#I have clear opinions about many many many of the men in this poll. a lot of them SUCKED
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[CHILD ABUSE TW]
hey, i know this is a poll about appearances only, but still, should a guy who raped a 10-year-old be here? (that's what lex barker did to lana turner's daughter)
This is a fair question. Here’s the thing: in running this bracket, I got 130+ submissions. Many, many of these men have dirt on them—some of it verifiable, some of it questionable, some of it rumor. (The propaganda for Robert Wagner alone swings both ways). When I started the poll I wondered if I should make a policy excluding certain people, but I just felt that would become dicey way too quickly—partly because I don’t think it’s fair for my opinions to shape the bracket, but also because it would be impossible for me to do a thorough and just background check on every guy submitted. I know, it’s easy to say but it’s so clear in this case!, but for every seemingly clear-cut case like that there is another one that stems from the Hollywood rumor mill, unclear sources, and just plain bad blood that seems equally obvious to someone else. I can’t be the arbiter of morality for this poll, and I don’t think it’s right that I should make myself one.
so with that said: yes, there are some real scumbags in this bracket, but I leave it up to the individual voter to do their research if they’d like, and then decide for themselves if what they find matters to their vote. People may put what they find in the replies or reblogs for other voters to see, but I won’t be boosting posts like that because I won’t reblog anything negative I’m not 100% sure of, and I don’t have time to verify every item.
I know this won’t make everyone happy, but I think the best option is to assume that you guys are rational and smart, and can weigh your own choices when it comes to the vote. Is it enough for someone to be hot? Do you need them to be good too? I leave that up to you.
#I have clear opinions about many many many of the men in this poll. a lot of them SUCKED#but that’s to me! you need to decide for yourself! I vote according to my own ideas and I hope you do too.#housekeeping#asks#thank you for asking this it is a good question <3
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Greece’s Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has backed law changes allowing same-sex civil marriage, while leaving it unclear when exactly the new bill will be submitted. Same-sex couples will also have the right to adopt but not to have children through surrogacy.
“The first thing we will legislate is equality in marriage, that is, the elimination of any discrimination based on sexual orientation in the issue of entering into a marriage relationship, which is essentially the culmination of love, but at the same time a legal contract with rights and obligations … We are talking about a civil wedding,” Mitsotakis told ERT, the Greek public broadcaster.
The centre-right leader stated that the new bill is no different from what is already in force in many European countries. Same-sex marriage is recognised in about 15 EU Member States.
Asked when the new bill will be tabled, and if it will be tabled before the European Parliament elections, the Prime Minister replied: “I do not set an electoral milestone, nor do I weigh the political costs or benefit … [but] from the moment I open the debate, I don’t open it and put it off but open it … to convince our parliamentarians.”
Many MPs from his New Democracy party have expressed opposition to the new bill, including the Minister of State Makis Voridis and the former minister and New Democracy MP Thanos Plevris. Mitsotakis also made it clear that he is not going to force his MPs to vote for the bill, respects all opinions and does not want this issue to divide society.
“Not all New Democracy MPs will vote for it; it is important to be able to convince MPs from other parties to vote for it as well,” noted Mitsotakis.
According to a poll by Greek private TV channel SKAI and Pulse, a research and opinion polling company, Greece remains almost evenly divided on the issue. The poll showed 46 per cent of respondents stating that they view civil marriage negatively, and 45 per cent positively.
Regarding having children, the PM said same-sex couples would be able to legally adopt children but not have them through a surrogate mother. In Greece, having a child through a surrogate mother is only allowed to heterosexual couples and single women. Adoption is currently allowed for heterosexual couples, single women, and single men.
Regarding the critical reaction of the socially conservative Greek Orthodox Church, the PM noted: “We will listen to the views of the Church, I don’t know if we will be able to agree, we will respect their different point of view, but the State legislates, it does not co-legislate with the Church.”
Several Orthodox clerics have voiced opposition to legal same-sex marriage. According to the media, an internal official note sent by the Church’s governing Holy Synod to all bishops says the Church of Greece is not against the civil marriage of same-sex couples but against civil marriage in general, adding that children need to grow up with a mother and a father.
“Children are neither companion pets for anyone who wants to feel like guardians, nor accessories to formalize or make acceptable a same-sex cohabitation,” read the note.
The opposition left-wing SYRIZA party, on the initiative of its leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, who is gay, on January 8 submitted its own proposal for a law on the removal of gender discrimination in the Family Law, securing the right to marriage for all persons. SYRIZA would also give same-sex couples equal rights to participate in medically-assisted reproduction.
Kasselakis a few months ago told a television interview that he and his partner want to have two children with a surrogate mother.
In 2015, the then SYRIZA-ANEL government brought in civil partnership for same-sex couples. In that vote in parliament, 29 New Democracy MPs voted against it, 19 voted for and 27 abstained. The bill extended civil partnership rights to same-sex couples, expanding their range of rights concerning the family, inheritance and insurance. The earlier lack of legal provision for same-sex couples resulted in Greece being condemned in 2013 by the European Court of Human Rights.
