mother, knew of it: 

Our kitchen was increasingly a practise arena for the small clubs and the talent contests that they were entering. When Mummy learned that Paul’s mother had died of breast cancer the previous year, she exhorted John to bring Paul home to eat. ‘That poor boy. He’s lost his mother.’ — Imagine This: Growing Up with My Brother John Lennon (p. 162)

Perhaps Paul ended up just sort of hearing it through the grapevine? Im not sure—but I hope this post was of some help anyway! And if anyone wants to add to it, please feel free to. 

#mary mccartney #paul mccartney #beatles #pauls grief #asks #anon #quotes #sources #mike mccartney #julia baird

[compo67]

The Difference 8 Years Makes: Photo Op Chapter 1 Then and Now

I started writing Photo Op in October 2013, literally while I was at Chicon. (I took my netbook there like a nerd.) I was waiting for the J2 panel when the idea hit and wow, 300k later, this verse is massive.

I'm doing a reread so I can map things out for Photo Op 4. So then I can keep up with continuity. But I'm also editing a little (okay, maybe more than a little). I just want to show y'all the difference 8 years makes in writing.

Thank you all, for reading this verse, for every comment, for all the support throughout the years. I would not have grown as a writer without y'all. <3

Chapter 1: (from a 2014 copy, ~400 words)

He spent two weeks worrying.

Numerous books were shelved incorrectly because he kept rephrasing what he would say and how.

All of his coworkers knew he was doomed to be the guy who threw up all over themselves in the presence of a celebrity. What was worse was that he actually agreed with them; he packed two changes of clothes just in case.

One two hour train ride and three buses after and he was finally standing in front of the convention center.

It was far larger than City Hall and he was pretty sure he could fit five of any average home inside one corner of the center. Swept along with the crowds of people, he managed to make his way to the hotel that connected with the center, check-in, and find his room. He had arrived a day early just to be safe.

Presently, in the photo-op line, he is shaking.

Okay, so he makes eight dollars and fifty cents an hour working at Mayhue’s, but it’s enough to get by on for what he needs, and it is definitely paying for this photo-op.

When he sees the outfit Jensen is wearing, Jared stumbles over his own feet as the line inches forward. Good Lord, he thinks, chewing on his bottom lip, is this man even human?

Five people away he thinks his heart might be permanently damaged.

Four people away he starts rehearsing what he will say—in his mind, of course.

Three people away he can’t stop fidgeting.

Two people away he takes off his hoodie and wraps it around his waist. It’s hot in the tiny room and there are at least three hundred people in here.

One person away and he puts his on his hoodie again because dammit there must be a vent or something.

Stepping up towards Jensen, he doesn’t trip.

He just feels his smile widen to full capacity.

It happens so quickly that Jared can’t believe any of it when he’s outside, holding the printed out copy of his photo-op.

Tucking the photo away, as if it were the most sacred religious text, he double checks to make sure he has everything before taking a taxi to the nearest train. Sliding his hand in his left pocket—he swears he put three dollars before losing it a couple of days ago.

What he finds is definitely not a dollar.

It’s a simple business card that says J. Ackles on the front.

On the back is a handwritten phone number.

Jared misses his train ride home.

--

Chapter One (The Great 2022 Edit, ~1300 words)

For the past two weeks, Jared has worried about attending his first-ever fan convention.

He incorrectly shelved an indeterminate amount of books while working the aisles at Mayhue's Bookstore because of this convention. His body may have been at work, but his mind certainly wasn't. He kept rephrasing exactly what he would say during his photo op with the headlining celebrity, Jensen Ackles.

Every one of Jared's coworkers predicted he would lose his nerve by backing out or throwing up.

He still doesn't necessarily disagree with them, because anxiety got the best of him--he packed two changes of clothes just in case. Jared enjoys preparing for the worst... sometimes at the expense of enjoying the moment. But this is his (belated) high school graduation and eighteenth birthday present, so he's determined to take every possible precaution. He would have chartered a private jet from Smithville--the sleepiest town in Texas--to Dallas, except for the fact that he makes only slightly above minimum wage. In any case, he prefers the six hour ride on the Amtrak, as it provides him with ample people watching, time to read, and more legroom than the Greyhound option.

On the Texas Eagle, Jared reworks his planned remarks and finally lands on the perfect words to say as he steps up for his photo op. He writes them down, over and over, so as to commit them to memory. When the train arrives in Dallas, he follows his carefully planned travel itinerary and finds the right bus. The last leg of his journey, the bus takes fifteen minutes and deposits him smack dab in front of the convention center.

Slightly intimidating in its size--far larger than any public space he's ever been to--he came prepared to tackle the convention center and its throngs of people. He manages to make his way to the hotel, check in, and find his room without too much trouble. Thankfully, he arrives at the con a day before his photo op, and takes the opportunity to decompress from the trip, check in with his mother, text his friends, and shower. Time passes all too quickly, cooped up in his modest hotel room, where he fusses over the selection of clothes he packed until the last minute. His friends helped him put together the few outfits that fit in his carry-on bag. On Saturday morning, he wakes up early and sits through a few fan panels, then takes a stroll through merchandise alley. With a little bit of spending money his momma gave him before he left, he buys two prints and a t-shirt. Surrounded by the enthusiasm of thousands of people, Jared walks with a bounce in his step. He returns to his room with revitalized energy--and his ever-constant state of anxiety.

In the bathroom mirror, Jared attempts to look at himself in the most objective way possible. He's tall, that's for sure, and his momma figures he'll top out somewhere around six foot four. That's three inches to go. What will the world look like from that perspective? He makes a wish that as he grows taller, he'll fill out, because one of the most fitting words to describe himself is "lanky."

He runs a finger down his nose, then pokes the dimple that frames his mouth. Tiny moles dot his face, instead of the freckles he so desired in grade school. It seemed like all the cool kids had freckles. He rolls his eyes at his assessment of self, then hopes his chin-length, wavy-at-the-ends, cinnamon brown hair looks somewhat decent--not floppy or messy. It's fine. He is fine. Everything will be fine.

However, for all of his planning, worrying, and overthinking, he can't help sweating bullets as he joins the long, winding photo op line in the convention center's lower level. He joins the line just as it snakes past a pop-up bar, and helps a fellow convention attendee when she spills her drink and stains her carefully crafted cosplay. They each miss the moment when bodyguards in suits walk past, collectively forming a wall around Jensen and leading him to the photo op room. The entire line stays on its best behavior, but lets out a loud cheer.

Back in line, Jared rocks back and forth on his feet. He's here. This is it. In about thirty minutes, all of his hard work at the store will pay off. He doesn't make much at Mayhue's--it's just enough to help his momma with expenses--but he worked hard to save up and pay half of the cost for this experience. He understands the value of a dollar earned and the meaning of a dollar spent. It's how his momma raised him.

If only she had also taught him how to stay calm in front of the movie star, TV star, celebrity, model, breathtakingly handsome human being known as Jensen Ackles.

Don't throw up. Don't throw up.

The line inches forward at a steady pace and leads everyone into a large conference room. Handlers instruct people to please place any purses or backpacks on the large table in the middle of the room, then shout out further instructions. One or two people maximum per photograph, unless they purchased an additional ticket. No inappropriate or sexually suggestive poses, signs, or props. Keep the line moving.

Taller than most people, Jared gets an early glimpse of Jensen. Oh, fuck. He catches a glimpse of Jensen's outfit--black, fitted jeans and a lightweight sweater the color of smoke from a controlled fire. Perfect. Meanwhile, Jared stumbles over his own feet as the line inches forward. Good Lord, he thinks, chewing on his bottom lip, how is this man even human?

Five people away--Jared's heart thumps so hard against his chest that it might suffer permanent damage.

Four people away--he starts mentally rehearsing what he will say.

Three people away--he can’t stop fidgeting.

Two people away--he takes off his protective hoodie and wraps it around his waist. It’s hot in this tiny room and there are at least three hundred people crammed into the conference room for the same purpose.

One person away--he holds his hoodie close to his chest as a security blanket.

The handler who directs to move forward offers to hold his hoodie. Jared accepts and hands it over. This is it.

Jared steps towards Jensen, and he doesn’t trip. That's the first win. His smile widens to full capacity. That's the second win. Jensen slings his arm across Jared's shoulders, the flash goes off, and it's done. He did it. He made it all the way through without making a fool of himself or breaking down. That's the third and best win. He can hardly believe any of it when he’s outside the photo op room, holding his hoodie and a ticket with details on where to pick up the printed out copy of his photo-op in an hour.

That. Was. Amazing.

He pulls on his hoodie, and tucks the ticket--the most sacred item ever--into the front pouch. After a deep breath, he double checks he has everything before heading up to his room for the rest of the afternoon. He promised his mother he would not wander around Dallas after sunset. Even if he wanted to, he'd only be teasing himself in the process. He has enough money left to order room service for the night and that's it. He'll be back on the Texas Eagle tomorrow at seven in the morning. On his way back to his room, he checks the back pocket of his jeans to make sure he has a tip to give whoever delivers his food. What he finds is definitely not cash.

It’s a simple business card, J. Ackles printed on the front.

On the back, there's a neatly written phone number--Jensen Ackles' personal cell phone number.

Jared grapples with the thought that tomorrow, he may miss his train ride home.

#compo67 #authorial rambles #they met at the photo op booth #photo op verse #j2 #spn rps #jared/jensen

[agentmanatee]

I read an excellent post interpretting Steve's decision to stay with Peggy in the past as in the movies' timeline (an interpretation shared by the writers). I can't remember who wrote and can't find it to like to it. It especially does a wonderful job laying out why he would choose to stay at Peggy's side and not save Bucky sooner.

More than anything the post illustrates how two people can get completely different experiences from the same movies. I personally am annoyed by the OP declaring that you didn't pay attention to the movies if you don't see Steve and the timeline the same way. As I said we don't experience movies the same way. We see the characters with different eyes and our experiences shape how we see them.

So say I accept that Steve chooses not to save Bucky from his fate as the Winter Soldier. If Steve chooses to keep the timeline intact, Bucky is not the only person he would abandon to suffer. He just stays at Peggy's side knowing Hydra is infiltrating Shield? Everything Peggy stands for and has built is for fighting what Hydra stood for. How can he stand by as her enemies corrupt her legacy? How would she feel if she knew? By staying silent, Steve is betraying Peggy. That does not sit with me

And I believe it would not fit well with Steve. Not only would that be betraying Peggy; it would leave Hydra's countless victims to horrible fates, be they torture, brainwashing, or death. I don't see how Steve could let so much suffering happen when he could stop it. I myself would never be able to have that on my conscience (and if you could stop suffering bit chose not to, it would be on your conscience). Which goes back to my point that we all experience these movies differently as we live different lives. While for some thi is a question of Peggy or Bucky, for some of us it's so much bigger than them and even what they represent (Faith or loyalty).

As for the rules of time travel established in the film, Steve would still live in a world with brilliant minds like Princess Shuri, Tony Stark, Bride Banner, and more in an alternate timeline. If they could find a way around time travel, who's to say they can't find a way around dimensional hopping (especially if it's a one way trip). They established that new timeline's are possible in Endgame when they had Loki escape with the tesseract and Thanos follow the Avengers from 2014 and subsequently be snapped out of existence. I suspect Loki's spin-off will find it's way to the prime MCU timeline and we know Dr Strange's sequel will center on the multiverse, so whether or not he can come from a different timeline to give Sam the shield is a moot point.

#everyone's thoughts and interpretations are valid #someone not agreeing with your interpretation does not mean they weren't watching #steve rogers #captain america #peggy carter #avengers endgame

[erhiem]

From left: Photo by Gi Naps/Getty Images; Photo by Rose Hartman/Archive Photos/Getty Images; Photo by Victor Virgil/Gamma-Rafo via Getty Images

Today, the House of Jean Paul Gaultier is relaunching its ready-to-wear line after a hiatus of six years. It comes 16 months after fashion’s “Maestro of Mehmed”, as journalist Georgina Howell dubbed her in the early ’90s, took her final bow as the brand’s designer, implying that this iteration of its namesake. will not be designed. Instead, the reins are taken over by a dedicated team from their atelier, with help crafted from the rotating doors of some of the most independent designers working today – Palomo Spain, Ottolinger, Nix Lecourt Mansion, Alan Crosetti and Marvin M’Tumo .

Since starting his own label in 1976, Jean Paul has been instrumental in turning underwear into acceptable outerwear, making sailor fashion sexy and, more generally, paving the way for designers to experiment with diverse and unexpected castings on the runway. have been responsible for. He also dedicated an entire collection – AW97 – to the fight against racism. The collection, titled ‘Fight Racism’, featured graphic prints of young anti-fascists with slogans printed on their chests.

In fact, with such a rich history behind it, and vintage JPGs becoming increasingly collectible since the recent renaissance—partly stemming from the Kardashians’ love of all things net—more thanks to the label’s revival. Couldn’t be the right time- the line to wear from now. Although it is a well-known fact that Jean Paul himself decided to step back from the category in 2014 after a somewhat tumultuous feud with Florence Tetier (graphic designer and co-founder). November MagazineNow serving as the brand’s creative and brand director, Ghar is poised to enter the field again. in an interview with WWDJPG’s general manager, Antón Gégy, described the relaunch as an opportunity to “celebrate Jean Paul Gaultier, its values, its archives and its history”. And what better way to raise the glass to the core of fashion? Horrible Instead look at seven of the most show-stopping moments from its most iconic era, the ’90s. Long live Gaultier!

Photo by Gie Knaeps/Getty Images

Madonna’s Conical Corset from the Blonde Ambition Tour, 1990

Back in 1989, when Jean-Paul Gaultier was told by an assistant that Madonna had told the audience, she was convinced that he was playing a trick with her. They knew how obsessed he was with her, just could not do be true But she soon found herself on the phone to the original queen of pop, making a match in ’90s fashion heaven. Naturally, Madonna already knew what she wanted: to create something for her that surrounded Jean Paul’s signature masculine-feminine crossover. Inspired by his love of the late ‘queen of Paris punk’ Edwij Belmore, Jean Paul conceived a pinstripe suit – the top of ’80s manhood – and a corset with the now famous conical bra, which he designed six years ago on AW84 had started for. /85.

Photo by Victor Virgil/Gamma-Rafo via Getty Images

Eva Herzigova’s cut-out dress, 1992

Thought harnesses were a new thing on the runway? Wrong! After all, you’re not known as a fashionista Horrible Without a sprinkling of kinks here and there, as this look proves well. Presented on JPG’s AW92 runway, this dress, so slick in its fit that clothes can even put on Eva’s body, exemplifies the powerful-yet-playful take on sexuality that serves as a throughline throughout the French designer’s body of work. runs as. Styled with bicep-clad opera gloves and proudly crafting the Czech-Italian supermodel’s bust, there’s a distinctive dome-y tone at play here, though no compromise on the beauty of the silhouette or the quality of the make. It speaks to an ideological throughline that runs through Jean Paul’s work – that no matter who a woman is or wants to be, she always has the right to be chic!

Photo by Pierre Guillaud/AFP via Getty Images

Houndstooth bodysuit inspired by Leigh Bowery, 1991

In an interview with iD in 2018, Jean Paul declared his love for the “London Way”, which means “just creating your own style, your own creativity and being free to do what you want to do”. When he took the idea back to Paris, it wasn’t very popular, but that didn’t stop him from creating his own trademark approach to design. He spent his youth in the 80s at famous London nightclubs such as Blitz and Heaven, where he met performance artist Leigh Bowery. In a nod to Bowery’s influence on fashion, Jean Paul sent down his interpretation of the Leigh Bowery Houndstooth bodysuit—which would later inspire Alexander McQueen for AW09 and Gareth Pugh for SS07.

Photo by Pierre Guillaud/AFP via Getty Images

‘Chic Rabbi’ Collection, 1993

For AW93/94, Jean Paul presented the ‘Chic Rabbi’ collection, inspired by the traditional dress of Hasidic Jews. Models in streamels and black suits danced to the sounds of a violinist who played live on the catwalk. The usual circle of supermodels was there, but Jean Paul also decided to cast someone who visually embodied the cultural context: a man with a big beard. During the ’80s and ’90s, designers were known for their casting choices, pioneering their diversity. “I’m fascinated by strong personalities, people who capture my imagination because they walk well down the street,” Gaultier explained in a 2014 interview. “Showing just one type of girl is a flaw,” he adds, “something I’ve always fought with. One kind of beauty – no. If I show a bigger girl, I’ll always show a younger girl.” will show.” It is now legend that Gaultier once posted an advertisement in a French daily newspaper release Looking for “atypical” models, saying that “facial distortions should not be avoided in application”.

Photo by Arnal/Garcia/Gama-Rafo via Getty Images

Mesh Tattoo Top, 1993

Back in 1993, the trend Declared this prestigious collection as “a startling vision of cross-cultural harmony”. While we’d be inclined to cringe at the somewhat reasonable look now that Jean Paul drove down the runway for the SS94 (which can actually be read as another nod to Leigh Bowery) it certainly Historical perspective. It also marked the debut of Jean Paul’s iconic mesh tops, which were inspired by a tattoo convention he once found himself spinning around – today, they are some of his most sought-after designs. The collection also includes heavy notes of punk, grunge, and 18th century men’s frock coats made in Jodhpur and denim in the typical JPG style. How did he ever find the place for all this?!

Photo by Pierre Vuthe/Sigma/Sigma via Getty Images

Björk!, 1994

Jean Paul’s celebrity friends don’t start and end with Madonna. A year after Björk’s properly titled debut solo album, First entry, Taking the music and fashion worlds by storm, she appeared on the designer’s AW94/95 show, about a magical train that stopped in a small village somewhere high in some mountains. And what, duh?! As you’d expect from JPG, the show was a mish-mash this time in terms of different styles of traditional arctic costume. The models trotted down the snow-covered runway (which almost tripped Kate Moss), decked out in a hell of a lot of fur, silk, wool, and leather.

Photo by Pierre Verdi / AFP via Getty Images

Op-Art Inspired Catsuit, 1995

Two women riding a motorcycle hit them. One of them descends and climbs onto a loft at a DJ booth. Jean Paul’s AW95 ‘Mad Max’ Show Has Started. As he was in the middle of designing the costumes for Luc Besson’s famous film fifth element In which Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich fight a mysterious cosmic force, they had science-fiction in mind, which means it was technology and cyber-heavy. The bodysuit inspired by Viktor Vasarelli’s op-art paintings became the show’s most memorable aspect—now made super collectible by Kim K and Cardi B and partly responsible for the JPG-madness we’re seeing on Depop these days. Also on the show was Carmen Dell’Orefice, who walked with a live falcon on her arm and sported ornate football armor that lit up like a circuit board. Really prestigious.

Photo by Victor Virgil/Gamma-Rafo via Getty Images

trompe l’oeil torso top, 1995

The next season, Jean Paul took his quest for sci-fi polka dots further, this time translating it into menswear. This time, however, he brought his knack for trompe l’oeil print placement to the table—skills he had previously flexed in the aforementioned Les Tautouzes, and even as early as 1992, when he sculpted the enviable Presented Printed Mesh Top with Toros. The look sported here by Tanel Bedrossiantz is perhaps a little more figurative in its approach, though no less direct is its infrared-style suggestion of what might lie beneath the longtime house muse’s button-down shirt.