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literally what makes the aristocats bad. its got nice songs. it has silly characters. it’s got really pretty backgrounds and the old hand-drawn disney animation. it’s inspired by a true story. what’s there to dislike.
(*cough* aside from the racism that permeates most if not all of the old Disney movies but since that’s present in so many of them no special case should to be made against the aristocats for it to be a worse movie because of that shared trait *cough*)
also I hope this didn’t come across as like. confrontational or anything bc it’s not supposed to be. legitimately want to hear your thoughts 👍
No, I love this! I appreciate being asked my thoughts, especially since the good people in the tags have told me loud and clear that I am in the minority on this one.
I will say, I did not expect the poll to have quite the legs it's got on it now. My polls usually only get about 60 votes. If I'd known 4,700 strangers and counting would have an opinion on this, I might have worded it differently. The real reason I didn't include The Aristocats is because I knew it would run away with the thing. Most people consider it a classic, regardless of what my opinions on it actually are. I thought throwing in a cheeky little line about it would be a fun gag for my followers who know I'm a true hater at heart.
Before I even got this ask - and because the overwhelming majority of the tags on the poll are telling me I have no taste - I actually did start rewatching it! Hundreds of strangers on the internet have never been wrong before, right? Part of the problem is I have next to no nostalgia for it. We didn't own the VHS when I was a child, so the only times I ever saw it were when I'd go to a friend's house or borrow it from the library. Maybe my judgement was clouded by not having seen it in a very long time.
First things first: The good stuff. There are parts of this film that rank alongside the best of the Disney classics, and I would be remiss in not mentioning them.
The music, for one, is pretty good. You'd have to be some kind of real Scrooge not to enjoy "Ev'rybody Wants to Be a Cat" of course, but on a rewatch I did find myself grinning through "Thomas O'Malley Cat" as well. This is an easy point in the film's favor though, as I'm an absolute sucker for both big band and jazz. This is great use of your Scatman Crothers and Phil Harris, top points awarded for these two numbers in particular.
The animation is also pretty good. Especially on Edgar and Thomas O'Malley. Your mileage may vary on the Xerox style, but the animation itself is relatively unimpeachable. This was still during the era of the Nine Old Men, so there's all kind of impressive work being done with the big sweeping things like character movement and expression as well as in the more subtle animations like expressions and mouth movement.
The cats are doing all the cat stuff you'd expect like licking their paws and poof'ing their tails, but there's less expected movements here too, like arching their backs when walking alongside things or rolling in the dirt to dry off from the river. This is good character work, but it's also pretty standard for guys like Milt Kahl and Eric Larson. If you're at all interested in animation, I highly encourage you to read more about the Nine Old Men and their history with the studio.
(A big thanks to the tumblr gif artists for gif'ing the parts of this movie that look good so I can spice this post up with some relevant visuals!)
Now, the bad. Like many movies from this era, The Aristocats has something of a pacing problem. While it is necessary to do the work of setting up the conflict in the beginning, you might be surprised to learn that it takes 25 minutes for Thomas O'Malley to show up, which is when the story actually starts.
A huge part of the problem is that this movie suffers from a sort of directionless vignetticism that seems to have been driven only by the idea that it would be cute to see the animals do X, Y, and Z. "Oh wouldn't it be sweet to see the kitten paint?" "Wouldn't it be so adorable if the cat played the piano?" "Ohh, what if the mouse ate a cracker dipped in milk, wouldn't that be darling?" I have a very high tolerance for schmaltz, but The Aristocats is where even I must draw the line.
When the movie isn't being tooth-rottingly sweet, it's frequently boring, and when it's not being either of those things it's showing you another chase scene with the dogs and the butler. It's erratic, tiring, and strains the limits of the modern attention span even at the movie's incredibly sparse runtime. It's a 79 minute film and you feel all 79 of those minutes.
Tonally, much of the movie smacks of the kind of rose-tinted sentimentalism Disney was known (and even criticized at the time) for, but without the guiding hand of the man himself, nearly 5 years gone by this point. The studio was floundering in the wake of Walt's death, and The Aristocats is quite close to the nadir of this particular creative valley - though the distinction arguably goes to Robin Hood, I'm much softer on that film for a number of reasons.
The Aristocats reminds me a lot of Lady & the Tramp, in that it's the same story (down to the aforementioned racist caricatures of Siamese cats), but with cats instead of dogs and with a much less focused sense of purpose, tone, and creative direction. If you like The Aristocats for the music and the beautiful scenery, but you haven't seen Lady & the Tramp, give that one a try instead. The animation is better, the music is about on-par, and it doesn't have as many stupid chase scenes. Or just watch 101 Dalmatians, which outstrips both films on sheer charm alone.
I think I had more I wanted to say, but it was mostly rambling that got away from the point. On rewatch, I don't think this movie is as bad as I remember it being, but I stand by my decision not to include it in the poll.
tl;dr - The Aristocats isn't the worst. If you grew up watching it I totally understand having a soft spot for the music and the atmosphere. In a vacuum, I can't say I think it holds up but ultimately I'm not going to judge anyone for enjoying it. Thanks for the ask!
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I know none of this is very serious. But re: trying to make the polls equal through having equal amounts of propaganda, and then acknowledging that very few people who followed you wanted to write effusive praise for Lauryn Hill and Selena despite their iconic trailblazer status... like why do you think that is? Why don't they have more propaganda. Not asking to put you on the defensive. It's just sad because obviously both of those women have made such a massive impact on the musical world. And they're both so fucking beautiful. It should be undeniable how beautiful they are. But living in a racist world means so many people as beautiful as them are seen as ugly no matter what. I know no one is looking to a Tumblr poll for any kind of meaningful verdict. It's just a game. But people are going to be sensitive to this kind of comparison. It makes me think of people playing hot or not in high school, or rating people out of ten. When race gets involved, and when there's even an unconscious hint of appeal to a certain "objective" ideal of beauty, one that we're all immersed in and have to work to deconstruct every single day... then people are going to take it personally.
I can see that. It's hard to ignore the societal issues often connected to the concept of beauty and how this can be linked to how a certain internet poll presents a certain two participants.
Regardless, what I consider the main problem is the people who decide to insult others because of their taste in a clearly subjective-opinion poll. The poll ratios are clear to see- the women are winning by miles, three of them in racial minorities, and yet there are still so many users blasting anyone who finds the men more attractive or sends propaganda for them. There's a deeper conversation to be had about race and beauty but in this case the big issue is still about why everyone's so mean to each other.
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Time to get controversial
A Tumblr Sexyman is NOT defined by being conventionally sexy, charismatic, popular, or unexpected.
Which seems to be something a lot of people running/participating in sexy man polls in don’t seem to understand. In fact, I would argue sexyman status isn’t even something you can vote on—it’s objective, not matter of opinion.
If we examine some of the undeniable sexmen (the Oncelor, Sans Undertale, Bill Cipher, that clock for some reason) we can find some clear-cut traits that define sexymen.
- They aren’t conventionally attractive in canon.
Sans is an actual skeleton. He’s also short and fat, can be attractive but does not fit conventional beauty standards. Bill Cipher is a triangle with stick-figure limbs and a single eye. The clock from Dont Hug Me I’m Scared is a clock. You might be able to make an argument for the Onceler, but his appearance is more soft, cartoony, and “cute” than what one might consider conventionally sexy.
- They’re frequently drawn as slim white men in fashionable clothing.
Literally every sexyman other than Sans, like, seriously. If they have a vague or non-human appearance in canon, but several fans have drawn them as thin white dudes in tuxedos, they’re likely a sexy man.
- They’re powerful.
The Oncelor becomes a mega-rich gazillionaire who makes his own city. When Sans actually bothers to fight, he has the most challenging battle in the game. Bill Cipher is an actual chaos demon who causes an apocalypse. The Clock has like, time powers n shit.
- They have at least one likeable trait.
Both Sans and Bill Cipher are well liked for being funny and comedic. The Oncelor, pre-greed binge, is a soft boy who was bullied by his family.
- They’re usually shipped with a variant of themself. (Also usually are depicted as gay men by the fandom)
The Onceler is the most infamous for this one, however there was also a huge amount of AU Sanses, many of which were frequently paired up. Even Bill Cipher was shipped with the borderline fan-original blue square Tad Strange, who was assumed to be a chaos demon as well on name alone (he was Not.)
- They usually fill an antagonistic role, or otherwise are involved in causing conflict.
The Onceler kills the truffla trees, while Bill Cipher and the Clock are more or less straight up villains. Sans is an interesting case as he’s only an antagonist in the No Mercy route, giving him the benefit of both filling an antagonistic role while also being popularly viewed as a tragic hero.
- They have a rabid fandom at their peak.
Again, the Onceler is most infamous, but this also applies to the other three examples.
- Most importantly—most people HATE them.
The fandom is called cringe and weird, but it’s inescapable. It’s a common DNI or something people get hate anons over. And nothing about the fandom riles people up more than the Sexyman. “I don’t understand,” the outsiders cry. “Why are you drawing him hot? Why are you treating him like a sad little puppy when? He doesn’t look like that!” And maybe a few years down the row those same outsiders will look back with nostalgia, even fondness. But a Sexyman is forged in the flames of derision and scorn. They are cringe, and their fans are cringe.
So next time you see a Sexyman poll, remember.
If you hate a character, that doesn’t mean they aren’t a sexyman.
It might be all the more proof they are.
“Sexyman” is not an award. It is a diagnosis.
#tumblr sexyman#sexyman#why did i make this u ask#its because i saw dream from the dream smp losing a minecraft sexyman poll#and the comments said it was because they didn’t like him#AS SOON AS YOU LET PREFERENCE INFLUENCE YOU IT IS A FAILED MEASUREMENT#hate him or love him dsmp dream fits all of the criteria of a sexyman.#in fact hating him just makes him more sexy man#sexy man is not an AWARD it is a DIAGNOSIS
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Is it true that when a heterosexual man meets a woman for the first time his initial reaction is always "Does she make me horny?" and the subsequent Yes/No leads to how much value he places on her as a person and how much attention and effort he should spend on interacting with her?