Photo by Danielle Simon/Gamma-Rafo via Getty Images

JPG Set Sale, 1998

In a promo video for JPG’s new ready-to-wear line, Bella Hadid is wearing a big red ship on her head. In case you didn’t already know, it debuted at the Haute Couture SS98 show, where it takes us back to the Age of Enlightenment. It was a time of scientific progress, the advent of modern capitalism and of course colonialism. The ‘explorers’ were sailing around the world from Europe, ‘discovering’ new lands for them – a ship serving as a nod to the continent’s shameful past. Some say, however, that it was during the Enlightenment that the fashion we know today – as a form of self-expression that can be accessed by the public – first began to emerge, making the historical period a fashion show. became an ideal subject. .

Photo by Rose Hartman / Archive Photos / Getty Images

Man Himself!, 1992

Sure enough, to write a list of Jean Paul Gaultier’s most iconic looks from his most iconic decade, and not for the man himself. Indeed, as Florence Tetier spoke to her before the label’s launch, “Everybody knows who she is!” whether it’s his striped Whether paired with a pleated black skirt or, as seen here, a denim vest and a punkish tartan kilt, JPG’s personal style has made her one of the most instantly recognizable designers of our time. Plus, there’s a direct connection between what she wore and what we then saw on the runway. While we may have never seen a proper, French Navy-standard Sailor From the designer, “he’s done a lot of stripes and nautical-inspired pieces,” notes Florence. “It’s really nice to see the link between the way he dresses and the way he designs.” we love you, Jean Paul! Follow iD on Instagram and TikTok for more fashion.

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The post Jean Paul Gaultier’s most iconic 90s moments appeared first on Spicy Celebrity News.

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[clairvoyantsam]

When dreams come true ft Jared Padalecki - 4th year anniversary

Rome, May 19th 2016 ... The day the ultimate dream came true! Some of you may remember I bumpted into Jared (or in fact, JARED bumpted into ME) while out and about in Rome that day, a few of my friends know all the details too, but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned here exactly how and under what impossible circumstances this happened. So ... story time! (& stuff about jib5,6,7)

                                               BACKGROUND

This wasn’t the first time I met Jared, I had met him before at JIBCon5 in 2014, so this was my second time (I was supposed to see him at JIBCon6 in 2015 too which I attended as well but you guys know what happened that year). 

He was lovely that first time, I told him it was my first Supernatural convention and he gave me a warm welcome, made the entire experience so wonderful for me, during the photo ops, the autograph session (where I gave him a scrapbook with messages from fans I had been in contact with) and the panel question I asked him (I completed one of his sentences which was actually a Sam Winchester quote from SPN and it made both of us and the entire audience laugh xD - I have a photo of me somewhere from that moment and I haven’t seen myself smile so widely ever!). Anyway, like I said, the first convention was fantastic, a beautiful and most memorable experience (despite the fact that Jared had a misfortune that time too since he broke his arm and missed one of his panels as a consequence).

The second convention while it had its moments, it sat (and still sits to be honest) heavy in my heart because I was constantly worried about Jared’s wellbeing and everyone including me was heartbroken. The rest of the cast did everything they could to keep us all entertained, they truly did but there was a dark cloud over our heads that couldn’t be ignored. The first thing we talked about with Jensen at his meet and greet (because of  Jared’s absence, I was given the opportunity to be in that M&G, sitting right across from him and Robert Singer who was present at the con as well). Jensen was genuinely worried, he surely put on a brave face but whenever Jared was mentioned, he’d get emotional. While I asked show-related questions at the M&G, I wasn’t sure what to ask Jensen or tell him when I got his autograph and then I thought of the simplest thing: “So, I may be really sad about the empty spot next to you (Jared’s spot on the poster Jensen was signing for me) but I wanted to tell you that I truly appreciate the fact that you’re such a supportive and caring friend towards Jared. Everyone deserves a friend like you to have their back.” Then he took my hand, shook it, looked me right in the eye, put a hand on his heart and told me a sincere “Thank You”. Frankly, I loved Jensen even more at JIB6, he showed both a brave and vulnerable side and he tried so hard to give everyone a great time. My best photos with him are from that con for sure!

So, you see, I HAD to try and give my luck a third chance to live the perfect experience. I wanted to live it all, photo ops, autographs, M&G, panels but I also had a secret wish: to be one of those fans who accidentally meet their fav randomly in the city (NO stalking because that’s just fucked up, only by chance). I always saw posts of lucky people who got to meet him outside of conventions. He’s not one of those snob celebs, you see. He’ll always smile at you and talk to you and get pictures with you. So, I dreamt about it the entire year before JIB7. @darlingjared and I would talk and joke about it all the time, praying that our stars will listen and make a surprise meeting possible. Of course, deep down we know the chances were extremely low. Rome is a HUGE city with hundreds of places of interest. He could be anywhere, on the opposite site of where we’d be. 

The day finally arrived, and we got to Rome (Thursday, May 19th 2016). Soon after I arrived at the Hilton hotel, I got to my room to get some rest after the flight. Not much later, I got a text saying Jared was at the hotel!!!! (no idea why??? the convention was starting the next day and he wasn’t to appear until the day after that). Before I could get dressed to go check, he was gone but I heard he was really sweet and greeted everyone who said hi to him. 

In the afternoon, after I met with my roommate and @darlingjared ,we took the Hilton bus that took us downtown; it left us near the Victor Emmanuel II monument.  Naturally, we went for walks around the city. We had a bite to eat and then got lost in a street trying to find our way to the Trevi fountain, so we asked around and managed to get to our destination. We spent a few minutes there, taking photos and then continued our way, meaning to get to the Spanish steps. While we were heading there, rain started pouring, so we took shelter for a few minutes until it stopped. We thought, damn, we will never meet him during this weather. When it stopped, we did some shopping at a supermarket and since the time had passed and we had to grab our ride back to the hotel since the Hilton bus had a specific route schedule, we said let’s just pass the Spanish steps quickly, go down via Condotti and head back. (I have to mention here that my BEST DECISION EVER was to wear the Always Keep Fighting T-shirt for this walk). At this point, we were certain we wouldn’t meet him, so we basically forgot about it and just started chatting with each other and laughing. I mean, we walked around many places, we got lost, we got stuck in the rain. What were the odds??? So, we’re laughing at our own jokes and for some reason we had our attention focused at the right side of the street. I turn my head straight at the PERFECT time, seeing that beautiful, smiling giant, coming my way through the crowd and adressing me before I had the time to react:

Jared: “Hey, I love your shirt!” 

I fucking froze. Can you imagine?????? Not only did we eventually meet him but HE came to us FIRST to talk!!!!! We didn’t have to notice him and shyly go talk to him, wondering if we’re disturbing him, asking for pictures. He casually just approached us because he wanted to, because he’s kind and simple like that. I was so shocked, mouth agape, that he just went in for a hug to bring me back to reality!!! Now, name me another actor, another celebrity who will stop on his own to talk to you and hug you, I DARE YOU TO FIND ONE!!! He’s pure and special like that. He hugged each of us (gosh, he smelled like Heaven and looked so good in that sexy coat he wore, his hair kinda wet from the rain), asked us how we’re doing and then we asked if it would be ok to take some pictures with us. He said “sure!” and we took our phones out. Mine was brand new and I hadn’t even taken a picture with it, so, basically Jared blessed it first xD My hand was shaking so bad that I couldn’t take the picture, so, he put his hand on mine to steady it and took the selfie. He took pics with all of us, we thanked him and then he told us to have a good time and that he’d see us again at the convention. Needless to say when he left, we started losing it because we couldn’t believe what had just happened!!! It was out of this world. To this day, as I’m writing this, I still can’t believe it. We wanted something so SO much, that the universe made it happen. It’s one of those times that you know the stars aligned so that something you desired with all your heart could come true!

The entire convention was absolutely phenomenal. Jared remembered my face throughout the weekend, I asked him interesting questions during his panels and the one he shared with Jensen for which he later thanked me when I saw him at the photo ops (he particularly liked my question adressed to him and Jensen about the proudest they’ve felt about themselves in real life and about their characters on Supernatural and the other one concerning what Sam and Jared would tell each other if they met in real life which he found great because he said he had never been asked that before.) The M&G with him was a blast, he sat with us longer than what was expected, got to ask him two questions there (I have another detailed post with everything that was said in the M&G), he was super chill and eager to answer everything we wanted to know. When I got his autograph, I told him everything he means to me, thanked him for inspiring me to be a better version of myself, straight out told him I love him and he was so kind and gentle and shook my hand and told me he loved me back (also gave him a custom made chocolate I ordered particularly for him with #AKF as a theme). “I love you, always keeping fighting Jared, never forget.” I was on the verge of tears for multiple reasons but I had to say that to him. I was not in a good place back then and Jared was a beacon of light, of hope that kept me going. At our last photo op together, I asked him to hug me “like there’s no tomorrow” and he held me so tight in his arms, I couldn’t breathe but I didn’t care. I didn’t know what he looked like when he hugged me but getting out of the photo op room, the girl who was behind me stopped me in the hallway and said: “Omg, he was so sweet with you! Loved what he did with his eyes. Your photo will look beautiful”. I was confused because I was looking at the camera when the picture was taken, so I had to wait for my photo op to get printed to see what she was talking about. My heart melted when I saw this:

I mean, look at that SOFT face. He’s so sweet, you can FEEL his kindness radiating by reading his expression. Some people may think nothing of this but it meant the world to me back then. It was as if he was telling me “things will get better, you can do this” without using words.

When Jared hugs, he does it with everything he has, like he’s said before, hugging is showing you care about someone and damn, he does. He’s an actor but he doesn’t pretend during these moments, I can assure you. He’s a person who feels things deeply, he’s someone who understands what it’s like to struggle with your personal demons and that’s why I’ve always related to him the most. He has a heart of gold and personally, I’ll have his back always. He didn’t have to be so kind to me but he was and I will never forget that.

So this is my story. This post was probably too long but I had to share these thoughts. 

Jared, I know you don’t remember me but if you ever see this, thank you for being you, don’t ever change. I love you, man. #AKF

~Elena

#Jared Padalecki #jibcon #jibcon7 #jibcon5 #jibcon6 #long post #I love him to the moon and back #forever grateful #you've changed my world

[riskeith]

happy weekend dearest!

other than the snow angels, i haven’t done much.,, just been cozying it up with coffee and blankets at home hehe. 30 degrees... amazing. ideal feeling like a rotisserie chicken weather. 😌 bc of global warming we’ve been having some great summers these past few years. it even gets to 30 degrees as well which was unheard of tbh.

you’re so cute for caring ilysm <3 and aaa! a walk! do you have any perticular place you enjoy walking to or does the winds guide you, hehe? EDITING A FIC... 👀 i’m looking respectfully...... 👀 wait did the event open up for you already? i tried to play it earlier today but it wasn’t there yet... the lost riches one right?

bennett is best boy i still can’t believe it either!!! he’s seriously the cutest he just makes me so happy. when i need to explore and run around i always run with him bc i love his lines so much. what a bebie. you should go for it there are still some days left! + he’s a four star so he’s easier to get. GUOBA IS SO FUNNY he’s just.... a little fucking bear i can’t stop laughing... tbh the little creatures like amber’s bunny too just 😭 have you seen those yt clips of them dancing? obsession..

i need to ask you this bc when i found out i lost my mind: did you know that the japanese va for razor is also the va for tsukishima (haikyuu) and shigaraki (bnha)???? insane!!! it made me consider switch to japanese dub tbh.. which dub do you use?

maybe i’ll send you a little part and you can read or something shdkdhskdjdjf help 😳 it’s not edited or anything so it might take a while plus i’m super into writing bnha these days so.... but hey if You have any prompts you want to read maybe i’ll write a drabble for you. i don’t mind at all! <33333 ask for anything!!

(FIC-COLLAB!!:!/$:)!:&//&/!$:’sidnd HELP.... omg what kind of fic would we write....?)

exactly! i think when you realize that there’s nothing keeping you there anymore that brings you joy, that’s when you need to step back. social media is a bit fucked up that way imo. like you want to be there to be informed and to have fun but it takes so much.. hm. also you always tell me this but i wanna tell you to that YOU are the reason i enjoy social media these days so.. thank you <3

you relate to bakugou and lance? that’s super hot of you.. 🥵 my wifey is a self assured, super intense and talented person.. couldn’t ask for better tbh. i think out of them both i’m pretty much like todoroki.. we’re super similar in so many ways now that i think about it shsjdhdhdj.. how about we just stay c.r and m.a our dynamic is perfect as is LMAO

DOUBLE VENTI! I’D LOOOOVE THAT FOR US. bow users are difficult indeed but venti is one of the easier bow users it feels like... idk watching others game play he doesn’t have as much pushback as say amber for example. 12K PRIMOGEMS..... babe you’re getting your xiao!!!!!! how long have you been saving? also i seriously don’t mind if it comes down to it hakshddkhd i can be your genshin sugar mommy... ;) imagine a c6 venti though that seems insane. literal insanity.

SPEAKING OF SHIPPING.... THE POST YOU POSTED... THEY STOLE OUR IDEA AND IT LOOKS SO CUTE AND ITS CHONGYUN AND XINGYUN WHICH IS EVEN BETTER... THEY LOOK SOOOOO CUTE TOGETHER I’M OBSESSEDDDDD!!!! <3333 dude idk how but we are doing that co-op date somehow i’m super inspired i want that for us so badly... (also i need to say smth... my love language is when people say ‘i thought of you when i...’ and the fact that you said that just hsjdfhjdjdksk shit)

actually you’re right.. the only way we’d get a sequel is if they did something with the mfe fighters.. like kinkade james veronica nadia and ina. idk how attractive that would be tho...

i’m a lady, my dearest *dips* no but my pronouns are she/her!! sorry i didn’t mention it before i thought i made it clear shsjsjdkdj. ty for asking tho ♥️ super sweet!

AAA!!!!!!!!!! EEE!! i’m super super excited. if it’s like,, too public and you don’t just wanna post it i might think about exposing myself or smth... if that would make you more comfy. no matter what you do i’m just gonna be here buzzing, *hinata voice* one more one more one more.

oh!! i listen to everything but kpop sjdjdkdhdk i did have a semi-phase around like 2014-19 ish but dropped it pretty hard . now i have no clue what goes on there anymore i mostly enjoy rnb indie n rap/hip.. my gay ass was considering making a little playlist or smth for u but i want to make it with songs You’d like so i might pull up my old kpop faves hehe..

guess chilling is out of the question then, heh. hope you slept well!! i’m gonna try to wake up earlier so we’ll have a chance to send more messages during the weekend perhaps... mwah!!

YOURS, m.a. <3

happy weekend!!!! hope you can ease up a bit since there’s no school hehe

“feeling like a rotisserie chicken weather” FHSKFHKSDF yes!! but it honestly sucks when it gets any hotter bc we don’t have central cooling in our house so rip... and my laptop fan goes crazy ahaha. 30 degrees being unheard of.. can’t relate! fsdfjs. have you guys had to adjust to those changing temperatures? rip climate change tho :’(

<333 i do!! i usually walk to the local park and then the streets around that.. omg speaking of... do you play pokemon go? DHAFKHSDKFHSKDFHKSDH i got back into it again recently ahaha. it’s for a free bakudeku zine!! hehehe it’s out at the end of jan so 👀

i just checked and the event is open !!!!!!!!! good luck hehe !

yup lost riches!! and the event opens at 4am server time, so since i’m in asia i get it earlier hehe which colour seelie are you gonna go for tho omg i was debating it with my friend last night.. i’m gonna pick gold!!

baby bennett!! that’s true but i can’t risk getting a 5 star otherwise my pity will reset for xiao fhdskfhskjfhkjshkfj next time :(((( but albedo /is/ super pretty and i see a lot of people saying they like him... NO !!! xiao only >:( no omg i don’t think i’ve seen those clips ? is it mmd where they like dance to other songs and stuff ahah

yes i did!!!! and the VA for diluc is giorno from jjba and kuroko from knb!! omg wait and venti’s VA is hinata did you know that? fun fact i guessed it was him when i first heard his voice LOL that’s my secret talent 😩 and i use japanese dub!! i’ve considered using chinese too bc i can understand it but i just like the japanese voice actors tbh and also i can excuse it as “listening practice” AHAH

yes pls!! sending something bnha is fine too, or legit anything else lmao i’m open arms over here~~ 🤗👐 and ooft... it’s hard thinking of prompts that’s why i always ask others HSDKFJHSDKFHSD but i’ll let you know if i think of something!!!

(no clue!!!! but we could each write from a character’s POV so hopefully it’s more consistent 🤪🤪 idk i have no clue how fic collabs work AHAHA)

yeahhh one of my mutuals said “social media is a curse” and honestly hard agree.. we’re all kinda trapped in a way LMAO. and no pls don’t thank me.. you’re the one who found me first 😩💘 ily..

FSDHKJFS pls you’re making me blush come on 😳😳 but yes i love that for us... m.a. x c.r. the only valid ship 😩

woooo!!!! yeah you’re probably right, like given the fact he’s a 5 star his mechanics are probably different.. i know that diluc’s charged attack is different to the other claymore users so! IM GETTING MY XIAO!!!! and hm i’ve been saving since the middle of zhongli banner! so december 10 ish around then? dragonspine was a blessing tbh i reckon i got sooo many primogems from that. FGJKSHFKJSDHFKSDHSHKJFH my genshin sugar mummy 🥵🥵 c6 venti unstoppable..

AHAHAHA YEAH THEY LOOK /SO/ CUTE TOGETHER!!! i wonder how they got so many of the images tho like they must’ve been so in sync?!?!? ugh that could be us but no cross-server co-op be playin’.. (fhdskjfhdskjfhs um!! noted for future reference 🤪)

omg them.. i always forget about them LMAOOOOOOOOO ugh. actually i wouldn’t be mad if we got a prequel of like when keith was in the garrison... or even when shiro was with adam... ugh so much they could’ve given us and they chose not to

*waggles eyebrows* well hello there, m’lady ;) and it’s fine fhdskjf i had some inklings but didn’t wanna assume ya know? ahah :p

no!! it’s all g, i’ve thought about posting it before anyway. like, just releasing all of my WIPs and letting people do what they want with them HAAHA. (i could also just put the link under a read more and less people would see it, so it’s no biggie!) fkdshfkjs the hinata impression omg precious <33

FJHFDSKJ awks ahah which groups were you into tho! if it’s not like scarring for you to think back to LOL. and oooo i like indie too! i think.. or is it alt? honestly i don’t even know, tbh my music taste is pretty diverse and a mess, i can usually listen to a lot of things. except slow songs i don’t really like those hfdskj. and i don’t like rap too much either FHSDKJS whenever my friend gives me a rec i’m just like “oh i liked the singing parts in that” FDSKJF. a playlist tho huh 😳🥺

and pls!! if the weekend is your only chance to sleep in then do it.. for me 😩 i’ve been legit waking up at 12pm these past few days FKJHSKDF idek why like i’m sleeping 10 hours?? yikes. but as always i shall be waiting for your response <3 💌

#marriage anon #wowclunaanswers #long post

[avidrawsthings]

Let me tell ya’ll about the time I was once in the Homestuck fandom and a big fan. I still very much love the original despite its flaws, and no I don’t play any of the current games out (Hiveswap and FriendSim) nor will I be going into Homestuck 2. The story for me ended in Act 7.

I caved in and started reading it in late 2013 once I moved back home after graduating art school. I pretty much binge-read it as I had all the free time in the world during that time, and by December of the year that’s when I finally got to making some art for it. 

Long post ahead!