I can't answer that question with absolute certainty because I'm not a hetero$exual man. I'm a hetero$exual woman. And I don't necessarily think being hetero$exual has anything to do with it because gay men can be the same way towards men that they meet. It's a man thing, not just a straight man thing.
But my personal opinion is this: I think it's probably definitely true for too many men but I know it's not true for all men. I absolutely can't see Aidan as the type of man who bases his entire opinion of a woman on whether or not he would b0ne her.
My son isn't quite a literal man yet (he's 17), and he's not 100% hetero$exual, but my boy absolutely doesn't judge women or men that way. He wasn’t raised to.
And some men may claim it's in their nature but I'm not buying that. I believe it's learned behavior. If they're raised to see women as $3xual objects whose sole purpose is pleasing a man $3xually, that will make them that way.
Now, to be clear, I'm not saying that it's not in a man's nature to look at someone for the first time and assess whether he's attracted to them or not. In fact, I think that's in just about everyone's nature, male or female or any other gender. The first thing you notice about someone when you meet them is their looks because it's what you see. Their personality isn't painted all over them. And to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if men fantasize about fucking someone within seconds of meeting them. They are highly $3xually charged creatures. But I don't think that attraction makes up their entire opinion of someone as a person. At least not for all of them.
And yes, men are highly $3xual creatures. Some women are too but nowhere near as many men. I read a poll where they asked men of different ages how many times a week they ma$turbated. With the younger guys it was multiple times a day but even men in their 50s and 60s are still jerking off 3-5 times a week. Even the ones with a s3xual partner. I turn 40 in a few days and I don't do it as much as a 60 year old man does. Teenage boys have been known to do it as much as 6, 7, 8 times a day (some even more if you can believe that).
None of that is an excuse for shitty behavior, of course. And just because they look at someone and ask themselves if they would b0ne that person doesn't mean they assess their value that way. Like I said, it's all in the way they were raised.
#anon#im editing certain words now if used in abundancs cuz i dont want my blog getting chopped#so bear with me
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Bluebirds late show denies North End`s rearguard action
Blame was very much the name of the game after this late, late show from Cardiff saw North End snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. A goal up and down to ten men, with five of the nine added minutes already played, but two late strikes from Cardiff saw North End finish up with nothing from the game and the inquest had begun almost before the teams were down the tunnel. Was it bad refereeing from Bobby Madley not to give Collins a red card for a head butt on Evans in the first half? Was it Robbie Brady for committing a stupid foul knowing he had been booked? Was it Ryan Lowe for not removing Brady at half time with plenty of options on the bench. Actually, in my opinion, it was a mix of all three that conspired to North End`s downfall. Madley should have instantly dismissed Collins for a head butt on Ched Evans. It was an appalling decision even though I felt Madley had let the game flow well for long periods. Secondly, what the hell was Brady doing committing such a cynical foul knowing full well he had been booked in the Evans incident earlier. It was a very poor decision by a very experienced professional whose ratings in the opinion polls with the Deepdale faithful are falling faster than the current governments. Finally, what was Ryan Lowe not doing changing things at the break, indeed the manager confessed after the game that he didn't even know Brady had been booked. What a bloody farce it all panned out to be in the end.
North End made two changes to the side that won at Blackburn a fortnight ago with Ched Evans and Robbie Brady coming in for Liam Millar and Will Keane. The game started with hardly any meaningful action although there were a couple of half chances at either end and if any team looked likely to break the deadlock it was probably the visitors. The big talking point of the first half came on the half hour when Collins took offence to an innocuous attempted tackle from Evans and squared up to the Welsh forward head to head. There was an absolutely clear and deliberate forward movement of Collins head towards Evans who went down. It was an absolute stonewall red card for the Cardiff player but referee Madley decided yellow for both players was the right decision. Brady was then booked in the aftermath and just quite how we got two yellow cards from that incident beggars belief. There were a couple more half chances before the break but it was a quite dull first half and 0-0 just about summed it up.
No changes for North End at the break in spite of the bookings but within three minutes we were in the lead. Osmajic won the ball on the right hand side and charged forward towards the Cardiff goal. Runarsson in the visitors goal made a fatal hesitation and Osmajic cut in to fire home a beautiful strike and give North End the lead. The turning point in the game came just four minutes later when Brady received a second yellow, quite rightly, for a foul on Meite. It signalled operation rearguard for North End and I have to say for long periods we looked comfortable enough without showing hardly any attacking intent. We kept the visitors down to a couple of half chances in the ninety but with five minutes of added time gone Cardiff got the equalised after a Holmes clearance deflected off Grant into the net. Disappointment for the team and the fans but worse was to come when in the ninety ninth minute Ugbo headed home at the back post and the points were off back to South Wales.
It was a strange game in many ways with North End scoring a cracking individual goal but being beaten by lapses of concentration deep into stoppage time. Yes the referee was at fault for not showing Collins a red card but so was Brady for a stupid tackle and Lowe for not changing things at the break with options open to him. One comment after the game was "why do we spend the last twenty minutes of our home games camped in our own half". On Saturday it was understandable but the lack of ambition to put games away when we are a goal up after the break is starting to worry a growing number of the Deepdale faithful. After the weekends results we still sit in the play off spots but you cannot help thinking we are brittle in some games and lacking forward ambition in others. Onwards and upwards to the Riverside on Tuesday before QPR visit Deepdale on Friday evening in front of the SKY cameras.
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PRESTON 1-2 CARDIFF CITY
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WOODMAN 6
POTTS 6 STOREY 6 LINDSAY 7 BEST 6
BROWNE 7 WHITEMAN 6
HOLMES 7 EVANS 6 BRADY 4
OSMAJIC 7
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Subs:
HUGHES 6
LEDSON 6
MILLAR 5
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MOTM: Milutin Osmajic
Attendance 14,593
Preston Fans 13,804 (94.59%).
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I was looking at your anons that you shared. But I feel you are missing the point though I maybe wrong. Thing is culture and environment does greatly affect the way men view and act on things. A man raised in a liberal, cosmopolitan environment is less likely to have violent misogynist tendencies and more likely to support women's rights (though liberal misogyny may still be present) than a man raised in a place where women are subject to chattel slavery and covered or locked up in houses. You can look up global opinion polls where there's a clear hostility towards women's equality and lgbt rights and more support for conservative religiousness in middle East, Africa and South Asia (obviously not all countries in those) compared to Europe or the Americas (including South America). Obviously a man who is from such an environment is more likely to be misogynistic (in terms of actions) than a man from a liberal environment on an average. This has nothing to do with race, because the same man had he been raised in a better environment would've likely been better (on an average). It is fair to blame the global geopolitical game and actions of the Western powers for the current situation in middle East or Afghanistan etc, but that doesn't change the fact that men from these places are more likely to be misogynist due to their environment and culture (not due to their race). What do you think?
i would like to preface this (for future anons) that im simply rbing and tagging that stuff for future reference, these aren’t all there is that ive said on the topic and it’ll take me time to go thru everything ive said on the topic so what ive reblogged is by no means the entirety of my perspective. additionally, ive talked so much about this that i actually have no desire to really have a discussion on it. maybe a civil private one in dms or something, but not a public one on my blog. it’s just bc i found talking about this topic and discussing it with very blatantly racist ppl last month was very emotionally draining for me. so i would appreciate if this discourse isnt reignited bc my intention isn’t to reignite it, but rather simply to find all thats been said on it so i can share it with another blogger on here.
OKAY so onto what u said. i agree that environment plays a massive role, in fact i think it’s predominantly what drives people’s behaviours in this context. however, i disagree with the argument that it’s about culture. i think it is about society and environment, but culture in itself isn’t the root of the issue a lot of the time. you brought up afghanistan, and i think that’s a good example of what i mean. culture is very deeply rooted and our cultures often have hundreds if not thousands of years of history behind them. what we’re seeing in afghanistan today isn’t the result of culture— it’s the result of an extreme societal change that happened several decades ago. not to say afghanistan didn’t have their own battles with misogyny before taliban got power, but taliban getting power and coming to exist isnt because of afghan culture (which ive seen many people argue and then use to point out that “well their culture led to this, and since they created their culture this goes to show these people are innately more misogynistic and violent”) but rather because of foreign powers. communism was on the rise in many nations in the middle east and in afghanistan as well. on another end, there were also islamists. they existed (afaik, we have saudi to thank for that) but they were weak and didn’t have influence. western powers, namely US, thought of communism as a threat to their power & to their livelihood, and thus supported and empowered the “lesser threat”, which are the Islamists. this helped the Islamists gain power and take over. this led to a major societal shift in afghanistan. what was once a country where women could walk around dressed however they liked, turned into a country where women were being forced to wear a burqa. what was once a country where women were getting educated, now became a country where women had to pretend to be boys if they wanted to learn. there’s some famous images showing this (ofc they don’t give us the full picture of life in afghanistan before taliban took over, but we get an idea), all of them being afaik from afghanistan in the 60s and 70s:
so i firmly am against the argument that the primary issues involve their culture. the islamists existence AND their power were both things that came from outside influence and outside powers. what i think is fairer to say, is that the difference in extremes of misogyny is to do with society and moreso social progress. we cannot argue that misogyny in Western Europe is less extreme because of Western European culture, especially when European society, around the same time as the images above, had a lot of undeniable misogyny. for example, at around the same time, italy had a law where women were forced to marry their rapists so that their rapist can basically get away with it, and in the 60s was the first time when a woman publicly refused to do so (her name is franca viola). women like the aforementioned one pushed for social progress which has made life better for women today, it wasn’t about the difference in culture.
with some practices, i would give culture more credit. for example, fgm is an ancient cultural practice in various countries. however, some practices aren’t cultural. taliban is far from a reflection of afghan culture. and of course men took advantage of the taliban and became more overtly misogynistic. the number of men that come from places where women’s rights have made massive progress, only to go to other countries and be incredibly misogynistic to the women in said countries, points to me that even with social progress, men will try to find a way to be misogynistic in a way thats acceptable enough (ex: sex tourism or mail order brides).
this is a long reply and by no means everything i think on this, but hopefully you understand now where im coming from. i don’t disagree culture can play a role, but a lot of the time what people blame on culture isn’t even about the country’s culture to begin with.