This is easily one of the biggest pieces I’ve done, and one I’m still so proud of. It’s pretty much the only other time I’ve tackled pixel-like work (the other being my lil sprite self above). One of my biggest inspirations earlier in the year was Wreck-It Ralph, mainly the Sugar Rush portion that I instantly fell in love with: Land of Candies and Racing (LOCAR) I can’t even begin to tell ya’ll how many layers this had...XD

This is pretty much what the planet itself would look like. To keep the summary as brief as possible, in Homestuck the characters play a game call SBURB which is far more realistic than they expected. Basically: in exchange for your own homeworld, you get to rule over the new universe you create. Each player gets their own planet once they complete the necessary requirements to enter their game. The above is my take, trying to copy it as close to the story visuals as possible. Looked up a lot of tutorials on it cuz I was just that dedicated back then LMAO

The landmass was from a random map generator, and I gave it a sugar texture to try and show it was a candy world. The rounded out clouds were done in photoshop with the spherize tool, and the tiny clouds on the edges were done by hand. I had an earlier version of this planet done completely by hand but I couldn’t find it in any of my old files.

As goofy as this is I still love it lol. Each planet has a consort, basically your in-game NPCs that live on your created planet. I picked honey birds to go along with the sugar theme.

This awesome vehicle is the mode of transportation on the planet, again tying back to Sugar Rush cuz it was my obsession at the time. I based this one after my favorite cake from my local supermarket Stop and Shop.

Oh hey it meeeee. I believe this was my first ever (kinda) pixel art.

Each player gets a Class and Aspect (shortened to Classpect) assigned to them. Mine is the Witch of Void. Several folks often said the Witch class is OP because they can break the rules of their Aspect without consequence. 

Here’s a better look at the outfit itself, drawn in my sad attempt of a cartoon style back then. This is the most recent of the three above on the last row, done around mid 2014. 

I know I also made a Trollsona, but I wasn’t able to find it either. 

And there you have it! Will I ever redraw these? No idea! I say I will and then I’ll forget.

#my art #homestuck #land of candies and racing #locar #witch of void #self insert

[thatlittleegyptologist]

hekatontarch replied to your post: I love it when I don’t post much for a few days,...

Regarding checking dates… on the phone and iPad there are no dates shown at all. So I’m probably one of the people happily commenting on stuff from 5 years ago. Sorry ��

You can open them in mobile web browsers and the date is on the bottom of each post. The date isn’t written on the bottom of posts on the dashboard on desktop either, but on posts where there seems to have been a lot of strife, or I don’t trust the information I: 

a) look through the notes, as often you’ll find updates from OP either apologising or clarifying their post, or someone else clarifies or corrects, so I don’t reblog a version without the clarification/apology and thus don’t continue to dog pile onto the OP for out of date information that they long ago apologised for or clarified. If OP is an unrelenting asshole I don’t reblog either because they don’t deserve air time. 

b) open a post up back to its original post permalink and look at the date it was posted (I do this on both mobile and desktop because sometimes you have to go outside the app to get your information) and original tags (if there were any). 

By doing this, I can determine when something was posted (because dog piling someone for a post made in 2014 when op has specifically apologised or begged people to stop reblogging is...in bad taste), the intent of OP (often you’ll find tags on an original post indicating it was a shitpost or a one off post in anger, and it’s got 50k notes of people ignoring the original context and intent in order to yell at someone for something they didn’t even say for woke points), and whether my reblog/comment would add to whatever has already been said or would it just further OP’s suffering (as someone who has posts like this, seeing the same hot take 60 times a day for days on end makes you want to scream). 

Idk, I just tend to think about the person on the other end of the reblog. Am I adding to them already feeling like shit? Does my comment on a 6 year old post actually matter or has it already been covered in the intervening years? Do I involve myself in something that isn’t important and isn’t harmful if I just let it be consigned to history? I mean, there’s a reason so many ‘viral’ tumblr posts have an OP with a deactivated blog. Imagine making a dumb post when you were 15 and then people are still yelling at you for it when you’re 20? I’d delete my blog too. If the drama is more than a few days old then it’s not worth bothering with. Everything has probably already been said, OP has either apologised or doubled down, and if they’ve doubled down they’re not worth bothering with. Sometimes you have to resist the urge to be reactionary, and just let it go. 

To this day I still get the occasional anon hate for the ‘pub post’ (y’know the one where I won a pub quiz by being able to read hieroglyphs and drunkenly told the 100 followers I had at the time about it because it was funny?) telling me that a 31 year old woman is sad and lonely if she feels the need to make up a story for notes or anons that tell me they don’t get why it’s funny. That post was made in April 2016. I was 27 when I made that post. It’s been 4 years, and I had to delete the original (I still have a reblogged version set to private) just so I could see my dashboard again. I still get anon hate for a 4 year old post that doesn’t even affect people’s lives in any significant way, yet they’ll come into my ask box like I made that post yesterday in an attempt to make me feel bad. I don’t give a fuck if people believe it or not, but damn just check whether you’re sending hate for an event years in the past that didn’t hurt anyone. 

So, yeah, I check the dates. I know the internet feels anonymous and people feel they can behave however they like with no consequences, but I try to remember that an OP of a post is still a human being and in some cases it’s better to leave them alone.

#hekatontarch #repeat after me folks: sometimes you don't need to comment or reblog with comment #sometimes your input is not required #especially when a post is years old

[giapism]

I took a Harvard course on dealing with pandemics. Here’s what I learned about the Corona Virus.

A couple of weeks ago, I enrolled in an online course named “Lessons from Ebola: Preventing the Next Pandemic” from Harvard University in hope of gaining a more educated standpoint on how to deal with the current COVID-19 situation. 

In this post, I’ll combine what I’ve learned in the course with my own research and observations into lessons applicable to COVID-19 in 5 sections: 1) A comparison of COVID-19 to Ebola, the most recent pandemic; 2) Trust and Community Engagement as essential elements for success in the fight against pandemics; 3) What you can do as an individual to fight COVID-19; 4) What nations can do to fight COVID-19 and 5) Helpful Resources. Feel free to read all or skip to the sections that interest you the most.

1. “Not enough people die from Corona for it to be dangerous! Ebola’s death rate was way higher!”

Opening up the long post, let’s talk about how COVID-19 has been continually compared to past epidemics and how these comparisons seem to make sense, but really don’t. With the overall mortality rate of COVID-19 at only 4% compared to the double digits of its predecessors, many people—like the young man below—are skeptical of whether it’s really that dangerous at all.  

The tweet then follows with a specific comparison of COVID-19′s then 3.4% mortality rate to the 2014 outbreak of Ebola’s 50% mortality rate in attempt to downplay COVID-19′s dangers and justify OP’s “you only live once” mentality.

Looking at this gap, COVID-19′s dangers couldn’t possibly compare to past outbreaks, right? Well... not quite. While the statistics are correct, the way they’re used here completely disregards other important factors regarding the context of how these diseases are spread, making it hard to compare whether one is “more dangerous” than the other at all.

If you really want to compare, you need a holistic comparison of the contexts, resources available, responses and much more. I’ll give a few examples below to show how the two epidemics are different:

A. International and Local Response

In case of the 2014 Ebola epidemic, WHO took extremely long to declare the situation an international emergency. The first Ebola cases hit in December 2013, but only 8 months later did WHO announce “emergency” status. By then, with no funds/aid to buy medical equipment and no volunteer health workers mobilized to aid the severe lack of doctors on site, the damage done was already too great. More than half of the 2500 patients had already lost their lives. With no resources and no international help in those entire 8 months, local governments struggled immensely, resulting in responses so weak that many citizens lost faith in the system. This meant there was no unanimous cooperation to fight Ebola in the beginning.

With COVID-19, WHO’s pandemic warning came much faster: less than 4 months after the first case in November 2019. This means that countries will have more time to prepare themselves in advance before the virus reaches its peak in their own lands, and that funding/aid can be efficiently funneled to places currently that need them the most. In China, where COVID-19 first appeared, the government were incredibly robust in responding to the crisis, immediately locking down the region, mobilizing resources and educating their people. Unlike the West Africans with Ebola, the Chinese had trusted their governments and been highly involved in the fight against corona since the beginning. It only took China 2 months to shut down schools, whereas it took the West Africas 6-7 months. For the Ebola epidemic, these delays dealt a fatal blow to their already sky-high number of casualties.

B. Resources Available in Countries of Breakout

In Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia where most cases of Ebola broke out, there were severe shortages human resources, medical equipment and training on how to handle the disease. Already tiny, under-equipped clinics couldn’t handle the influx of patients. Sierra Lione had roughly 51 physicians for 5 million people, that’s a 1:98,000 physician to citizen ratio, and protective equipment was so lacking that people initially had to use plastic bags in place of gloves. Without personal protective equipment, many health workers ended up dying from the disease, leaving less people to care for increasing cases. Countries like America also discouraged volunteering, firing everyone who wanted to help in Africa for fear of them bringing back Ebola, driving down the number of outside helpers even more.

While there were definitely shortages in Wuhan, the first epicenter of COVID-19, China definitely had better resources and medical facilities available for its citizens. Following the outbreak, 23 000 doctors and nurses were mobilized to Hubei Province (Wuhan is the capital of Hubei), that’s a ratio of around 1:2,500 physicians to citizens. Still a crazy stretch, of course (even assuming that not every citizen will fall sick), but already way, way better than the ratio in Ebola hotspots. China is also much richer than the West Africas, and besides the money the Chinese Government was pouring into the COVID-19 fight, many wealthy Chinese businessmen and celebrities donated millions of dollars worth of medical equipment, masks and money to fund research and treatments. 

China had far better capabilities to deal with COVID-19 than the West Africas had with Ebola. Perhaps you could consider Ebola’s high death rate a reflection of the struggling African response, and COVID-19′s lower one a reflection of the more prepared Chinese one. It’s NOT, however, a direct reflection of which diseases is more dangerous on its own and by how much. If COVID-19 had broken out in a country with the same resources as West Africa, the death toll would undoubtedly be much higher. 

But that was at the beginning of the outbreak. Now, the situation around the world isn’t looking too great. COVID-19 in over 190 countries, many whose medical systems are sorely under-prepared to handle the virus, placing nations at risk of healthcare collapse. As medical supplies, human resources and hospital beds run out, more people will unquestionably die. The mortality rate has already risen from 2% to 4% since I started writing this article.

C. Infectiousness and Scale of Disease

Miraculously as it seems, Ebola mostly stayed within the African nations with only 14 cases outside (USA-11, Italy-1, Spain-1, UK-1). This was because Guinea, Sierra Leone and Libera (regions most affected) were already fairly isolated nations, and being right next to the sea prevented the virus from spreading in that direction. Local governments set-up strict border control, and international airlines/private companies basically stopped flying to Africa so few people could carry the virus outside affected areas. 

While Ebola spreads through direct contact, COVID-19 is spread through droplets that can cling to hard surfaces, making it much more infectious. Despite Hubei’s lockdown, the virus managed to spread to over 190 countries across the world where cases will only continue to rocket unless governments act fast. Just for comparison, yes Ebola killed 50% of cases, but its scope was much smaller with 28,637 cases in contrast to Corona’s 430,000 cases (and counting). COVID-19’s scope is wider than not just Ebola, but also 2003′s SARS (26 countries, 8098 cases) and 2012′s MERS (27 countries, 2494 cases) which it is often compared to. An outbreak of this scale hasn’t been present since the Spanish Flu in 1918 (which affected over 500 million people).

Now how does that translate in terms of danger? Well, with outbreaks focused in few regions like Ebola, it’s much easier to coordinate support from international organizations (MSF, WHO...) and other nations. People know exactly where they should be sending resources and supplies, and where to direct help. But when all 195 countries are infected with the virus, it’s impossible for WHO to help all nations that need it because there just aren’t enough resources! When everyone’s struggling to contain their own cases, helping other countries just isn’t a priority anymore. The world can come together to help 3 countries, maybe even 30, but all 195? That’s a completely different story.

Mini conclusion: Don’t be fooled by COVID-19′s seemingly low mortality rate into thinking it isn’t dangerous. COVID-19 is of larger scale than all recent pandemics, including Ebola, and threatens to bring a bigger danger: the collapse of healthcare systems worldwide. Governments can lower cases and deaths by taking strict preventative measures and ensuring enough resources/supplies are always available at hand.

2. Community Engagement + Trust = Success (well that’s the gist of it, anyway)

A. Community Engagement vs. Individual Satisfaction

In countries like China, Vietnam, South Korea, and recently Italy, governments have taken strict measures to control the virus, including but not limited to cancelling schools and events, issuing detailed quarantine/treatment protocols and educating people of the disease nationwide. Citizens have banded together and are closely cooperating with their government to overcome the epidemic. The Vietnamese Prime Minister has even called the effort “Chống Dịch Như Chống Giặc” which roughly translates to “Fighting the virus like fighting against invaders/enemies.” This is not an exaggeration. With every single person and community fully engaged and playing their part to stop COVID-19, it really does feel like we’re “going to battle.”

Countries with the highest levels of community engagement and strongest government responses have proven to be most successful in dealing with pandemics time and again. They don’t even need the most money or best medical equipment, just complete trust in their government’s efforts and the mindset of everyone doing their part for the greater good. 

Interestingly enough, many countries successfully containing COVID-19 are Asian despite being closer to the initial outbreak, which might reflect the emphasis on “community” in Asian cultures, while Western nations that prioritize “individuality” generally end up doing worse. For example, at one time Italy and South Korea both had around 7000 cases, but Italy’s death toll was 366 while South Korea’s was 50. Koreans had shut down schools and public events, issued tens of thousands of tests, and were all self-quarantining. Italy had seen thousands of cases the week before, yet citizens at that time showed little concern and still gathered en-mass, allowing the virus to spread more quickly. This was right before the Italian Government announced COVID-19 as a national emergency and locked down the entire country—only then did people start taking it seriously.

Notice how both situations dealt with viral spreads, but Koreans’ strict abidance to community guidelines early on helped lower the number of fatalities drastically, and now Korea is reporting fewer and fewer new cases every day while Italy’s numbers are still increasing exponentially. Likewise, in America where governments ignored WHO’s emergency warning and failed to take precautionary measures against COVID-19, numbers are soaring with over 30,000 cases accumulating in 3 weeks. Countries where people choose to indulge in short-term individual satisfaction end up facing far worse consequences than countries which choose to sacrifice some personal liberties early on for the greater good.

B. The Problem of Trust 

So now let’s talk about trust, another crucial factor in dealing with pandemics. When Ebola hit the West Africas in 2014, one of the biggest hurdles hindering recovery early on was the complete lack of trust between citizens, the government and even international helpers. When physicians from abroad first showed up, they were shunned—locals didn’t trust these strangers in plastic suits and goggles, speaking tongues different from their own. Locals didn’t trust that the healthcare system could actually cure them, and in many districts people stopped going to clinics entirely for fear of contracting Ebola. Imagine the complications that arose because of that lack of trust! People refusing to visit clinics meant more severe infections, more deaths, more transmissions, and lack of cooperation with government efforts. 

The early days of Ebola were a medical disaster. It was only when the government solidified trust with citizens by training community health workers and educating nationwide about the disease that things started looking up. Likewise, to successfully control and overcome COVID-19, governments and their citizens must trust each other wholeheartedly and closely cooperate to push back dangers. 

“Learn to trust the government if they're taking action. It’s not because they're more intelligent or more prepared than you, certainly, but they are the only people with access to all of the available information. Knowledge is power, now more than ever. We are able to evaluate and predict the effect of the measures, so there's a reason they've been taken.” — Angelo Sidonio.

Right now, trust is a big problem. People all over the world are in panic because they don’t believe their governments are doing everything possible to keep them safe. And they’re rightfully concerned! As food banks and shelters close down due to lack of volunteers, over 320,000 homeless people in the UK, unable to self-isolate, face even greater dangers than before. In America, where almost 40 million people live in poverty and another 3 quarters live paycheck to paycheck, sky-high medical bills can either discourage citizens from seeking treatment, or push those who do into bankruptcy. And that’s assuming they even get treated, for although America is taking some measures like “social distancing” only a tiny number of cases are being dealt with. As of March 23rd, Spain and America both have around 30 000 cases, yet Spain has finished treating 4,400 cases while America has only treated 636 — that’s a difference of seven times! 

Until governments can prove themselves trustworthy to their citizens, the efforts to contain COVID-19 will be long, arduous and without unanimous support. This means ensuring even the most vulnerable groups feel protected and assuring citizens that should they contract the virus, they will get quality treatment that won’t break the bank. Trust minimizes panic, boosts morale and creates unity, putting the country in a better position to defeat the pandemic. 

Mini conclusion: To overcome pandemics 1) Citizens must trust that the government is doing everything possible to protect them (gov. should actually be doing this by the way!) and 2) Everyone must be fiercely involved in community engagement, playing their part to stop the disease spread. Personal sacrifices are sometimes necessary for the greater good. Trust minimizes panic, boosts morale and cooperation.

3. So what can YOU do about all this?

A lot of what I’ve just said points to systematic issues and government decisions that most of us can’t really change (unless you’re perhaps planning to become the next world leader, then yes, please go ahead and change them), so I’ll talk a bit about what we can do as students or individuals. There’s obviously all that stuff about washing your hands and self-quarantining which I won’t repeat—you can access WHO’s guidelines here and Vietnam’s guidelines here—but below are some other important things worth considering:

A. Raising Awareness and Educating Others 

In many countries, there has still been no official nationwide efforts to educate the public on the risks of COVID-19, leading to many citizens either misunderstanding, trivializing or being ignorant of the topic. If you live in such an area, do your part by raising awareness on the following points, plus any more you can think of:

“Othering” and Exoticizing 

COVID-19 brought about another disease: racism. Across the world, Asians are being shunned, discriminated against and seen as “carriers of the virus.” Many Chinese restaurants are losing customers, and some Asians are even getting beat up for wearing masks. 

This is what you would call “othering”—somehow exoticizing COVID-19 as something intrinsically separate and different from oneself. “Oh that’s a Chinese disease that originated from exclusively Chinese practices of eating wild animals! It has nothing to do with me!” Saying this makes people feel “separated” from the risks because they don’t partake in these “distinctively Chinese” practices that lead to COVID-19. This is all false security, though. COVID-19 and its modes of transmission isn’t “distinctly Chinese” and consumption of wild animals is found across the globe (France, America...) 

To exoticize human practices as “different” or “savage” is clearly racist and shouldn’t be condoned/ignored under any circumstances. However, do be careful as to how you go about responding to these people. If you’re aggressive, it will most likely backfire. If you can, try to remain calm and build understanding (most of these people are just ignorant, not inherently evil and incapable of love), as attacking them will only make them more defensive. More importantly, check on the victims of racism: let them know you support and stand by them.

“It’s only dangerous in ______! We’re safe here!”

But are you really? In a world as interconnected as ours, is there really such a thing as ‘only local’ anymore? Do you have family members or fellow citizens in epidemic hotspots? With millions of trains, cars and airplanes flying between cities, states and countries, do you really think there’s no chance that the virus will spread to where you currently live? At the start, we all thought COVID-19 could be contained in China, yet now it’s in 190 countries with rocketing numbers! There’s no such thing as completely safe, and many precautions are free and easy. 

Trivializing: “It’s not even that dangerous! I’ll go to the pub if I want to! Plane tickets are on sale, so maybe I’ll go travelling too!” 

Please don’t be irresponsible. You might not be at risk, but walking around and going to crowded places increases the chance of you picking up the virus and spreading it to others with who won’t survive! Perhaps you’ll end up passing it to your parents, grandparents, or someone with underlying health problems whose infection would be fatal. Perhaps you’ll pass it to someone without health insurance, who can’t pay for the cost of treatment. Remember that it won’t just be you suffering if anything bad happens, but those around you as well.

B. Educate Yourself: Study the Situation In Depth

Next! Other than teaching others the basic know-hows of COVID-19, it’s also important to educate yourself. And I don’t just mean knowing the basic symptoms and 6 steps of hand-washing. Most of us are self-quarantining with not much to do. Go deeper. 

If you have the time, study how nations, NGOs and international organizations dealt with past pandemics, which methods succeeded or failed, and how they’re currently dealing with this epidemic. How is funding for research related to infectious diseases allocated and how can we improve the system for information sharing between scientists and nations? How and when does the WHO, World Bank, UNICEF and other UN Institutions allocate funding, humanitarian aid and expert help in a time when demand outweighs supply? What levels of involvement and accountability are to be expected at the level of individuals, communities, nations, and international organizations and how should they work together?

It’s a lot of knowledge, certainly, and you needn’t learn it all at once. But understanding the relationships between public health, economy and politics (even at a very basic level) will be tremendously helpful in making sense of why governments/organizations do what they do, and how our lives will be affected. At the end of this article I’ll list some resources I’ve found valuable for you to check out if you’re interested. 

4. What Nations Can Do (Not an Expert Though So Maybe Don’t Quote Me On Your Essay)

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert on this so if someone actually does this and it ends up failing, don’t sue me. But alright, after taking the course on dealing with pandemics and observing how countries around the world are reacting, I’ve pieced together some basic steps that might work.

S. “TEST, TEST, TEST!”

In a press briefing on 16th March 2020, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announces “We have a simple message for all countries: test, test, test!” He emphasizes testing, isolation and contact-tracing as the backbone of the response, and urges nations to ramp up on these measures. That’s not to say that social distancing isn’t important—it is and we MUST continue to do it —but quarantining alone is not enough to extinguish the pandemic. 

South Korea’s success in driving down it’s number of cases from exponential increase to few new cases per day is largely credited to its efficient testing. South Korea has issued over 380,000 tests since the COVID-19 outbreak in its country, and is testing some 20,000 people everyday. By testing suspects or those with mild symptoms, carriers are isolated and treated before they can spread it to others, well before their condition becomes fatal. With the recent donation of testing kits from WHO and other organizations, hopefully many more countries will also see the lowering numbers of this nation. 

A. Nationwide Education on Pandemic

Next, to put out the epidemic, countries must provide ongoing, consistent and thorough education to the public about COVID-19 nationwide, regardless of whether they’re epicenters or not. No, a government official going on TV to say 5 sentences about the breakout is not enough. You cancelled classes? All your students should deeply understand why it’s so important that we don’t gather in crowds and spend that time isolating, not gathering at parties to ‘celebrate.’ Instead of the occasional “just wash your hands” reminder, comprehensive hygiene protocols should be put up noticeably everywhere and everyone should be able to repeat them. 

Schools, hospitals, companies, communities and families must all have guidelines for dealing with the virus (appropriate to the level of severity in their area), and constantly be reminding their members of these duties. Every individual must deeply understand what they’re dealing with, what the risks are and how they can play their part in fighting the epidemic.

B. Standardized Procedures & Training

To educate, there needs to be standardized guidelines, procedures and protocols to educate with. Perhaps it would wise to train physicians around the country instead of just those at epicenters: that way when new cases arise away from the epicenter, local physicians can treat them right there instead of transporting them to hospitals in other cities, increasing chances of spreading the disease along the way (Vietnam is doing this.) Train community workers too, so they know how to handle local cases and can educate their communities--in an emergency like this, no community must be left ignorant.  

For the general public,  training on remote working is necessary too: many companies and schools are struggling with effective online meetings and communications. It’s only when everyone’s forced to work online that you realize many teachers don’t know what the heck they’re doing and everyone’s webcam/mike is off because they’re actually looking at memes instead of studying. 

C. Strengthening Emergency Responses 

Perhaps two months ago this section would be named “improve your healthcare system to prepare for the worst” but now that we’re in the middle of the outbreak, it’s impossible to fix everything as we go along. Instead, right now nations must strengthen their emergency response systems. This means being able to re-allocate funds and human resources to necessary areas, build/transform new treatment/quarantine wards and hospitals quickly, and ensure no shortages of medical (and general) supplies. 

To meet demands in dire conditions, this requires governments to think outside outside the box and be resourceful, transforming their current assets (even if lacking) into something usable. In Singapore, this means using the army to pack masks and supplies for the population. In Vietnam, it meant clothing factories switching gears to mass-produce affordable, safe cloth masks to make up for shortages. It could mean governments hiring airlines and restaurants to make food for people in quarantine, transforming army camps or hotels into quarantine wards, quickly finding ways to train new personnel or creating an online health reporting system for their citizens. Whatever the case, an emergency like this one requires governments to step up their game and respond faster.

D. 10 Recommendations for Reform Before The Next Pandemic

To get more onto the academic side of things, after the Ebola outbreak of 2014, the Harvard-LSHTM Independent Panel on Ebola came out with this report, outlining 10 reform recommendations to help deal with future pandemics. I feel like a lot of it is still relevant today and should be adopted by nations to tackle the COVID-19 situation. I will quickly summarize the report in bullet points below because it’s super long, but check it out for yourself if you have time:

Prevention:

Nations must invest domestically in their core capacities (strengthening healthcare system, education programs...) The global community should provide poorer countries with funding and help to invest in these capacities.

WHO should promote early reporting of epidemics. There should be financial incentives for countries that report early to 1) Help deal with the outbreak and 2) Compensate for economic losses. 

Response:

WHO should create a Center for Outbreak Response with strong technical capacity, generous budgets and clear accountability lines. 

WHO should create a transparent, politically protected Committee with the power of declaring public health emergencies (right now only the Director General can declare public health emergencies).

An independent UN Accountability Commission should be created to assess worldwide responses to major disease outbreaks.

Research and Development (R&D):

Rules/guidelines on operating during/between outbreaks should be developed to oversee efficient research and ensure access to the benefits of research.

Research funders should establish a worldwide R&D financing facility for outbreak-relevant drugs, vaccines, diagnostics, and non-pharmaceutical supplies.

Governing global system on prevention and response:

Create a Global Health Commission in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

WHO should focus scale back expansive activities and focus on it’s core functions. In outbreaks, focus on 1) helping nations improve core capacities 2) rapid early response and assessment of outbreaks (including potential emergency declarations) 3) establishing technical norms, standards, and guidance and 4) convening global community to set goals, mobilize resources, and negotiate rules.

WHO needs to reform to be more effective. Member states should be vocal about choosing a strong, competent leader.

Again, these recommendations were made after WHO’s response to the Ebola outbreak of 2014. Although COVID-19 will bring about many new difficulties not yet covered in this report, it’s still a valuable guide for how we can prepare for the worst. WHO has since carried out multiple reforms, and despite the severity of the situation, are responding faster this time round to provide the world with information to tackle the crisis. Looking at successes to contain the disease around the world, we know what works. If all countries could apply those measures responsibly, we can pull through. 

5. Helpful Resources

Lastly, I’d like to share some resources I’ve found tremendously helpful in understanding this COVID-19 ordeal. Check them out when you have time!

First, the “Lessons from Ebola: Preventing the Next Pandemic” online course from Harvard University that I mentioned at the beginning. The course runs for 1 month and is totally free! I got a lot of valuable insight from it on international responses to major infectious outbreaks. Although only Ebola is talked about in specific, a lot of it can apply to other diseases too, and I highly recommend it for basic understanding. 

For general information:

Vietnam’s COVID-19 website from the Ministry of Health

World Health Organization (WHO) COVID-19 Updates and General Information

Worldometer (COVID-19 case tracker)

Interactive Map showing global COVID-19 spread - Johns Hopkins CCSE

Interactive Map showing global COVID-19 spread - WHO (out of the 3 trackers, Worldometer usually updates fastest)

This one Mark Manson article on Individual vs. Systematic risks and other risks and biases of COVID-19

New York Times has good articles for US coverage, CNBC for worldwide-ish coverage, but Western media has a bias against China, so check out South China Morning Post for coverage from the East.

Ghen Co Vy - A Bop to Wash Your Hands to

Scientific Journals/Sciencey sources to track research reports. While normally many journals charge fees, recently all information regarding COVID-19 has been changed to open-access:

The Lancet’s COVID-19 Resource Center

Cell Press COVID-19 Resource Center

Elsevier COVID-19 Information Center

The BMJ 

WHO COVID-19 Global Research Database

That’s all I can think off right now! I’ve linked most of my sources in the article, and will provide additional updates to information when I can. For now I hope this article was useful and helped you learn something new about the COVID-19 pandemic, no matter now big or small. 

Depending on the situation, our days of self-quarantine can last anywhere from a few weeks to months. In that time, remember to stay vigilant and take necessary precautions to protect yourself and your community, but also stay calm because panicking won’t help. Eat and drink healthily, stay clean and safe, learn things and look out for others. Let’s conquer this virus together!

All statistics are of 25th March 2020 and prior.

#virus corona vũ hán #coronavirus #covid-19 #world health organization #education #social problems #socialdistancing #quarantine #sars cov 2 #eng #science #healthcare

[almassadlive]

Six Figure Mentors Review - What Does It Take To Succeed?

I joined the SFM back in 2014. At the time it had only been running for four years. I didn't know what to expect but I had been burned a few times online with a number of business type courses promising to help me earn money. My lack of experience back then and my desperation was partly responsible for some of my failures. But also, many courses taught tactics which were already becoming out of date.

Some of the courses I bought taught how to get your website up in the Google rankings. If you've ever tried this, you'll know it isn't easy. It was far easier 20 years ago admittedly. But now, getting ranked for your website is becoming much more difficult.

So back to The SFM. When I joined I decided I needed to start afresh and although I had learned a number of skills, I still hadn't really made any money on the internet. With the exception of buying and selling on eBay, the other strategies I had tried just didn't get any traction.

After joining, I was immediately impressed with the information I was getting. The "over-deliver" strategy clearly worked on me! I also benefitted by joining under someone who helped me make my first couple of high ticket sales. This happened within a few months. However, I didn't fully understand the business system or what was involved. Although I'd made a couple of quick sales, for not much work, I hadn't entirely been responsible for those sales. The affiliate who referred me had set up a Facebook advertising "co-op" and helped a number of people get some traction.

After my first sales, I stopped advertising and simply took the money! This seemed like a lot of money to me back then. It was a couple of thousand pounds. I now realise that I should have re-invested it back into the advertising, which is what I am doing now, now I understand the business better.

Having made an 'early win' gave me confidence in the business system which is one of the main selling points of what The SFM offers. It also offers top-notch training too - more so now than back in 2014 when I joined. Now, I am a member of a number of Facebook private groups which I can sit in on, and watch 'over the shoulder' of those who are succeeding in this business.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't an easy business to learn. Some of my main problems have been my 'grab it and run' mindset and scarcity mindset which has stopped me from taking some important action steps. The SFM training program caters very well for this. In fact, one of their main strengths is undoubtably their ability to install an ideology of personal growth. Without this, you really will be fighting some internal battles as I have definitely done. This will hold you back if you don't overcome your mental barriers to success.

It's not for everyone either, admittedly. The business system itself is expensive and for some prohibitively so. But for anyone wanting to make full time living from the internet, I'd say The SFM is a good place to go. You'll need to work hard and invest though, and it's no easy ride. But it does offer something which many want - a digital business system which can be run from anywhere. The possibility of financial freedom, however far away you believe it to be.

If you only want the training, I'd say that was worth the money at the lower levels too. I had a failing kung fu school running when I joined and now it's doing really well. I attribute that to much of the learning and understanding I have picked up from the SFM training and education platform.

You can't really expect to earn a living though if you only join at basic level. Only by at least getting to Elite level will you be able to access the higher ticket product commissions. But if you want to learn some digital marketing and mindset skills, it's worth the training and community even if you don't want to make a full time career out of it. The community on its own is a hugely powerful resource and has benefitted me both personally and professionally.

After my first couple of high ticket sales, I decided to focus on blogging and the cheaper strategies of generating traffic. I simply didn't have a budget to risk on advertising. I decided that if I got free traffic, the sales would be worth more in profit, which is true. The problem is, the strategy I used (blogging) isn't the best one, particularly in a very competitive niche like affiliate marketing and "money-making online". I know there are people doing well with social media marketing and other free strategies, but I didn't go down this route.

The people who are making the real money with The SFM are those who go all in. They position themselves at the very top tier of the business system and promote the SFM themselves as partner level affiliates. This means they can earn the highest possible commissions from the business. Some products are sold at $35,000. Those at the top level can earn 40% of this in commissions, but they need to purchase the product themselves in order to have it in their 'online store'.

There's a lot of learning to be done too. I thought I'd make it work very quickly and be sitting on a beach counting my money. But as I persevered through the difficulties, I have changed and understood that it's a business like anything else. It's no magic bullet to instant riches. Just a business model with products within it that anyone can sell.

In order to put the most expensive items in your own personal online 'shop', you need to purchase them yourself. Reading the reviews today that I've found about the SFM I see a lot of scepticism. Many say it's a scam. Well, it's not a scam, it's real. But it's easier to say it's a scam and not have to do all the work involved in making it happen. There's plenty of people who are making it work for them, and creating amazing lifestyle businesses of their choosing.

The SFM started in 2010 and have recently partnered with Microsoft Lynda (Under the LInkedIn umbrella of companies). Microsoft Lynda now offer their own 6,500 training courses as part of the SFM curriculum.

DigitalMarketer (The world's longest standing and most highly respected B2B and B2C marketing training company) also partnered with SFM and now offer their own training as part of the SFM curriculum.

I don't think these companies would partner with any organisation that wasn't providing huge value, was well established, and wasn't 100% above board.

Since joining The SFM in 2014, I've seen some huge changes in myself. I've had to face myself and see my own limitations as stopping me move forwards within the business. Your thinking and mindset have a huge amount to do with whether you can make a success out of entrepreneurship. It's much, much easier to discount something as a scam, than it is to look within and grow yourself alongside a business.

If I had quit on my journey, I would have missed out on a greater opportunity than I could fathom at the time. I struggled and struggled, but much of my struggle was with my lack of understanding of the business model and of my own limitations. I was programmed with a poverty mindset which viciously fought against spending money. To get into the space of knowing that I need to spend in order to earn was a huge shift in my mindset.

I'm far from the best performer in The SFM, at this time, but what I've learned about myself and about my inner limitations is invaluable for the rest of my life. I will continue to learn and never quit, so watch this space, you doubting sceptics out there!

For those who are thinking about joining The SFM and to do so would mean severe poverty, I'd suggest to get in a better financial position first. I scraped by and took some chances, but it's not easy. If you are determined in this business though, there's no reason you can't make it happen. But if you can't afford it, I'd suggest another program if it's going to put you in debt.

The SFM program is more than just a sales funnel with digital products in it. It's an "all-in-one digital business system and training platform. The goal is to make long term digital entrepreneurs who can sustain an income and thrive from the sale of products over the internet. That means there's a whole lot of work to be done, if you're going to make this a full time living.

It's definitely not for the timid. Expect to be pushed, and expect some discomfort if you're going to do what you need to make it work. Remember too that affiliate marketing is performance related. No one owes you a living! You need to take charge of yourself and your business in order to make it work! Good luck!

[hellyeahomeland]

“Fucker Shot Me”: an HYH recap

A day after Haqqani turns himself over to the Americans, the Americans are turning him over to G’ulom. Saul and Haqqani pull up to Ghazi Stadium, where G’ulom has been holding the Taliban fighters.

G’ulom is standing outside, in a cape, like he’s Andre Leon Fucking Talley (to be clear, we stan). Haqqani says he’s ready and Saul gets out of the car to give another speech that G’ulom is definitely not listening to about Justice and Due Process and Integrity. G’ulom fulfills his end of the bargain, releasing the prisoners, who all make a beeline for Haqqani because, well, he’s the Emir! Saul warns G’ulom that if he doesn’t treat Haqqani with respect, “your world will explode.” So that’s coming. 

Saul goes back to Kabul station and Mike and Jenna have something to tell him.

Jenna: Remember how yesterday I had one job, which was to get Carrie on the plane to Germany? Saul: Yeah… Jenna: Well, I fucked that up. Mike: Carrie was photographed at the airport getting in a car with everyone’s favorite Russian hunk. Yevgeny Gromov! Can you believe it? Saul: Yes. I mean, no! How surprising. Mike: They could be halfway to Moscow by now. Saul: First, chill. Second, doubtful. Carrie is all about saving her friend Max. She’s probably somewhere in Pakistan. Mike: This is an outrage. Rules! I must follow them! I’m referring this to the FBI. Saul: Whatever. Send me a text or something when you find her ok byeeeeee

Carrie and Yevgeny are somewhere in Pakistan, it turns out. They’re listening to the radio, which is such a quaint thing for two lovers frenemies to do together. The radio report is about Haqqani turning himself in, and they get to talking about the CIA’s working theory that Carrie is a traitor who told her Russian handler—Yevgeny—about the president’s helicopter so that he could alert Haqqani who could fire an RPG! Phew. That’s a lot. They’re both like “yeah that didn’t happen” but also realize the, like, component of weirdness of the situation since they’re off on this road trip together and look extra double super suspicious now. “Ironic,” Carrie says while gazing out the window.

They pull up to a checkpoint. Yevgeny gets out of the car because he is In Charge. He approaches two guys, who are actually his homies, inquiring about where “the American” (Max) is. They have a line on him.

Carrie and Yevgeny’s next stop is a small Pakistani village. Again Yevgeny gets out of the car and instructs Carrie to stay. But we all know (and he should too by now!) that if you tell Carrie not to do something, she turns into a four-year-old child who instantly must do that thing. Plus her spidey senses are tingling. Maybe she recognizes some of these structures? She hops out of the car and ends up at a gravesite. Rows upon rows of graves with the year “2014” etched across the bottom. Uh oh. A few split-second flashbacks later and… yep, these are the graves of the people she dropped a bomb on in “The Drone Queen.”

Carrie: Quit fucking with me. Yevgeny: Heh? Carrie: Quit 👏 fucking 👏 with 👏 me  Yevgeny: I’m not fucking with you. Carrie: Coolio, so we just happened to end up at the village I decimated four years ago in the event that probably more than any other haunts my waking nights? Yevgeny: What do you think happens after you decimate a village with a bomb, Carrie? We come in, help them rebuild the mosque, and develop contacts. It’s not a coincidence we’re here. But I’m not fucking with you. Carrie: I’m changing the subject now. What did the imam say? Yevgeny: He knows where Max is. Come on.

Saul, resident hottie Scott Ryan, and Not Martha Boyd are gathered around a conference table in Kabul station, talking to Linus and his homies back at the White House. They’re all very concerned that Haqqani’s trial will be a sham, he’ll be put up against a wall and shot, and that will mean more violence and more instability, and certainly not an end to “The Forever War.” Not Martha mentions that the lead judge is a woman she knows from some embassy events and she’s fair and independent so they can probably influence her (umm… what?)! Their meeting is interrupted by Hayes, who’s apparently just wandering the halls of the West Wing searching for something to do. He’s generally displeased this is all taking place behind his back, but no one thinks he can do anything, so it’s understandable. He flatly denies Saul’s request to declassify some intelligence that could prove Haqqani is innocent, asks again for the “action plan” to kill more brown people, and storms out.

Back in Carrie/Yevgeny land, Yevgeny continues to pry about the drone strike. He says again he didn’t put two and two together, then proceeds to ask actual personal questions like, “so is that why you left the CIA?” Carrie explains her mental state in season four, which is not something she’s ever done, but it’s interesting nonetheless. She catches herself at the end again questioning whether he’s being truthful or not, because if he is, she doesn’t know why. Poor Carrie has no concept of a personal relationship that’s not transactional.