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So. Poland has chosen its "president" yesterday - if we can even talk about real choice here when he won by approximately 422k votes. When he won in 6 out of 16 regions, all of them with significantly lower number of eligible voters. When there are huge discrepancies between the results displayed in each polling district and the ones published on the website of the National Electoral Commission. When there were recurring instances of some voting cards not having the necessary stamps which automatically classified the vote as invalid. When some people went to vote and it turned out they're not registered in their designated district because of system error. When people abroad didn't get their voting cards on time. When his party sent over 150 buses to villages in Eastern Poland to take older, conservative people to voting stations. When this is how the results map looks like - and somehow the blue wins with orange.
In the last five years, Du*a and his party PiS (literally lAw AnD jUsTiCe but believe me, they're none of these things) have completely ruined the country and regressed it to Middle Ages.The democracy practically doesn't exist anymore, not since they have the majority to rule (the opposition won the senate back in the parliamentary elections so it's a small win but it's still not enough). They started with the judicial system, appointing conservative judges who are always ruling in their favour. The courts are not independent anymore. The Constitution is being broken over and over and over again. People have been marching and protesting for years now but to no avail.
The national television, TVP, is practically owned by the ruling party. The propaganda, fake news, hatred on the opposition and minorities is getting stronger each day. What you need to know is that this is literally the first channel on every TV set in the country. No matter where you live, no matter if you have cable or satellite, you turn on TV and TVP is what you get. Their reach is so much higher than other TV stations from the big four (TVP1&TVP2, TVN, Polsat). Poland has fallen to 62nd out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders. Before PiS took over in 2015 we were 18th. For du*a's presidential campaign now they gave TVP 2 billion PLN in order to strengthen the propaganda. There was a project to give those money to hospital oncology wards but PiS said no. TVP has only been showing him during the campaign. The other candidates have either been showed in a bad light or haven't been showed at all. Voters for whom TVP is the only source of information haven't seen other candidates nor their campaigns.
During the second round of the campaign, when another tv station, TVN, with two major Polish online media, Onet and WP, invited him and his opponent, Rafał Trzaskowski, for a debate. Du*a declined because he said he won't participate in a debate which isn't available for everyone and he asked them to reach an agreement with TVP to host the debate together. In the end there were two debates. Du*a on his own in TVP, answering predetermined questions from journalists reporting to his party and people in the studio that were paid to be there. Trzaskowski on his own in TVN and live on his Facebook channel, answering questions from the journalists from 16 independent offline and online media teams.
At the beginning of his and PiS first term of destroying the country, they started their crusade against women, because as we all know middle aged men are the most eligible people to make choices for women and their bodies. Abortion is Poland is (was? honestly who knows now) only allowed in three cases: if the woman's life was in danger, if the prenatal testing indicates severe damage of the fetus, if the pregnancy was the outcome of rape. With their pro life and anti women initiative, PiS was determined to ban abortion completely and punish it by prison. The bill was so flimsy that in some cases even miscarriage could be turned against woman. Even if the baby would've been born sick or severely disabled, even if the pregnancy could be fatal for the mother, even if it was caused by rape. We went on the streets. All dressed in black, with umbrellas in hand. Hundreds of thousands of women and allies marching and protesting together against the government. And they got scared. The bill proposal was dropped but the fight wasn't over and it still isn't. They tried to bring it back now during the pandemic just because they knew we wouldn't go out protesting. But we did, we blocked the streets with our cars.
The day after pill can only be bought on prescription. But if you end up going to the conservative ob/gyn they can invoke conscientious objection to abortion and they won't prescribe it for you. They want to ban sex ed from schools. In their opinion sex ed “demoralizes children and teaches them masturbation.” They want young people to be uneducated and have sex and get pregnant and give birth. They want to make kids have kids just so they would depend on the government and social wage programme 500+ which gives 500PLN (approximately 125€) each month to families with 2 or more children for each of their children. Right now you can be a woman raising your three or four kids and you will get the equivalent of minimum wage just for that. This program made people vote for them in 2015. First Du*a used it in his presidential campaign, then PiS was blackmailing the voters saying the program will only happen if both president and the government will be on board aka they have to get in so Du*a will sign the bill and people will get the money. People still believe only they can ensure the stability of the program even though almost all the other candidates said it will not go away.