They eventually arrive at the house where Max is being kept. Again, Yevgeny does all the talking. Carrie storms in to find Max, sprawled out on a mattress, one arm still handcuffed to the bed frame. Immediately she springs into nurturing, concerned Carrie, which is not a hat she wears often (side note: when will Carrie wear another hat?). Max says he’s fine but the narsty wound they show in close-up confirms otherwise. He explains that he doesn’t have the flight recorder anymore but he didn’t want to make a big deal about it, lest it suggest the flight recorder was not just some random red boxy thing. “You did good,” Carrie assures him.

Unfortunately, their touching moment ends right there because a few trucks full of Taliban soldiers pull up to the house. They uncuff Max and then cart him off. Yevgeny looks on helpless. Carrie tells Max she will find him. Then she goes off on the dude who let them in. Yevgeny has to physically restrain her. He looks in her eyes, tells her he’ll take care of this while Carrie attempts to calm her breathing. Did anyone else get the indication he has definitely done this before? He was too effective for that to be a rookie attempt. Anyhoozles, Yevgeny finally gets the location where they took Max, so it’s off to stop #3.

At Dover Air Force Base, Hayes is asking Linus for his unconditional loyalty, which is always something you want a president to be asking for. He’s really miffed that people are going behind his back but Linus says something like “we gotta be in the information flow, man.” Hayes repeats the phrase back, and you definitely get the indication he’s the type of person who uses words and phrases wrong all the time without realizing. Again, he’s the president! Don’t you feel safe?

Oh, the reason they’re at the base is because Hayes had an empty casket shipped back on Air Force One for a photo op. And surprise, surprise! G’ulom came over too. I’m sure they’ll have tons to talk about.

Elsewhere in Pakistan, Saul is grasping at straws and goes to Bunny’s home. Tasneem is there, because they have no secrets between them. Saul pleads for their help coming up with a way to help Haqqani. If they don’t, there will be another war, right at their border, and that’s not great for America, but they’re 7000 miles away. It’s really not great for Pakistan, because it’ll be right on their doorstep. Bunny is having none of it. The Americans play hot and cold with Pakistan, asking for their help whenever it suits them and in the interim killing their citizens, withholding aid, and generally being massive dicks. Enough already!

Saul sees himself out, but Tasneem surprisingly comes knocking on his car window. She’ll help him. Why? She doesn’t want to watch the world burn. This is a surprise because I thought that was Tasneem’s defining quality.

Carrie and Yevgeny arrive at stop #3, which is a field just above where Max is being kept. Carrie scopes out the house. It’s barely being guarded, but who knows how long that’ll last. She decides to phone a friend, but Saul never answers his damn phone. So she decides to phone a Single White Female.

Jenna: Carrie? What the hell? You made me look like an idiot. Carrie: Made you? Lol ok. Anyway, please listen. Mike: What are you doing, Carrie? Carrie: Oh, great, you again. I found Max. Y’know, that thing you guys were doing anything in your power to accomplish? I did it in like 12 hours. Mike: Who are you with? Carrie: ...Breezing by that question. Anyway, here are the coordinates. Will you call special ops? Max is in critical condition, I don’t know how much longer he can make it.  Mike: Do you have any idea how much trouble you’re in? Carrie: Do you have any idea how much I don’t give a fuck? Just call special ops. Bye. [click] Mike: You are now a fugitive, your case is with the FBI, Carrie…? CARRIE?

In the Oval Office, Hayes and G’ulom meet for an “unofficial summit.” Hayes reads a headline on his iPad that declares “The Two Presidents,” which… is certainly a true thing about them. Hayes hems and haws about going back to war with the Taliban, and G’ulom says some manipulative stuff about the US being all-powerful fighters who could totally put them away in two to three weeks. Hayes doesn’t even know he’s being manipulated though and plays right into G’ulom’s hand. He eats this shit up! He loves hearing about American dominance and how he could be the steward of it. If it means murdering even more brown people, that’s just a bonus!

Saul and his new BFF Tasneem arrive at the home of the lead judge for Haqqani’s trial and plead with her that he’s innocent. She asks for literally any evidence and their response is “just trust us, two perfect strangers who barged into your house late at night.” She’s highly skeptical until Tasneem pulls up a news article about the RPG that hit one of the Taliban caravans back in episode two. That was meant for Haqqani, because he wanted peace and the ISI didn’t, and he still agreed to the peace deal. This is apparently enough to sway her, so she agrees to a continuance for one week while Saul and Tasneem figure out what to do.

Carrie is taking a light nap in the back seat of Yevgeny’s truck when he wakes her. Some more cars have arrived at the house where Max is. She peers through the binoculars to see Jalal Haqqani rolling up with his crew. Shit. Jalal enters the room where Max is being held and asks him who shot down the helicopters. “What helicopters?” Max cooly replies. Max 4 President!

Above, Carrie is panicked and phones Mike again. Mike admits that no, special ops isn’t coming. It’s too risky, they haven’t scouted the site, etc. Carrie, totally missing the point, offers to scout the site herself. The issue, of course, isn’t with the site, it’s with Carrie herself. She’s a rogue agent, calling from a Russian sat phone. Who else is even listening in on this call? Carrie says, verbatim, “I don’t underestimate the difficulty.” Whenever Carrie goes searching for euphemisms (“That is a mischaracterization!”) you know she’s in deep shit and that she knows she’s in deep shit. She pleads with Mike that Max is one of ours and we can’t just abandon him. He says they’re doing all they can, which is of course a lie. This must all feel eerily reminiscent of Brody and Tehran for her, a slow-motion car crash she’s powerless to stop.

In need of something, anything, to do, Carrie asks Yevgeny for his gun. She’s going to scout the site herself, at least see if Max is still alive. Yevgeny reluctantly agrees but vows to book it if she gets in trouble, which is also of course a lie.

In Kabul, Saul visits Haqqani in his cell, which is also eerily reminiscent of the cage they kept Brody in in season three. He tells him of the continuance he secured and Haqqani is like, “bro, why are you doing all this?” Saul says it’s because he’s innocent. Haqqani knows the truth though: after forty of years of war, none of them are still innocent.

In the court room, one by one the judges file in. The last and presiding one, however, is not the woman Tasneem and Saul met the night prior. That’s right, G’ulom pulled the ol’ trial judge switcheroo! This new guy is definitely not ordering a continuance. He gives a speech about the pain and suffering Haqqani has inflicted on thousands of people. How he killed both presidents. He sentences him to death. Saul looks on horrified. He calls Linus, who informs him that Hayes has asked for new perspectives on Afghanistan, and John Zabel is in the Oval Office meeting with him as they speak. They are extremely disgusted, so we know John Zabel must suck. Outside the courthouse, crowds have gathered in celebration of the announcement of Haqqani’s inevitable execution.

In the Oval Office, Linus interrupts the meeting between Hayes and John Zab—oh my god, it’s Hugh Dancy! Ok, ok, we all knew it would be Hugh Dancy, but it’s still exciting! He has a terrible haircut, awful facial hair, and gives off general vibes of hot evilness. He makes a few incredibly racist remarks, praises Hayes’ quick action in avenging Beau Bridge’s death, and talks about next steps. Linus comes thisclose to doing a Jim Halpert on The Office impression.

A few Taliban soldiers come into Max’s room and drag him up. He groans and yells. Outside, Carrie, gun in hand, makes her way to the perimeter of the house. They’ve carried Max into the courtyard and are pulling an orange jumpsuit on him. He screams in protest, doing everything he can to resist. Jalal stands in front, camera and tripod at the ready. Carrie watches in horror, beginning to put the pieces together. They pull Max’s glasses off and she pulls her pistol up, ready to shoot.

Suddenly, Yevgeny grabs her from behind, his hand over her mouth, muzzling her cries. He puts her against a wall (why is this so sexual??) and stares into her eyes. “No,” he whipsers. For once, she listens.

#homeland #an hyh recap #fucker shot me #* #by: sara

[fantastic-nonsense]

@sanctusapparatus: I've seen people say Kamala was a more progressive candidate than Bernie or Warren, on the virtue that she's black. I've seen people say that voting for a member of [INSERT GROUP HERE] is the right thing to do, regardless of what positions they actual hold. Sorry for jumping to conclusions, but this wouldn't have been the first time I've seen someone say identity>policy when picking your candidate. 

Also, I mean, Warren seems to basically be Obama 2.0: Make a lot of vaguely progressive promises that you back away from at varying speeds approaching and after the election while working really hard to keep the neoliberal exploitation train on track. She basically dropped m4a the moment it posed any kind of difficulty, and I can't imagine anything else she's promised will fare better. She's basically the definition of a make-no-waves establishment appeasing centrist

1) I never said identity>policy. I said I was upset that we had the most diverse slate of Dem primary candidates ever and it looks like we’re going to end up with two 80-year-old white men yelling at each other. That says nothing about their policies or who I actually agreed with. It was a statement based on the fact that I’m tired of pretending like EITHER Biden OR Bernie is the best person to carry the flag of the Democratic Party forward when they’re fucking 80 years old and could die at any time (looking at you Bernie) or end up with a serious mental health decline (Biden). Like...both of you retire. Go home. There are better people suited on both the moderate and the liberal side of the Dems to take on Trump than either of you. That was the point of the post.

2) You’re dead wrong about Warren, which you would realize if you actually researched what she’s achieved and done for Americans. Like, this characterization of Warren as a centrist is laughable. Warren had the national platform for talking about progressive issues before Bernie was a genuine player in the general public consciousness.

I really wish people would stop erasing history here. People forget that Warren was the Darling of the Left in the pre-Trump era (and frankly, in many respects she still is). Bernie was just another senator making good speeches at the time. The Run Warren Run campaign wasn't a thing for nothing, you know, and there were literally op-eds written to console Warren fans when that effort failed. People have wanted Warren to run for a lot longer than they have wanted Bernie to run. In many ways, Bernie is following in the footsteps of Liz, not the other way around. I know a lot of people are too young or didn’t read the news before Trump, but like....do your research before saying nonsense like this.

Don’t believe me? Fine...maybe believe some pre-2015 news articles?

Roosevelt Institute, September 2011: "How Elizabeth Warren Put Bankruptcy on the Progressive Map"

New York Magazine, November 2011: "A Saint With Sharp Elbows: Elizabeth Warren"

The New York Times, November 2011: "Heaven is a Place Called Elizabeth Warren"

The Washington Post, September 2012: "Elizabeth Warren, Populist Leader"

The Daily Beast, December 2013: "What Obama Can Learn from Elizabeth Warren"

Mother Jones, April 2014: "Elizabeth Warren: Democratic Kingmaker?"

NYBooks, May 2014: "Elizabeth Warren's Movement"

The Nation, September 2014: "Meet the 'Elizabeth Warren wing' of the Democratic Party"

The New Yorker, November 2014: "Elizabeth Warren Wins the Midterms"

Politico, November 2014: "Reid Taps Warren as Envoy to Liberals"

The Progressive, December 2014: "Young Women Love Elizabeth Warren"

The Guardian, March 2015: "Progressives ponder 2016 fallback plan: Elizabeth Warren for vice-president"

Vox, May 2015: "Why Hillary Clinton Needs Elizabeth Warren"

Time, July 2015: "How Elizabeth Warren's Populist Fury is Remaking Democratic Politics"

On M4A, she didn’t backtrack on Medicare for All “the second it got tough.” Instead, she literally sat down and worked out a plan for how to get there and how to pay for it. She provided a workable and viable solution to get us there within four years, the exact same timeframe as Bernie's bill. I'm so tired of people saying she backtracked on universal healthcare just because she came out with a plan to actually get it done and pay for it.

Just because she has a different path to getting to a universal healthcare system than Bernie does not mean that she 'shifted her stance' nor does it make her "not serious" about getting there. It's called a policy disagreement; it happens all the time. Just because someone has a different idea about how to get to the same end goal does not mean that they shifted their stance on the actual end goal. To put it in crude terms: taking a bus, taking the train, and driving your car are all valid means of transportation. It doesn't make any of them inherently worse options. They are simply different ways of achieving the same goal: getting you from Point A to Point B. Wanting to get to "Point B" has not changed, nor the timeframe you wish to arrive there; only how you get there.

Ultimately, healthcare legislation is passed by Congress, not the President. Bernie has to get a majority of House Reps and Senators on board with his plan for it to pass, which they have shown no real desire to do (multiple Dem senators have already stated they will not vote for Bernie’s M4A bill and are not campaigning on universal healthcare; if we can’t get Dems on board, we’re sure as hell not going to be able to get Republicans on board). Warren's transition plan is infinitely easier to pass, is actually popular in the court of public opinion, deals with many of the major pitfalls of an immediate transition, and helps ease the fears of moderates (whose votes you will need to enact anything of significance) that we can do this, we can create a universal healthcare system, without significant economic damage. She has not been wishy-washy nor has she backtracked; she has come out with her own policy proposal that is workable, fully fundable, and able to be passed while sticking to her guns that she wants to achieve universal healthcare. And that's far more than I can say for Bernie.

So no: I'm not going to let people forget that Elizabeth Warren was the face of the Populist Left nearly a decade before Bernie Sanders gained national attention. I'm not going to pretend that the modern progressive revival started with Bernie Sanders. Please acknowledge her contributions to the revival of the Progressive Movement in American politics, because without her and her popularity Bernie would never have been a viable candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2016. She is not a centrist and never has been; she just knows how to play nice with centrists to get the progressive agenda passed (which...again, is something Bernie does not seem to understand how to do).

#personal #elizabeth warren #bernie sanders #2020 election

[quills-and-golden-ink]

Welcome one and all to the second part of the Monthly Guide to Monsters! The talented @downwithwritersblock​ and I have teamed up to bring you some quick and easy guides to some of the world’s most infamous creatures. 

The guide will include: basic background, historical information, abilities, how to defeat them, and portrayals in media. They’ll probably also come with some short stories or prompts! 

For this week, I’ve been tasked with probably one of my favourite mythological beings: vampires. These will be posted on Mondays and Thursdays, excluding this week (since I’ve been busy with stuff). We hope you enjoy! 

Monster Guide #2: The Vampire

Definition: A vampire is an undead or immortal being from folklore that subsists by feeding off the vital force (usually blood) of the living. Vampires are typically creatures that bring about mischief or death. For a long time, vampires were synonymous with demons. Many cultures actually classified vampires as being corpses that were possessed and animated by a demon.

Description: Many early tales described vampires to be bloated; with ruddy, dark, or purple skin, and almost always wearing some kind of dark shroud to hide themselves in (that they usually bring with them from their own grave). It wasn’t until the 19th century, with our more modern day lore that we started to see the classic frail, or gaunt and pale vampires that we have grown used to seeing in the media.

Abilities: These change from culture to culture, although many of them were birthed by Bram Stoker's Novel “Dracula” (which were, btw, super OP). Included are some of the most common abilities associated with vampires (you’ll notice that “glittering in sunlight” is absent because of this). 

Usually immortal, or with at least a very prolonged life span

Increased abilities such as strength, speed, sight, hearing and smell. 

Flight

Some hypnosis, telepathy, illusionary magic. 

Shapeshifting (typically into a bat)

Vampire’s Baptism: the act of healing one with a vampires blood, or turning one into a vampire through mutual biting

Regenerative healing

Immune or really unaffected by conventional or normal means of attack (like being punched, stabbed or shot) 

Night vision

Preventing Vampirism: Vampires eventually caused a bit of hysteria in some cultures, so we see many examples throughout the world of people trying to prevent the rise of the undead.

Some ways found to prevent the rise of a vampire were:

Buried upside down or flipped over.

Some cultures places scythes or sickles beside graves to satisfy the demons they thought would possess the dead. Why? Don’t know but that’s sick. 

Religious symbols, like wax crosses or pieces of pottery with biblical messages like “Jesus Christ Conquers” were commonly placed on corpses to prevent vampirism.

Some took the practical route and decided that separating or destroying the tendons in the legs of the deceased would also keep the dead from rising.

Shooting a bullet through the casket right before burial was also common

Some would put pieces of steel or silver over the corpse’s eyes, in their mouth, in their ears, or in between their fingers.

Pushing Iron needles through the heart was also said to stop a vampire from rising.

Decapitating after death. 

Curing and Killing: 

Garlic was said to keep away vampires

Crucifixes and rosaries were typically said to keep a vampire away.

They could not cross onto sacred or consecrated ground (like a church)

It’s also said they could not cross over running water (no bridges for vampires)

Some folklore says that they lacked shadows and would not show up in a mirror or a photograph (some folklore states that this is a reflection of their lack of a soul, although it could be due to the use of silver in these things)

Sprinkling mustard seeds along the roof of your house was said to keep vampires away, but if it didn't, you’d be alright becauseeee

Vampires, in many myths, could not enter a home without first being invited in. Be careful though, they only need the one invite. After that they might just be able to come and go from your house as they please.

Wild rose stems or hawthorn branches could potentially harm them

In many legends, vampires are warded off, and sometimes even harmed by silver. (Old mirrors were commonly backed with silver, and old photography also used silver specks, which might be the reason they’re not seen in them)

Holy Water or other items blessed by a priest were said to keep them away, and possibly even hurt them.

Vampires were said to be nocturnal, and were very vulnerable or damaged in sunlight. It might have even been able to kill them.

Being set on fire can kill just about everything, and vampires were no exception. 

@downwithwritersblock‘s favourite way to stop a vampire: Arithmomania. An expression or type of OCD in which the person who suffers from it feels compelled to count either their actions or the objects around them.  In many cultures around the world, especially in Eastern Europe and in Asia, it’s said that if you place small seeds (usually poppy seeds), sand or a type of grain like rice beside the grave, or in front of the vampire, they would compulsively have to count it, and that would keep them busy until either you kill them, or until the sunrises and the light kills them for you.

Decapitation was also a very common method in both preventing, and killing vampires.

And of course the most famous of all; A wooden stake through the heart. Many cultures will also tell you that the stake has to be made out of the same kind of wood as the cross that Jesus was crucified on.

History: Here we’ve included two of the most famous “real life vampires” in history! Up first we have...

Vlad Tepes (or as he’s more commonly known: Vlad the Impaler, or Vlad Dracula).

Born between 1428 and 1431 and died in either 1476 or 1477.

He was Prince of Walachia 3 times between 1448 and his death

The second son of Vlad Dracul, who ruled Walachia

Imprisoned in Transylvania, held in Visegrad from 1463 to 1475.

Vlad II got the name ‘Dracul’ when he joined ‘The Order of the Dragon’, a ‘monarchical chivalric order for selected nobility’ in middle Eastern Europe (aka it was mainly Germanic states).

Dracul(a) means ‘Dragon’, and in more modern Romanian it means ‘The Devil’

Vlad III’s prefered method of execution was impalement. Hence the nickname ‘Vlad the Impaler’

Rumours and stories of Vlad spread fast, in fact, books about his cruel acts were best sellers in the German speaking territories.

However, to his own people, Vlad was usually seen as a warrior and a hero.

Bram Stoker was the one to turn Vlad into the legendary vampire with his well known book “Dracula,” published in 1897. It relied on many of the ancient myths of blood suckers found in Romanian folklore. The novel was very loosely based on Vlad, considering Bram Stoker didn't actually know a whole lot about Vlad and Walachia.

Bram Stoker is also among the first to change the traditional vampire into what we know today. His book is, or at least part of the reason that the image of vampires shift into one that is pale and thin, the lack of a reflection or shadow probably starts with his novel as well.

Secondly, we have my favourite: Elizabeth Bathory, aka “The Blood Countess.” 

Considered to be the first female serial killer.

The accusations change a bit depending on the story, but, Elizabeth was a Countess who was accused of taking, torturing and killing hundreds of young girls. She was accused of some pretty gnarly torture methods like covering people in honey and ants, or burning and then dunking people in freezing water, not to mention mutilation. She was accused of cannibalism. She was also said to drink the blood of her victims, earning her the nickname ‘Countess Dracula’. Some also say that as a regular part of her beauty regimen she would drain the blood of young virgin girls, and bathe in it to help keep her young and beautiful. Sometimes I like to call her the inventor of the first bath bomb.

The highest number of victims she was accused of was 650; however, this, like many parts of her story are questionable, and from unreliable or iffy sources.

Vampires in Media: This list is absolutely massive, so I’ve included twelve titles. This includes books, tv shows, and movies, but excludes video games. 

Buffy The Vampire Slayer (TV show, movie, comics)

The Vampire Chronicles/Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice (movie and book)

Carmilla (1871 novel, cute lesbian 2014 youtube series, movie)

The Vampire Diaries (TV Show)

True Blood (Book series, TV show)

Van Helsing (Movie, TV show)

Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897 Novel)

30 Days Of Night (movie)

Twilight (Book series, movie)

The Originals (TV show)

Angel (TV show)

Blade (Movie)

And my personal favourite, which doesn’t fall under any specific monster, is the Women of the Otherworld series by Kelley Armstrong. Would highly recommend. It’s 13 books in the main series, and features all sorts of awesome and well-known supernatural entities such as (but not limited to): werewolves, vampires, half-demons, witches, sorcerers, demons, angels, and necromancers. Fun 18+ supernatural mystery read (with triggers for violence, gore, and explicit sexual content however. Reader discretion is advised.)

Prompts:

1. “You’re so coldblooded!”

    “Uh, yeah? I literally don’t have any blood?” 

2. “The worst part about being a vampire is not being able to take selfies. Do you know how much I miss looking at my own beautiful face?” 

3. “I suppose the best part of this whole ordeal is not having to spend so much time in the vanity.” 

4. “I’m scared to do my eyeliner.”

5. “Werewolves have it so easy! What’s the big deal with turning into a wolf every once in a while? I’d slaughter a country if it meant I could go outside and enjoy the sun. Even as a four-legged mutt.”

#prompt #prompts #writing #writing prompt #writing prompts #creative writing prompts #writing inspiration #writing guides #monster guides #qagi #fiction #vampires #vampire #halloween #halloween prompts #imagine your otp #imagine your oc #imagine your ship #inktober #october prompts #supernatural #supernatural creatures #supernatural prompt #vampire prompt

[kuchenackerman]

EREMIKA POLL RESULTS

The poll was opened on January 6th, 2019 and closed on January 13th, 2019. It got a total of 403 responses and the main focus was to explore the shipper’s thoughts and feelings, especially after Chapter 112.

It consisted of five sections:

General questions

On chapter 112 and current feels

On eremika content

Content creators

General demographics

I’ll present the results’ interpretation by section and in almost the same order the questions were asked to make all the information a bit easier to follow. This way if you aren’t interested in one of the sections you can just scroll down until you see the title of the next one. I recommend using the shortcut CTRL+F to look up for the section results you’re more eager to read or to just jump to general result key words faster.

I want to thank Selena and Heidi again for proofreading the poll back then and suggesting some questions. Big thanks to EVERYONE who participated and took their time to write their thoughts down ❤  

Most of the respondents answers will be shared, and I mean “most” since I had to group up similar worded replies. For example, short answers like “chapter 50”, “ch 50”, “in manga chapter 50” got summed up. However, even if I tried to summarize things, there were too many answers that I’ll be sharing with you all anyway.

I apologize in advance for any grammar mistake or error in the presentation of the info. This turned out longer and required more time than I thought it would. Besides I’m tired and I don’t have as much free time as before.

I hope you enjoy digging in the results of the EM focused poll~

1. GENERAL QUESTIONS

1.1) Regarding when did the respondents started to ship Eren and Mikasa, over 65% of them does since 2013-2014 (35.2%) or 2017-2018 (30%), concurring with the years when we got Season 1 and Season 2 of the anime, respectively. Then, 24% of the respondents said to ship it since 2015-2016. About 11% of the respondents started liking the pairing before we even got the anime adaptation: 5.5% since 2011-2012 and 5.2% since 2009-2010.

1.2) Eremika is the main SnK ship of 66.5% of the total respondents. 12% (33 responses) of that 66.5% have other OTPs besides Eren and Mikasa. More than half of these shippers (19 of 33) support another hetero pairing as well.

1.3) When it comes to the people that don’t consider EM as their main ship, over 50% of them have another hetero ship as their main. Around 30% have a M/M ship as main, almost 10% a F/F ship and 6% an OT3 / trio.

1.4) Almost 70% of the respondents started shipping Eren and Mikasa while watching the anime. Besides the manga (27.3%), some of the shippers started liking the pairing because of fanart (including a “rather steamy NSFW” one, lol), fanfiction or because of some people in the fandom, like someone they follow that influenced their shipping feels or because of an enthusiastic friend.

1.5) 65% of the total respondents has NEVER stopped shipping eremika (y’all good), while 35% has stopped doing so at some point only to jump back on the ship again (I declare myself guilty of this, I’m a damn traitor), though a small part of that 35% never really jumped back on it and just drowned in the waters of their full betrayal.

1.6) On which character of the ship is their favorite, more than half of the respondents prefer Mikasa over Eren, who got 18.4% of the votes. 28.5% like both characters equally.

1.7) On canon looks of the characters:

The thirst for manbun Eren won this time and got a bit more than 37% of the votes. Our traditional short-haired Eren follows with 22%. There’s a tie between hobo Eren and middle-short haired (?) Eren at 12.4%. Almost 16% of the respondents don’t have a preferred look for our boy.

In Mikasa’s case, the responses were more even between all her looks. There’s a tie in first place with 22.6% of the votes between ponytail Mikasa and traditional bob Mikasa. Short-haired Mikasa and long-haired Mikasa got 21.3% and 20% respectively. 13% of the respondents couldn’t choose a specific look for her as their preferred one.

1.8) Now, time to share the shippers’ answers and the results about the specific moment of the manga or anime that sold eremika to them. There was a total of 289 written responses to the question. I tried to organize them in quantity of mentions of certain scenes or chapter/episodes. Some replies mentioned more than one moment.

The first place was taken by S2 Episode 12 / Chapter 50 from the Clash of Titans arc, since about a hundred people mentioned it as the moment where they started shipping Eren and Mikasa.

Trost Arc got second, third and fourth place: S1 Episode 6 / Chapter 6 got almost eighty mentions, while S1 Episode 8 got around fifty mentions and S1 Episode 7, with a bit more than twenty mentions.

Eight times people mentioned they started shipping EM since they were introduced in S1 Episode 1/ Chapter 1. Some don’t identify a specific moment but talk about their appreciation toward their general relationship, dynamic or scenes together.

S1 Episode 14 / Manga Chapter 19 trial scene got mentioned about seven times.

The final episode of season one got mentioned five times.

S1 Episode 12 / Manga Chapter 13 and Chapter 51 got both mentioned at least four times.

[ Answers to 1.8 ]

~ S1 Episode 1 / Manga Chapter 1

Literally the first scene Eren dreaming abt Mikasa with that scarf and asking why her hair got longer and when he gave the scarf to her

Her tossing his ass into the side of a building, spilling the firewood everywhere

When Mikasa threw Eren against the wall in episode 1 season 1

In the first op when they're surrounded by dead comrades and mikasa looks at eren. The shipping feels started. The scarf scene (entire backstory of Mikasa and Eren's meet strengthened my feels)

Mikasa taking care of him since day 1

~ Unspecified

No specific moment. I just knew they were meant to be together from everything they did!

I don't remember exactly. It just felt naturally that they have to be together.

The very first time their dynamic was truly shown. It's so rare and interesting to see a het pairing where the girl is the cool, stoic protector and the guy is the reckless but good-hearted damsel in distress!

It grew on me over time - they just seem to both really care for and look out for each other.

All eremika scenes 💕💕💕

Idk....it just kinda happened.

"Ereh"

No specific scene, it was just that her desperation wore me down over time

just their bond and dependence on each other through hard times and how resilient their unspoken trust and faith in one another is

Tbh I was originally an Ereannie shipper and don’t really pay too much attention to other characters at least in that aspect of going to ship them but after rewatching the anime series for who knows how many times I came to realize that Eren and Mikasa were just a ship that I can’t deny in which I think it’s only natural for them to be together.

I had watched all of season 1 without focusing on shipping. It wasn’t until I reflected later on and rewatched that I started shipping Eremika very much <3

~ S1 Episode 6 / Manga Chapter 6

When for the first time they slain evil, love at first kill.

The World the Girl Saw! I had this inkling feeling that I was going to ship them ever since the beginning, but this really did it for me.

Eren saving Mikasa from kidnappers / Mikasa losing her parents / Eren wrapping his scarf on Mikasa

I think it was the scene in the anime (as I watched the anime before reading the manga) when Eren wrapped his scarf around Mikasa and her face softens because of his kindness to her.

Episode 6 of the anime, when we got the backstory of Mikasa, but also, while reading the manga chapter 50 killed me.

Episode 6 of the anime; the scarf scene melted my heart

When Eren saved Mikasa from the thugs and told her to fight. Also the scarf scene really got me.

Episode 6 of the anime when Eren wrapped his scarf around Mikasa sealed the deal for me. ❤

The chapter/episode show Mikasa's past and especially when Eren pull Mikasa's hand while blushing, I knew that my whole life is for these two.

Their first meeting. It left an impression on me.

Mikasa's memory of Eren wrapping the scarf around her and grabbing her hand. Mikasa looked so grateful and happy in that moment.

Mikasa's tragic backstory and being saved by Eren who then gave her the scarf. And the moment she finds out he's still alive inside the attack titan and cries while hugging him.

Eren saving her when he didn't have to. (Kidnappers)

Episode 6 - when Eren wrapped the scarf around Mikasa when they were kids. It made me realize how strong Mikasa's feelings were for Eren, and how their bond was sealed the moment he gave her the scarf.

Mikasa's backstory episode earlier in Season 1. It only took that scene to validate me the fact that these two are meant to be always together. Call it string of fate or whatever. She is attached to the boy that saved her life. Chapter 50 of the manga also further validated my point.

The moment Eren gave Mikasa his scarf. It's a heartwarming moment as it gives Mikasa new hope to live and a home together with Eren.

I fell in love with Eremika the first moment I saw them when Mikasa was staring at sleeping Eren in the first episode, but I started shipping them when Eren wrapped the scarf around Mikasa and gave her a home. And one of my favorite scenes if not my favorite is when Mikasa started crying when she heard Eren’s heartbeat in S1E8 after he came out of his Titan form the first time. God that’s a lot to say :D

Since retrospection of their adventure in stabbin cabin

The moment I found out they are not blood related

Scarf scene (bet everyone's gonna put that though) but also their constant care and concern for each other throughout the series

I started watching the anime before fully reading the manga. I always thought Eren and Mikasa would be cute together from episode one. I didn’t really have a reason I felt that way, it was more of an instinct. However I didn’t fully ship them until Mikasa’s backstory in episode 6. I enjoy how their relationship is “tough love” instead of a in-your-face sap show. They just belong together. Their relationship matches the world they are in, and I always had a thing for ships that take a long time to come together. The end result is more satisfying.

Seeing their backstory of how they met because before reading/watching I saw people saying they were siblings. But that's not actually true so it expelled my worries about the ship.

When Eren wrapped his scarf to Mikasa and said "let's go home…"  

When eren saved mikasa as kids and also the end scene of season 1 when eren picks up the scarf and says "that thing has seen it's best days, ill just get you a new one" and mikasa is like but it's special :c

“As long as you’re alive I can do anything” scene after her back story

~ S1 Episode 7 / Manga Chapter

Ep 7 of season 1 where Mikasa is about to get grabbed by a titan and in her last moments she thinks of Eren, and she's just like "If I die, I won't be able to remember your face". And decides if she goes down, she's gonna go down fighting, the way she knows Eren would want her too. ;_;

Scarf scene. Also when Mikasa remembers smiling down at a sleeping Eren and regains the will to fight, then Eren's titan shows up and protects her

First Attack Titan appearance and Eren saving Mikasa

when titan!eren came to smash the titan as mikasa was about to stand for herself after her pomegranate speech

When Mikasa thought Eren had died, and her reaction to that, that's when I REALLY started to ship them.

This is too difficult to answer lol. But if I choose one scene that charmed my heart with them it's would be that scene in ep.7 (s1) when Mikasa gave up to live. She remembered the words that Eren said to her in the past to keep fighting! TATAKAE! and the emotion that trigger in her the streght to protect the last memories that she had of him... MAN, I always get goosebumps at remember her speech! "If I die, your memories will die with me, that why I will fight! No matter what! I will live!"

Mikasa's being suicidal and hopeless after Eren's supposed death at the Battle of Trost District made me realize how much Eren means to Mikasa, and so I was sold on this ship.

ep 7, "I'll never give up again. If I died, I won't be able to remember you"

The episode where Eren dies and it flashes to Mikasa thinking about him, I knew I shipped them. I was a bit concerned because the anime wasn't clear on their relationship if they were brother or sister at that point, but the next episode was Mikasa's backstory and I knew it was safe to ship them!!

pomegranate scene was just too good :')

CH7, related to CH6, but seeing her find her resolve so quickly after losing him was sobering. I interpret this moment as a big precursor to CH50, but that's another moment

When Mikasa decides to live, because if she died she would not be able to remember Eren. And also when she sees that Eren is alive and runs to and embrace he.

~ S1 Episode 8 / Manga Chapter

In the anime when Eren emerged from the titan form and Mikasa ran to see it's Eren.

When mikasa cried holding eren after his first transformation as a titan

When Mikasa found out Eren was alive in trost

It wasn’t anyone thing. It was a lot of moments, but mostly the scene where Eren is revealed to be a titan shifter and Mikasa holds on to him and cries. That or the reveal of their backstory. Mikasa's clinginess suddenly made a lot of sense.

Mikasa being openly emotional for the first time while embracing Eren in ep 8

Definitely the scene where Eren comes out of the nape of his titan and Mikasa sees him.

The moment when Mikasa clutches Eren and tries to hear his heartbeat after they see him emerging from his Titan the first time. And when Eren defends Mikasa from the cannon and then at his trial, that's when it changed from one-sided to full-on Eremika for me.

Episode 8 of Season 1 when Mikasa found out Eren was still alive and started crying

Episode 8 Mikasa crying whilst hugging Eren after he comes out of his titan form. Chapter 50. Chapter 51 Eren worrying about Mikasa and apologising.

When Eren appeared for the first time out of his Titan form and Mikasa run to him, when she started crying while listening his heart beat I was sold.

EPISODE EIGHT "I CAN HEAR HIS HEARTBEAT" MOMENT

"I can hear his heartbeat"...I cried when Mikasa ran to hug him and heard his heart beat, and then cried and cried. Like...she's so strong and brave all the time - that really hit me. You could feel the amount of love she has for him. Either that one or the scarf scene where Eren wrapped his scarf around her and welcomed her into his family!

Hugging eren when he first emerged from the attack titan

when she found out he was alive again and started crying

when eren appeared out of the titan and mikasa hugged him

I first bit when Eren wrapped the scarf but they reeled me in when Mikasa finds out he wasn't really dead and first comes out of his titan

Cap 8 anime, Eren sale del titan y Mikasa corre hacia él y lo abraza y llora

The manga equivalent of episode 8. Forgive me I can’t remember chapter numbers for the life of me.

When Mikasa ran to Eren after he first emerged from his Titan corpse and cried as she embraced him.

I think I've always loved the idea of them being together romantically since Eren saved Mikasa as a kid. However, the scene of Eren first coming out of his titan and Mikasa holding him while crying will forever be a highlight from the show/manga that I won't forget.

when Eren comes back to life in season 1 & Mikasa sobs while clutching him hard against her chest, uncaring about everyone watching/hearing around.

When mikasa started crying after she found out that eren was alive, when she said “If i die, i won’t be able to remember you” and the scene from season 2 episode 12, “I’ll wrap that around you as many times as you want. Now and forever... as much as you want!” that line makes me cry every time.

The scene when Mikasa hugged Eren and cried in relief that he’s alive.

When mikasa hugged eren tightly after he came out of his titan form on episode 8

MIkasa crying into erens chest after she pulls eren out of his tian for the fist time in Trost, season 1, plus the last episode of second season had me bawling on the floor tbh it  was such a great scene

When Mikasa realizes the person emerging from the Attack Titan is Eren, and she immediately goes to him, holds him, and cries.

~ S1 Episode 12 / Manga Chapter 13

When Ian pointed out Mikasa’s feelings about Eren during the Trost battle

When Ian called Eren Mikasa’s boyfriend - and she blushed.

Cliché haha but: when she blushed when Riko said that Eren is her boyfriend I was like ohhhHHHHH girl

~ S1 Episode 14 / Manga Chapter 19

When Eren defended Mikasa during his judgement

The court trail scene where Eren stood up for Mikasa

The scene in the anime in the courtroom where Eren defends Mikasa after the bystanders accuse her of being like him

It was when Eren was at the court house he said it was all his fault and not to blame Mikasa

Either it'd be the scene in chapter 51 or the moment Eren stood up for Mikasa during the court trial back in season 1

~ S2 Episode 12 / Manga Chapter 50

Chapter 50 10000%

the "I'll wrap this scarf around you as many time you need" scene

The anime scene at the end of season 2 where Eden unlocks the power of the coordinate to save mikasa

when she encouraged him right before meeting Dina.

Chapter 50 “I’ll wrap that around you now and forever, as much as you want”

When she confesses while they are surrounded by titans about to die, and then Eren declares “I’ll wrap it around you as many times as i need to-“

Season 2 when Mikasa says thank you.

Cuando Mikasa le da la gracias la Eren por enseñarle a vivir, y colocarle la bunfanda, y él señala que siempre lo hará.

Season 2 almost kiss scene - you know it bro, and her falling asleep by his bed

the scene... "I’ll wrap it around you again, again and again, forever" bruh...

When mikasa talked about how eren saved her and gave her the red scarf.

Had been there for a while but chapter 50 solidified it for me. Mikasa's heartfelt words giving a broken Eren the strength to fight.

Eren saying “ill wrap that scarf around you as many times as you want”

In the chapter 50 of the manga (scene from the SnK S2's finale) when Mikasa confessed her feelings to Eren

Season 2 episode 12, when mikasa confessed to eren, and him promising to her.

Chapter 50 had the best EreMika scene so far because Mikasa really went heart-to-heart about her feelings to Eren (in the anime, we see her leaning in)

When Eren activated the Coordinate for the first time when saving Mikasa.

There was a lot of stuff in the earlier chapters but chapter 50 took the cake

Although their relationship has always been meaningful to me, I first began shipping them romantically after I read the scene where they’re sitting in front of the smiling titan, and Eren promises to wrap her up in her scarf over and over again, before unlocking the power of the coordinate when he contacts the smiling titan.

The scene when Mikasa almost kissed Eren

La escena en la que Mikasa casi besa a Eren y el se levanta y dice: "Te la pondre las veces que quieras" siempre veo esa escena cuando hay tambaleo en el ship

There is too much but I would say chapter 50 (like a lot)

I think that the first one, was the one in chapter 50. I discovered Snk too late, and I fell in love for them since this chapter :)

Chapter 50, Mikasa worrying over the post-experiment Eren in Chapter 54.