In the last couple of weeks of presidential campaign, it became more clear than ever how Du*a is planning to win the elections - by trying to reach to the mindsets of elderly and conservative voters by attacking the LGBT community. He called us “ideological hurricane”. He said we are worse than communists. His party members have been saying we're not humans. He was saying over and over again how he doesn't care what people do in bed as long as they're not obnoxious on street and in real life about it. How sexuality is a private thing and we shouldn't be proud of it. How there's no place in Poland for “LGBT propaganda that wants to demoralize our children”. How there's no space here for unions for same-sex couples, not even mentioning marriage or adoption. How he'll do everything in his power to protect the “traditional Polish values and family model” (whatever that means). The most conservative parts of the eastern Poland has claimed their towns and villages as “anti-LGBT zone”. It's been going on since last year. After Dua's words now the hate crime is stronger than it ever was. When LGBT activists asked him to apologize for his spiteful words, showed him proofs that suicide rate among LGBT teenagers is higher than it was since his party is ruling, showed him the photographs and shared the stories of the people we lost because of the bashing they encourage and support, he said he won't apologize because he stands by his words and there's a freedom of speech in the country. Not for everyone I guess.
The journalists have been interviewing many people in different parts of Poland after it. What stuck with me were the words of some old man from the countryside who has said that “LGBT should be exterminated in Majdanek”. It's one of the places where the death camp was during World War 2. I don't think I have to tell anyone what words like this mean, how much they hurt, and how much worse it is when they’re said in the country that’s lost so so many lives during WW2. In a country that fought so hard for so many years to reclaim its freedom from the nazis and then from the soviets. In the meantime of this bashing, Du*a has pardoned a pedophile so he could return to his family (and the victim he abused). So that would be it for protecting family values.
The exit polls results yesterday were so close that they gave us so much hope that we would wake up in a new reality today but the hope died quickly. Now we're stuck again with a man who said in the middle of the global pandemic that he's anti-vaccination and he doesn't think vaccine for covid-19 should be obligatory. With a man who thinks climate change and global warming isn't real. With a man whose actions are constantly destabilitizing economy because he only acts like there is today and doesn’t look forward in the future and doesn’t know the way he and his party ruin the country will have terrible consequences in a few years. With a man who is homophobic, racist, misogynistic, xenophobic, and many, many, many other things. With a man who is a "president” of Polish people but only if you're a straight catholic man voting for his party.
Now our fear is that with him being “elected” as the “president” again, his party will try to meddle with the Constitution and try to change it so they could either extend his term for more years or extend the number of terms a president can have. And even if the change can’t happen so easily, what’s sure is that they will try to take away basic human rights from women and LGBT community. They made it perfectly clear in the last five years and during the campaign now.
So if you’re asking yourself now what can you do about it the answer is simple: spread the word. Read about it. Educate yourself. Make a buzz in the social media. We need as much help as we can get. We need foreign media to pick up the topic, we need them to talk about it and to make the noise. We need the foreign governments to know about it. European Union has already declared that if the bashing on LGBT continues, they will take away the development aid from the self-proclaimed “anti-LGBT zones”. Our country has suffered so much and somehow we’re still standing but I don’t know for how much long we will last. So please. Don’t leave us alone.
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Sonia & Yasuke
Summary: Sonia Nevermind’s FTEs in the SDR2 Protagonist Matsuda Yasuke AU. FUCK YES. A slightly divergent take on the originals.
Rating: PG
Warnings: Language. Brief discussions of cults and kidnapping.
Notes: Sonia was neck and neck with Tanaka for the poll and I was going to do hers soon anyway, so I just went ahead. Sometimes, life just shakes out that way. I really do love Sonia so much. The bias is strongest for Sonia, so I really hope I did her justice. Only the best for our kween. (Btw, the formatting for this couldn’t fully carry through so some stylistic choices on Ao3 are absent here.)
Read this fic among others HERE
Main story is HERE
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He supposed he had been in an antsier mood than usual. In one hand, he read his manga. In the other, he played with and twirled around a pen. He’s practiced enough that he doesn’t need to look. It’s just something for his other hand to do. Something that would, ideally, work off some jitters.
He had almost been too worked up to read. Unfortunately, he’s still having a hard time trying to get into the book. He can’t tell if it’s because the story is dragging itself or because he’s just not in the right headspace. What a nuisance.
He catches the pen between his knuckles, tapping the end against the table. A surprised gasp. A round of applause. Matsuda glances over his book to meet the beaming face of a certain princess. Even in a hotel this cafeteria this tacky, she shone like a precious jewel.
What a nuisance. Except—
“So impressive, Matsuda-san!” she squealed. “You truly have fury skillz, yo!”
I guess of all the people here, she’s the most tolerable.
“Impressive, huh,” he mused. “I could probably twirl a scalpel, too.”
“Ooh!” Sonia clasped her hands. “Matsuda-san! Will you perform?!”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m not going to risk cutting my fingers just to show off. I’ll twirl the pen some more.”
“Oh, I understand...” Quieting, Sonia still watched him twirl with intent eyes. It’s like he’s center stage at an opera house. Sonia hums and her fingers even twitch along. “Matsuda-san, such talented fingers... I truly do applaud you.”
Matsuda flipped the pen, catching it before it fell to the ground. Sonia let out another gasp and clapped some more, giggling.
“Bravo, bravo!”
Jeez. She’s so likable that it’s sickening.
It’s almost like he wouldn’t have a choice in the matter should the two of them become friends.
I guess...there are worse relationships to be forced into. Even if I already have a headache.