Eren and Mikasa second confrontation with the Smiling Titan/Dina's Titan

I think it was THE eremika scene in the manga, aka the infamous chapter 50 scene, but idk anymore

The Eremika shipper's Bible, of course! Ch. 50. Specially when Eren basically says he's always gonna be there for her. Also, when Eren apologizes to her right after the whole thing and she's recovering from her injuries. And that panel when he's thinking about everything's he's lost during their journey to end this for good, but he looks back at her and says "No, not everything" or something along those lines. And when Mikasa is sitting next to him when he's unconcious and Armin leaves and he has this fucking little smile and he just  k n o w s and Mikasa knows he does. Oh, and when Eren, Mikasa, Hanji and Levi finally get in the basement and they're both looking at the things down there together and when they open the book together, their hands barely touching. Oooh, and when Eren tells everyone they're special to him and Mikasa's blushing and looks up to him and kind of smiles and he looks away?? Gold. Oh and of course, Ch.112's cover! The soft and tender look in their eyes while looking at each other is just so painful !! And soft !!

~ Post time-skip. Chapter 101 onwards

I started to ship them when they both blushed at each other in ch. 108

Flashback of Mikasa Chapter 108

Manga 108 when Eren and Mikasa have their own panel and both of them were blushing at each other

I started shipping them a longggggg time ago, but i think it was chapter 108 in the manga, (i think) when Eren says that he cares about them all, but hajime gave Eren and Mikasa those two seperate panels of them blushi,g at eachother. That one really chained my heart to this ship, and i will stay with it whether it sails or sinks.

I started shipping them after post-time skip. There wasn't a specific scene, but rather, both matured and their relationship would be more balanced.

Eren talking to Mikasa in ch 112- it was so obviously a contradiction to their relationship that it actually proved (imo) mutual feelings

The moment in Marley Arc when Eren is looking at her before the WH comes to

I became interested in their romantic dynamic after Mikasa's, "Come home," line in the Marley arc. I'd always loved content with both of them, but I hadn't found their relationship very interesting, so I just hadn't thought about it much. The recent developments have changed that.

Nothing in particular. Maybe when Eren attack Marley and Mikasa looked at him tearful. It’s not romantic but I appreciate the heaping amounts of angst of the ship.

Liberio reunion

~ Other responses

Eren looking up at Mikasa and then transforming into Rogue Titan when fighting Female Titan.

When mikasa tries to save eren from annie

When Mikasa put a blanked over Eren in RTS

Anime episode 13

When mikasa picks up eren

When Mikasa announced that she'd join the scouts with Eren.

they breathed and i was like ‘otp’ joking— the moment eren was out here pushing her away using his forehead and mikasa said ‘please don’t die’ because that scene spoke to me and then the history of them (childhood, eren saving her you know the drill) kicked me and my feelings.

[After a dream]: “It was a straight up fanfic in my sleep. I woke and was like "I guess I ship them now?" I used to not be so into Eremika but since then I've been a bit more accepting of it.”

Either when Eren first turned into a titan and wounded her/left the scar on her cheek or the courtroom scene, most likely the first one

The last episode of season 1, Eren and Mikasa in the room, she holded his hands, I found this scene intense, and started to ship them even more.

The hand hold when Eren was lying on the bed

2. ON CHAPTER 112 AND CURRENT FEELS

2.1) The 403 respondents’ got multiple choices to check that could fit their first thoughts and feels about the alternative cover for Volume 27. 

38.7% of them simply appreciated Mikasa, Armin and Eren being cute in it. 36% called Isayama a bitch, 34% reacted with Queen’s “IS THIS REAL LIFE? IS THIS JUST FANTASY???” because yeah, no one was expecting such a blessed cover, and 33.3% reacted with Backstreet Boys’ “Quit playing games with my heart~” because Isayama loves hurting us all and has probably been plotting to do so since the 90′s. 31.5% of the respondents saw the cover as a shippy exchange between EM, as they considered they’re staring at each other in a flirty way, and 31% checked the keysmash and cry choice... (I understand)

13.2% considered Eren was looking at both Armin and Mikasa, without anything explicitly eremika going on and a bit more than 7% are so dead inside they felt nothing with such a wonderful cover (RIP their miserable souls).

~ Added answers:

Lies

Let them have babies please ;^;

Ehh

I think this cover gave me the strongest dose of Eremika feels ever. I can't look at it without grinning from ear to ear~

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK

It's beautiful. Nothing to freak out about tho.

How dare I get taunted with this blessed image when I know shit's about to go down between the three! 😭

It's so peaceful and beautiful. I wish it happened in the manga.

I have a theory actually for this...

Armin is cute

THIS IS FUCKING CANON.

It is actually the first time I see this cover and it's very cute and nice but after the chapter I can't feel nothing about it. Only hate for Eren and his words.

I can see how it can be interpreted in both ways and if we lean towards eremika then: cute!!!!!!!! so sweet!! but it makes me cry!!

Both Eren and Mikasa sees each other as their most important person in the world

*DIES*

they just look happy and looks like eremika actually canon but isayama try to cover it.

NANI

Mikasa clearly looks super in love with Eren. Eren may be looking at either mikasa or both mikasa & armin. I’m not sure...

My soul left my body.

Id say they're all three looking at one anoth another tbh

I love the Eye to Eye contact of eremika

Must protect

crap i think eremika is dying, BUT I DON'T WANT IT TO DIE, so i hope that this scene was just a build-up for their relationship (otherwise i'm knocking on Isayama's doorstep at 3am)

The hurtful words will save Mikasa's spirit, so Eremika shippers should support Eren's efforts in freeing her.

Is this foreshadowing that Eremika will become canon?

ISAYAMA REALLY GONNA PLAY WITH MY HEART LIKE THAT HUH?

How cute and pure the way Eren look at his Mikasa XD

EREMIKA IS STRONG ON THIS ONE

Poor Armin gets ignored by the two lovey-doveys 😠

You trynna fuck

Armin: okaaay, I will be going...

Indifference

I knew by just seeing that cover that it was gonna hurt lol

I just liked that they were all together just like the old days

OMG are they finally canon? Please isayama sensei make them canon *.*

I thought it was nice but I knew it was ironic.

There’s a dagger hidden under the cover.

2.2) When it comes to analyze the cover in relation to future manga developments, most respondents (47%) see it as a glimpse on Eren's authentic feelings toward his friends, around 39% see it as a symbolic image, 36% see it as a trap meant to make us hurt more after what happened in chapter 112 (we know you, Isayama), 25.6% consider it foreshadowing, 20% a somewhat alternate reality / timeline, almost 19% see it as an utter lie or that Isayama is just trolling, 13.6% only see it as a blessed cute cover and 5.7% think it’s irrelevant story-wise.

~ Added answers:

Im torred between a foreshadow or just a cover…

What it could have been

This isn't teasing or trolling; its Isayama's way of telling us to have hope/showing Eren's feelings.

An ironic and nostalgic cover

A mix of possible 'alternate‘, maybe end-game, but for me mostly a CLUE to something...

Mikasa's hopes for the future

Honestly I don't know what to think after all that happened. But I hope it's foreshadowing toward his true feelings about Mikasa and Armin. Especially Mikasa. Maybe Isayama gave us a hint that Eren loves his friends and so we shouldn't buy all his words.

It's all Eren wants but it's something he'll never have again

how things could be if differences didn't stand in their way

Eren and Mikasa fucking

That was Eren's real feelings, but I believe he is partly hurt by believing that everything Mikasa has ever done for him is because of Ackerman's blood. Eren is also blinded by the idea that he is free and that he can make his own choices without being manipulated by his blood or the personality of someone in his head.

2.3) What was your initial reaction to Chapter 112 regarding all the things Eren said to Mikasa?

In this other multiple choice question, 55.6% of the respondents said they wanted to hug Mikasa so badly after what Eren said to her, 44.7% checked the “Eren: why the fuck you lying, why you always lying?” option, 40% wanted to punch Eren so hard and felt so proud when Armin did it, 37.7% were shocked, almost 29% called it bullshit / laughed / pfft-ed at Eren’s “I’ve always hated you”, around 25% just reacted with an “Eren, pls”, 22% were just as heartbroken as Mikasa and cried their eyeballs out, almost 13% have been crying ever since so not very “initial reaction” only, 11.4% checked the “Chapter 112? I don’t know her” option and 9.4% checked the “Uhh.. I didn't feel much because everything was too odd...” option.

~ Added answers:

I WAS SOMEHOW SATISFIED WITH IT BC I SUCKS FOR ANGST EREMIKA

I was kinda thrown off guard for a sec there when I first saw the conversation between them but then I think abt how this could actually leads to a better development in both Eren’s and Miaksa’s characters (romantically) I mean their feelings for each other have been a constant which I think this would hopefully trigger something between them.  

Eren is lying

Shocked at first, but I think it's an interesting development.

I laughed

I actually felt encouraged! No way it was true, Eren was obviously lying/being controlled.

Immediately knew that Eren was only doing this to protect Mikasa

Carla, your son's gone rogue again...

Was angry and felt Mikasa should‘ve retorted back aggressively. But honestly, I‘m more intrigued by his words.

I want to go there and kidnap Mikasa immediately, then Eren gonna suffer til the rest of his life

Cried multiple times bc of it.

I tought that his words couldn't be true

the first real step between Mikasa's and Eren's romantic relationship

Eren is cancelled

Enjoyed the drama and didnt get sad over it. Since it happened so suddenly it took me by surprise and the conversation was nothing like what I expected it to be. Barely a glimpse of emotion from Eren and Armin being the one to start a fight? I was dumbfounded.

It feels like a huge giant misunderstanding and Eren sucks with words. I can't believe Isayama builded the deep of their relationship just to end into this bs. If everything is going to end badly for Eren and Mikasa then Isayama doesn't know how to write.

I feel all of that

Had a bad feeling something like this would happen so I wasn't horribly shocked

I actually love it, mainly for the angst. Love the drama, love the feels n im such a sucker for angst lol

Eren seems to at least partly mean what he said, but maybe not as strongly as he said it. I also think he’s being influenced by memories/zeke/wht so I’m not too concerned.

Sad

I already know that's not the same Eren so I was just shocked by his wording more or less but that's it.

It needed to be said

I enjoyed it

I was expecting Eren to have a moment like this, tbh. Not because I believe he really hates either of them, but because he is clearly spiraling and isolating himself.

fight between mikasa and eren similar to sasuke and Naruto

eren can do no wrong in my eyes so idk

Conflicted. What he said was hurtful but I also felt like it wasn’t completely untrue. Mikasa has been having major doubts recently and this thing in Eren she won’t face. The Ackerman instincts don’t have comelktely grip over her but they do contribute majorly to a lot of things. It’s awful but at the same time I feel like if it was all nonsense then why did it trigger those memories and why did Mikasa just keep shrinking into herself. Mikasa doesn’t shrink away from things.

OMG, Eremika has become so exciting, dramatic and awesome!

I think I kind of expected the outburst

There is no way he hates her really

I was glad Armin punched him and I hated Eren more than I ever have before.

2.4) "You only cling to me because of your instincts as an Ackerman." If he truly believes the information he got and said about the Ackermans, could Eren be hurt because he thinks his relationship with Mikasa was never authentic?

Around 69% ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) of the people think Eren is indeed hurt or that there’s a possibility of him being hurt because of what he nowadays thinks (?) is the true nature of his relationship with Mikasa. The rest of the respondents have really no idea what to think about it or just plainly discard Eren hurting because of Mikasa and her cursed Ackerinstincts. 

2.5) From 1 being "influenced by the Ackerbond" to 5 being "of her own", how do you see Mikasa's feelings for Eren?

Most of the respondents (over 77%) think her feelings are mostly determined by her own person and not the Ackerbond. Only 6.7% consider Mikasa’s feelings are fully or very influenced by the Ackerbond and 16.1% think there’s a 50/50 situation.

2.6) Around 160 people decided to share their thoughts in relation to what happened in chapter 112, focusing on Eren and Mikasa of course:

Even if he won’t admit it, I think Eren still cares/loves Mikasa. His eyes seem tired and dead, but I noticed that they glimmered differently right before he told Mikasa he always hated her, and then they changed again when Armin asked if hurting Mikasa is the “freedom” he sought/had. If there is one thing that hasn’t changed about Eren, it’s his inability to hide what he truly feels. It’s obvious that he’s upset and perhaps feels betrayed, but i definitely think he still cares.

Yeah I believe the Ackerman stuff influences it *a little bit*. But her emotions are mainly real and she truly does care for Eren.

Eren deserves a good Ackerpunch to be honest.

Mikasa needs to realise that all her feelings are her own, and Eren needs to know, too.

His facial expression through the whole confrontation was CONFUSING like you can't tell if he is ANGRY or if  he is  HURT or if he really just have genuine hatred  toward his old friends? Like I am confused about his facially expression when Armin  told him "does freedom means hurting mikasa feelings" his expression was completely different than the rest of the panels. His expression had more emotion for some reason.

I hope that people didn’t forget abt the scene where Mikasa punched Eren in the face when he was being mean and venting off his anger towards Armin when the were at the refugee camp after the fall of Shiganshina.

Look at his face: this poor boy is as broken as us. There's a reason behind his actions.

I'm sure eren want mikasa to get away from him in order to keep her safe, this was the only way to broke the acker spell

I think Eren was rejecting Mikasa to free her from the ackerbond. I wrote an analysis about eremika due to ch.112 incidents here : https://nhamstory.tumblr.com/post/181741856688/eren-and-mikasa-relationship-from-now-onwards

I hope Mikasa leaves his ass

I don’t think she’ll give up on him easily, but I think she needs to let go, for her own well-being

Eren is only partly right. Mikasa's instinct to always be near him and protect him (incidentally the things that irritated him) come from the Ackerbond impulses. Her life and affection for him are her own. Eren obviously doesn't hate Mikasa and he wouldn't treat her this way without a very good reason. They both have genuine care for each other.

Eren is a bitch and Mikasa didn’t deserve that bullshit

I think Eren is genuinely mad (his morals and arguments consistent with his character from the very start) and, if anything, is deeply wounded. I wouldn’t be surprised if those emotions inspired him to act out, even though it’s wrong. He also has 3 titans inside of him, so I’m sure his brain is super jumbled and loud.

Its interesting how Eren never hurt Armin until the Yaegerists entered the room...

I think the Ackerbond brought them together but they stayed together for love

Mikasa deserves the world. Eren

I really don't believe a happy ending is in store for them, but I want to be wrong so badly. My biggest fear is that Mikasa will have to be the one to bring Eren down, or that the Ackerbond is exactly as Eren says.

i really hope that when he said that he hated mikasa that it was all a lie

It is just really confusing.

Eren still cares about Mikasa. It wouldn't be like Isayama to just pull a complete 180 out of the blue like that and not have a reason for it. I remember he said a while back that the thought of Mikasa having nothing else to cling to but Eren was sad and that she'll have to grow apart from him in order to get development, which I believe will happen soon. That doesn't mean that she can't still be happy with him though, so I'm sure this conflict will be resolved in some way near the end.

I think that Eren doesn't hate her but wants to make her free from her ackerbond. He would like to see her real self.

It's weird, but I think the extra attention Isa gave to Eren and Mikasa's relationship is actually a good thing, despite the negative context. As readers we're supposed to obviously know that Eren allegedly hating her is a white lie. Could he harbor resentment for a particular aspect of her character? Maybe. But it's already been blatant that he truly cared about her. I don't know if we're headed towards a tragic or satisfying ending from a shippers perspective, but I do believe that it indicates that we will get some sort of mutual acknowledgement of their real relationship. For starters though, we really need Isa to tell us what the hell's going on inside Eren's head.

I believe we need to get more info about Eren’s thoughts and intentions before assuming anything either good or bad about Eremika for now

We just need to wait for more chapters everyone. I still have faith💜✨💕 No one should go berserk or riot, not even later.💖✨🌅

"Only know you love her when you let her go", Eren gonna suffer because of this, one day.

THEY BETTER FIX THIS

I pity Eren for not being able to tell the truth about his feelings. It must hurt him to hurt Mikasa.

I hoping that the theory about eren being controlled by the will of the attack Titan is true and chapter 112 eren wasn't really "our" eren. Also, eren never hated Mikasa. The will of the attackTitan hates Mikasa. It even tried to kill her way back in season 1 while eren's consciousness was trapped in some fantasy where his parents were alive and he even saw Mikasa in it. If Mikasa can be so dear to him that she becomes an element of fantasy of security and family, then I'm sure our Eren never hated mikasa. So yeah. I'm hoping our Eren is still in there somewhere and will regain control of his consciousness and thus EMA will be a family again. Hoping. Fingers crossed.

There's a river called the Nile, I am in denial! (About what happened in chapter 112)

Eren doesn't hate Mikasa at all. Look at the court scene in chapter 19 when Eren defends her when they accuse her of being a monster and threatened to dissect her. Chapter 50 when he promises to wrap her up in her scarf again and again forever. As well as chapter 51 when Eren looks concerned as Mikasa lies down with broken ribs.

fuck you eren fuck youeren

That scene just hurt too much

Their relationship didn't ruined

I hate Eren now, though I really liked him very much before time skip. I don't know what I want more now: all of it to be a mistake/some cunning plan of Eren to save friends or I want Mikasa to be free from the feelings for this bastard and be happy on her own, without need to always protect and care about this stupid child Eren. Maybe still I like the first option more.

Yeah I have a thought. IM A MASOCHISTIC IDIOT TO STILL FOLLOW THIS MANGA.

Sinceramente no creo que esto sea el final entre ellos, sino que es un preludio para que en un futuro cercano Eren se de cuenta de lo importante y de lo que tanto ama a Mikasa.

Mikasa will realize that she truly love Eren in a romantic way

I honestly think that their relationship is not going to end like this. I have a strong feeling that Isayama is going to make everything work out in the end for Eren and Mikasa, slowly but surely.

Chapter was powerful, yes, it hurt my shipper emotion, but powerful hands down. Isayama is genius.

Eren is cancelled

I think Eren has a goal in alienating his friends like this, he isn't just 100% apathetic toward them all of a sudden. He might be trying to keep them out of something BIG that's going to happen soon. Maybe his entire plan with Zeke is doomed to failure but for a greater goal, and he wants to keep them away from the losing side?

eren and mikasa’s bond is the only beautiful thing in this cruel world sO PLS STOP YOU GUYS DONT BE LIKE THIS 😭

Not need, but Eren is such a hoe. But I love him.. But he's still a bitch.. But I lo-

Eren is controlled by others so I believe he is kinda lying. He love Mikasa and Armin so much but now he has to hide it

Mikasa  should move on

Et tu Isayama

PLEASE ISAYAMA! AT LEAST DONT MAKE MY BABIES HATE EACH OTHER, EVEN IF EREMIKA NEVER BECOME CANON, LET THEM BE HAPPY WITH EACH OTHER, DON'T MAKE THEM ENEMIES!

"stop being a bitch, eren." -- armin.

I mean what else would I have expected from this depressing af series

They still love each other regardless of what Eren says and how hurt Mikasa is. They're bond is too strong to be broken and thrown under the rug after 1 chapter.

Bless Armin for standing up for my girl.

2019 is our year, guys. Just wait.

Wouldn't be satisfied if they reconcile without Eren heavily kissing Mikasa ass tbh.

He seems hurt by the thought of hurting her.

The attack titan "always pushes forward" plus he's probably seen things via the paths hense Krugers whopping out the EMA

why you can't just be honest with each other guys? honesty is one of the important things in realationship

I have no idea what Eren's true objective is and I really want to know WHY he'd do that to his best friends. I mean I'm hella biased so I'll still be on his side even if it turns out he had no real excuse but...

I just wonder if he said that for mikasas own good,so she could have a life apart from him.

When Eren said that he hated Mikasa and was 'bullying' Armin around, I think he was really just lying to keep them away from him and not hurt them as a consequence of his future actions. I remember in a chapter where the new Levi Squad were building train tracks and Eren saying he cared about all of them. I bring this up because I truly believe that he still sticks to his words from that day, and is trying to push them away including Mikasa so they don't get killed like Sasha did.

Eren is playing 4D chess. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt though.

we need another eren flashback okay

It was a (good) highly emotional chapter

Mikasa’s ackergene may have activated because of Eren, but she fell in love when he wrapped the scarf around her and extended friendship to her. Her love is true. Eren is just cray cray right now because he is influenced by memories/has spotty information.

I just want Eren to get hurt back by Mikasa herself

Eren truly is shocked from hurting Mikasa, he doesn't enjoy what he is doing.

Still wondering what is really going on in Eren's mind and his plan

Eren just want to keep safe her

per question above: Mikasa had protective feelings for him before he was a Titan which would still influence her feelings in the present, so I feel they have a genuine bond that's developed.

Isayama is just trying to make us hate Eren, and he knew this would hurt like a bitch! I have faith in our boi

It's pretty clear the truth isn't being spoken by Eren

It was both shocked and saddened to see them falling apart.

Mikasa is a strong character with potential. At this point I only want her to develop into the best strong girl boss she can be. As her own person with or without Eren.

I want to punch eren in the fucking face i want to dress him up like a cabbage and feed him to the snails

"Eren don’t you ever make my baby cry ever again or else

Mikasa is a little bit obsessed with Eren, so I understand why Eren used such cruel words, because they would get through her tick skull.

I think he lied to them (or at least told them half-truths), for what purpose I do not know. But if he really meant it he wouldn't look so hurt in that panel where Armin called him on his bullshit. Plus, I believe that if really believed in what he said, it would make his character irredeemable, and I don't think Isayama would ever do that (but that's just a guess though).

Sad babes

I feel like in this chapter that Eren is protecting Mikasa so she doesn't have to get hurt and Eren have to do that and I feel that Eren doesn't really mean all of that.

he’s definitely doing this to protect his friends

Fuck Eren in this chapter, but fuck Zeke more.

At this point Mikasa deserves better

I no longer ship them because Mikasa deserves so much better after everything she’s done to care for him. His words were too horrible, and therefore, they can never be a dignified ship again :(

Please wake up, Mikasa.

I await for a good Mikasa development arc and a tender Eremika and EMA reunion.

I want them to be back together again

They have'nt chemistry and common things.

It was cute and predictable

"just kiss already you two!" lol 1/2 jk

Eren is acting way too controversial recently. What he said isn't really what he truly feels, in my opinion.

I think, even though there was still emotional devastation on my part because of Mikasa and Armin’s reactions, it took a long time for me to evaluate the possibility that these were actually Eren’s words, since the whole thing was so bizarre and the degree to which he’s being controlled still hasn’t been clarified. I still believe that Zeke or Kruger may be influencing him, just because this is so antithetical to the Eren we know.

I think what Eren said is Isayama's way of setting up the inevitable confession of Eren's true romantic feelings for Mikasa somewhere along the way. I think Eren's pushing Mikasa (and the others) away so they won't get involved and be hurt on his future decisions, lest something bad happen to them. I've seen this thing happen before in other shonen stories, where the protagonist pushes away their potential romantic interest only to come back to them to apologize and confess. Idk I could be wrong though. I could never know what Isayama's really planning lmao

It's rewind time

it will give mikasa good character development

The ship is dead

If they were to mend back their bond, it wouldn't be the same as before. This is not a playground where they will all be happy. This is reality and they are bound to hurt each other whether they like it or not.

Eren is pulling the oldest trick in the trope book to try and force his friends away to protect them from his own fate

La ignorancia de Eren y el apego de Mikasa

Ok first of all Isayama himself said the Ackerbond is a CHOICE. Also even for Eren, that was an impressive amount of bullshit that came out of his mouth.

Eren looks so affected for Armin saying he made Mikasa suffer and we can appreciate he is truly hurt when he proves true that Mikasa is under influence of the Ackerbond while pushing Armin against the table. Plus, his reaction when Mikasa cries because she is disappointed of him in Liberio... thus it’s pretty obvious he DOESN’t HATE HER in my humble opinion.

💔💔💔💔💔

I need to see the story through Eren's eyes again for me to have a solid opinion.

I think that deep down Eren is doing everything to make him see Mikasa as a woman and not as a second mother. Deep down I think he loves her as she loves her

Well, someone previously mentioned before the contradiction found between Eren declaring that Armin is becoming soft and the fact that Armin suggested to have a titan devour and inherit Eren's powers back at chapter 108 which i totally agree with. Thus, i believe that the full truth has not yet surfaced and that it is still too early to judge on things that happened in chapter 112.

I really want to what he has in mind currently.

Mikasa's bond to Eren seems way stronger than Levi's to Erwin or Kenny's to Uri, so I feel that it's half Ackerbond and half lust

Eren lied to protect his friends

I think it's funny how a whole fandom can just totally overlook every moment between the pairing because of one chapter🤷‍♀️

EREN IS BUTTHURT THAT MIKASA MAY HAVE NOT REALLY LOVED HIM AND ARMIN IS DADDY AF

The chances for EreMika to become canon has increased and we might get a kiss and a sex scene between the two

I believe Eren is lying and Mikasa is really love Eren not because her ackerbond

I didn't expect this development so I still feel confused. I have a small hope Eren at least admits to himself he loves Mikasa.

I think Eren is brainwashed by Zeke. Also clearly hurt by the thought of his relationship/friendship with Mikasa being fabricated by her Ackerman genes since IMO he confessed back to her when he said he’d wrap her scarf as many times as she wants.. when she was about to kiss him cause she thought it was the end of both of their lives. Furthermore, whatever his plan is I think he wanted to keep Mikasa & Armin out of it to protect them cause i do not believe he could just start to hate them overnight. I hope this situation is temporary.

He doesn't hate her. How could he? I only hope her not to forgive him too soon (for herself, I mean). And I hope her to express her feelings just to, maybe, feel better.

@ eren why you gotta hurt her like that, MAMA DIDN’T RAISE YOU LIKE THIS!

Eren is obviously hurt for hurting his friends

I'll just wait for future chapters. Don't wanna make early conclusion

Lmao Yams is trolling

I have faith in eremika

I know mikasa won't end up with eren, but I just wish eren has same feeling like her.

I REALLY FUCKING HOPE eren is going to feel sorry for what he said to her, and that they‘re going to make up!

Eren is so blantantly obviously lying. Maybe Mikasas Ackerman genes have a bit to do with her protective nature, but not her feelings for Eren. There may have been times where Eren was frustrated with Mikasa, but he never has hated her. There is so much canon evidence he cares about her. For example him showing concern about her widget loss, the blushing scene, and him standing by her when she was injured. Much more where that came from. Maybe he said he hated her because he thought her Ackerman genes have control over all her feelings (which I don’t believe to be true, but perhaps he does.) Thus, sets her free because he cares about her that much.

it hurts eren to hurt his friends but he's got limited options here.

Eren better apologize to mikasa

I honestly think Eren's lying. We all know he's never been a good bullshitter, and he's transparent as HELL im 112, so tbh, i think he's partially being controlled be zeke who probably forced Eren to do what he did, and that he didn't mean what he said to Armin and Mikasa, and that he's doing it to keep them out of danger. Relationships like that don't just break off because someone said something hurtful. There's history behind the EMA friendship, and considering the type of person Eren is, he wouldn't just backstab them like that and tell them all those things, especially if he knew they'd cut deep. Eren's just a really, REALLLLYYYY terrible ass liar. (Wow i wrote a book here)

Something is up with Eren. While I think what he said seems harsh and unfair, I think what he’s expressing is true but the reasoning is off. I dunno how to explain its like... Eren isn’t the kind of person to say something like this for dramatic effect or do I see how pointless drama serves this kind of story at all. That and Mikasa’s reaction to what he said and her own doubts I can’t ignore that as much as I want to. Something is up but I think there’s is some truth in there

As much as I like Eremika I want Mikasa to get rid of Eren.

BRUHHHHHHHHH IAM HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABT THIS

Eren you bastard... why are you like this

It hurt Eren when Armin said that, his face says it all .. just that Eren got mad because he got a reaction out of it

Fuck u eren

The points he makes are quite logical, but the bond between them and the strong development of their relationship throughout the years  just make every harsh thing he said sound really really odd and although sounding like a truth - give the feeling of an utter lie

bitch i was ready to swing this edgy hobo boi is on some dumb shit obviously lying out of his ass to keep them safe or make them hate him for their own well being but he went too far with mikasa >:c

I believe Eren is simply way too aware of his and everyone's on the island deadly position/situation (Sarah's death definitely triggered him,too) hence his harsh words towards Mikasa and Armin in order to push them away and making whatever Eren has to do in order to safe them easier (i strongly believe Eren will die by the end of the series)

I wanna see more pain. (I’m sorry, I like the angst)

WHERE IS ALL THE ANGSTY FAN FICTION, I'VE BEEN REFRESHING AO3 LIKE A MADWOMAN

Just makes me sad that their relationship has always & seemingly will always be based around tragedy

Im scared and excited at the same time

Zeke's a liar and must die for giving Eren this bogus intel. Also, this scene is really similar to that anime only one from EP2, isn't it? It's the scene where Mikasa punches Eren after he implies Armin is a parasite, has to be canon now that Isayama is approving changes. If there's anything to call a smoking gun over disproving supposed genetic influences, this would be it.

Mikasa is most likely a key character in understanding Eren's behavior and general goal. For me this dark turn clearly paves the way to some juicy development in the future.

He might just be pushing her away so that when he dies she can more easily move on.

Maybe he purposely wanted to hurt her because he thought it was best for her for some reason. Maybe he’ll do something dangerous and he didn’t want her to be involved so he tried to push her away (don’t know, I’m just hoping so much that this will turn out to be positive)

I'm so sad y'all

Bull *wait for it* shit

I'm more confused, baffled and kind of amused at Eren than sad or even angry. It's just... what the fuck? Like, yeah, he's been all mysterious and shady for a while now, but this??? wth

Eren and Mikasa forever !  Seriously 112 was tough but we all know that Eren never hated Mikasa , what he did was because he had to .

There will be world war against eldians and eren tries to break his bond with mikasa cuz she should go to hiruzu far away from war. She is no eldian and eren thinks it's not her war.

Feel like Eren thought the only way to make mikasa free was to try and cut the “ackerbond”

chapter 50 exists and shows Eren's real feelings!! all's good!!

Eren might have memories from previous titans overlapping with his own memories and feelings - hence the change of attitude

Eren doesn’t hate Mikasa and doesn’t hate the fact that she’s an Ackerman. He was and always will be her family before anything, I know that he wants to set her free from her ackerbond and I know that he’s hurt from the inside cause he’s causing so much pain to his only family left but I know deep down that he still loves her and cares for her. I was never affected by the whole ‘Eren hates mikasa she should forget him he’s ungrateful and blah blah’ cause eventually he’s doing everything for his friends just like what he told them in CH108  I know I’m not the only one who believes this. In the end it’s up to isayama to decide everything and I hope that Eremika will end up together due to many factors that I can’t explain but clear in both the manga and the anime <3

I think Eren’s just going through some shit right now/is being manipulated by Zeile and hopefully Mikasa will help him come to his senses soon.

She deserves better

Eren is trying to cut off the ties he has to people important in his life.

bless Armin for saying: this is what you wanted??: the "frEed0m" to hurt Mikasa? fuck Eren, ackerbond or not what the motherfucking fuck are you thinking??

Pues creo q Eren solo dijo eso para proteger a sus amigos

There has to be a plan up his sleeves. A plan that temporarily had to sacrifice his relationship with the closest two people in his life but in turn it will protect them and they will one day realise this fact. I am just petrified that by then Eren could be dead. Isayama will finish me off if this turns out to be his plan all along.

2.7) Did Chapter 112 affect the shippers’ feels for eremika?

A bit less than 8% of the respondents are thinking about stopping shipping Eren and Mikasa or they don’t ship them anymore (74% of the people that checked this option have another hetero ship as their OTP and around 19% have a male/male ship as their OTP. None of the pickers of this option has eremika as their main ship, they either dropped it already or they never actually had it as a main)

Chapter 112 didn’t actually affect the feels for the pairing for 33% of the shippers, while it made 21.3% of the respondents to ship eremika even harder. 

There’s also the people (27%) that got affected by what happened in 112 but are trying to remain positive about the future of the ship and, on the other hand, less than 11% of the respondents are feeling down about it.  

2.8) Despite everything going on in the manga, 53.4% of the respondents still have high to very high feelings toward the ship, while 19.9% have very low to low feels toward it. The remaining 26.8% are in some sort of shipping limbo, they don’t ship them too hard nor too little.

2.9) "I'll wrap you up in it again... Again and again. Forever." Will Eren's promise be ever brought up again?

The majority of the respondents (70.2%) consider Eren’s promise to Mikasa has to be addressed again in the manga, while 24.3% are not so sure about it happening and 5.5% think it won’t be brought up again.

2.10) Considering everything that's going on in the manga, do you think Eren and Mikasa will become a canon couple at the end?

47.1% of the respondents think there’s a high chance for the ship to become canon by the end of the manga - almost 9% of them claim to have always been sure about it happening. 23.6% don’t know what to think anymore due to confusion or other reasons (Ereh, pls) and almost 14% don’t mind if the ship become canon or not.

15.4% don’t think the ship will become canon or that it sunk already. From this percentage of people, about 76% of them don’t have eremika as their main ship. Something similar happens with the ones that don’t mind the ship becoming canon or not.

Regarding the last four questions of this section, and to no one’s surprise, the more you ship a pairing the more positive you are about thinking it may become an official thing one day, meaning you consider the characters can overcome the obstacles or see these obstacles as chances.

The less you ship a pairing, the less you care about it becoming canon or you are more prone to interprete any obstacle between the characters as a signal of a doomed ship. This doesn’t surprise anyone either.

3. ON EREMIKA CONTENT

3.1) Around 46% of the respondents look for eremika content often to very often while 32% never or almost never does. 22% do it sometimes.

3.2) The favorite type of content that the shippers look for is Fanart with 47.6% of the preferences, followed by Fanfiction (24.6%) and written analysis or discussions about the ship (21.6%). Edits or memes and videos only got 4% and 2.2% of the preferences, respectively. No one chose cosplay as their favorite type of content.

3.3) With 399 responses, the frequency that the shippers reblog, retweet or like fanarts / edits 41.4% often to very often, 34.5% almost never or never do it and sometimes 24.1% of them do.

3.4) With 371 responses, around 44% of the shippers say they never (29.4%) or almost never give some sort of feedback to EM Fanfiction writers… which, sadly, isn’t unforeseen. A bit more than 17% claim to do it very often and about 39% do it sometimes or often.

3.5) 39% of the respondents have at least once made content for eremika and 31% still create content for the ship.

4. CONTENT CREATORS

This section was optional and 73 content creators responded to it. 

4.1) Around 60% of them are Fanfiction writers, 37% are fanartists, 20.5% are graphic makers and/or analysis writers, 8% of them make videos and almost 3% do cosplay. Other responses included writing headcanons, EM Facebook page and group admin, sewing EM plushies plus photographing and editing the pictures to add dialogue and effects, animations and someone will try their best at fanart.

4.2) Their favorite kind of content to create is Angst with 20.5% of the preferences, followed by Fluff (13.7%) and Smut (8.2%). 35.6% of the respondents stated to like all the types of content listed: Fluff, Angst, Smut and Humorous. A bit more than 12% claim to not really have a favorite kind of content. Other responses included “Fluffy and Humorous”, “a mix of angst yet powerful”, “canon compliant stuff”, “angsty, fluff”, “[...] all eremika content is GOOD FOR THE SOUL” and “I like to write rated M stories that don't just focus on the smut factor of the rating.”

4.3) On how often they create and publish their content, about 29% rarely do, over 27% do it once every a couple of months, 15% do it monthly and less than 10% do it at least once a week. Other responses included whenever they feel like it or are inspired and have time to do so, someone “create a fair bit but rarely publish anything”, someone else tries everyday to do something even if it’s not EM related, a writer used to update their fanfic monthly but nowadays barely writes, someone never publishes what they make but gives it to their close friends, a fanartist draw eremika all the time but never publishes it because they “know no one will like it”, someone else talk about EM with a friend everyday and they theorize together, and a writer used to write often but they rarely do anymore and it seems it’s been more than a year since they did.

4.4) Most of the respondents rate the support of the eremika fandom toward their content as regular (31.5%), a bit more than 23% rate it as very high, almost 25% as high and 20.6% as very low or low.

4.5) 42.5% of the respondents consider they help circulate other people’s creations very often while around 58% do it sometimes or often. Less than 3% said they never help to do so.

5. GENERAL DEMOGRAPHICS

5.1) This section was optional, except for the fandom and social media question, in which 72.3% of the respondents said to participate on Tumblr, almost 35% of them on Reddit, around 23% on Twitter and 17.7% on Discord. There are mentions of other social medias like Instagram (less than 8%), Facebook (a bit more than 2%), Youtube (1%) and Amino, Pinterest, a French forum, 4chan, DeviantArt, Fanfiction.net, Archiveofourown, Wattpad and real life. 5.5% of the respondents stated they don’t participate in Fandom.

5.2) In terms of geographical location, 47.5% of the 398 respondents to this question are from the American continent, almost 35% are from Europe, 13.6% from Asia, 2.3% from Oceania and 2% from Africa.

5.3) The native language of the respondents, considering 390 responses:

English 43.8%

Spanish 13.8%

French 5.1%

Italian 4.4%

German 4.1%

Russian 3.6%

Arabic 3.1%

Filipino / Tagalog 2.5%

Portuguese 2.3%

1.8% Hindi, Indonesian

1.5% Greek, Polish 

1.3% Mandarin Chinese

1% Dutch

0.8% Swedish (one of them also speaks Thai), 

0.5% Thai, Malay / Malayalam, Finnish, Romanian, Vietnamese, Japanese, Serbian, Bulgarian, 

At least one of the respondents speaks either Hebrew, Tamil, Welsh, Ukrainian, Urdu, Danish, Hungarian, Cebuano, Turkish, Bengali, Cantonese, Bisaya and Sami. 

5.4) When it comes to age ranges, almost 62% of the 398 EM shippers that responded to this question are between 18 and 24 years-old, 21.6% are between 13 and 17 years-old, 15.1% are between 25 and 34 years-old and only 1.5% are between 35 and 44 years-old.

5.5) 396 people responded to the gender question and the majority of them identify themselves as Female (70.5%), 24.5% as Male and 3.8% as Non-binary. One person identified themselves as demi-girl and someone else stated they didn’t want to say it. 

5.6) Finally, regarding the sexual orientation of the 388 respondents to this question, 64.2% are Heterosexual / Straight while 35.8% are among the LGBTQ+ spectrum: 13.7% are Bisexual, 9% don’t know or aren’t sure about their sexuality, almost 4% are Asexual, 3.4% are Pansexual, 2.3% are Demisexual, almost 2% are Gay / Lesbian and less than 1% are Queer. Other replies include Pan-Demiromantic and Lesbian/Asexual.

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