Still, the mood couldn’t help but be lightened whenever Sonia laughed. Scary.
--
His fingers were a bit aching, and holding a cold drink alleviated some of the stinging. Sonia, ever the prim and proper young lady with her mouth shut, simply sipped tea from across the table. The picture of elegance. Even in a cafeteria this tacky.
But it’s not like any location short of the azure sky and sapphire ocean could do someone like her justice.
“This island truly is sublime,” Sonia hummed. “The weather is always so serene, and the ocean is as blue as it is endless! Truly! It’s a perfect resort, wouldn’t you say, Matsuda-san?”
“I don’t know if I’d go as far as to say perfect,” he replied. “There’s a little too much fucking walking. I’m not big on sweating.”
Even if big hospitals had fancier equipment, I still hated having to rush back and forth.
“To be more contained can have its benefits,” Sonia agreed good-naturedly. “Still, I must say I am quite happy with what we have.”
Matsuda hummed right back.
Happy...
“Situation could be better,” he said. “Would really fucking love if we weren’t being held hostage by a homicidal fucking bear.”
“Indeed,” Sonia agreed solemnly. “Quite regrettable.”
Matsuda waited for her to continue, but she merely took another elegant sip. Still the picture of calm. Sonia’s eyes do flicker open and it’s then that Matsuda takes notice of the color. They’re a clear, soft green. It’s a unique shade. One he thinks he’s only seen in...
“As long as no murders take place, everything will be alright,” Sonia spoke with conviction. “What happens next...will depend on our own inclinations and choices.”
I shouldn’t compare them too much.
“That’s a reductive way of looking at it,” he said. “Even if we have the resolve, I don’t doubt that our hands are going to be forced.”
Sonia slammed her cup onto the table. It cracked just the slightest bit.
“Then, we should cooperate with one another so that we can return home as quickly as we can,” she said sunnily. “Matsuda-san, I trust you to tell me any ideas you may come up with. I shall do what I can.”
“Well...” Matsuda directed his stare towards one of the security cameras. “We’d first have to come up with something to do about those.”
“If we simply shattered them, we would get punished severely,” Sonia recalled, lamenting as she did. “We would have to act... And perhaps...”
She dropped into lower mumbles that Matsuda couldn’t make out. Perhaps out of precaution, in case they were being recorded. Matsuda watches her sink deeper and deeper into thought.
Even she can’t be serene and optimistic all the time. She’s still managing better than anyone else here.
“Do you understand, Matsuda-san?” she asked, tone serious. “Or must I repeat myself?”
“If you did, it’d have to be a little louder, so it’d be better if you could write it down discretely and pass it to me later,” he said, sighing. “It’s a little too risky discussing anything out in the open.”
Sonia clapped with glee.
“A handsome remark! This is why I know I can rely on your intelligence and wit, Matsuda-san.” She gave a few nods of approval. “It might be better for our moral to chat amiably for now.” With a dazzling smile, she then inquired, “Is there anything you’d like to ask of me?”
Matsuda blinked at her.
“Not really.” I am curious about one thing. Given the circumstances, it’s best to hold off on that. “What about you?”
“There is something! That I AM quite curious about!” Sonia exclaimed, suddenly excited. “Who has captured your heart? And who do you plan to settle on?!”
Matsuda stared.
“...?”
His head tilted in confusion, so Sonia went on to explain.
“This situation—it is similar to The Summer Story of Seven Men and Seven Women, wouldn’t you say?! The standard practice, then, is to start wavering and swapping partners!”
“The...J-drama?” he asked, no less confused but Sonia was more incited regardless.
“No just the J-drama, the legendary J-drama! The original trendsetter! Starting with an upbeat tone... Before shifting to surprisingly serious!” she swooned. “I couldn’t believe my eyes, and yet I couldn’t look away! Momoko’s feelings...! Wow, so intense!”
“Uh-huh...” Matsuda’s eyes rolled back. “Well... I’m not sleeping with anyone on this stupid fucking island, so it’s not going to be that similar. That, and there are more guys here than girls to begin with...”
“That is true!” Sonia gasped. “Someone will have to be unlucky! I wonder... Who it will be...?”
Didn’t I just say I wasn’t going to...? Not to mention some of the guys flat-out wouldn’t be interested. Although I don’t think that’ll keep someone from being unlucky, huh...
It looked like he wouldn’t get in another word in edgewise.
This still isn’t going to fix the declining birthrate.
At least Sonia seemed to be having a hella time theorizing. Matsuda just let her...do that.
--
“I managed to find a couple of books on Novoselic,” he said, setting the stack of books on the table before a sparkly-eyed Sonia. “Since we don’t have the internet, this was the best I could scrounge up and even then I don’t know if they’re all that accurate.”
“Oh, Matsuda-san, I would have told you anything you needed to know!” She does take one of the books. “That said, I recognize this author. You can trust them! Oh, but this one...” She takes another, frowning. “If I recall... No. You should not trust this one at all. In fact, I would burn every copy of this book.”
“I could kind of tell from the tone,” Matsuda hummed, setting it apart and pushing it far away. Sonia’s frown was still a deep mar on her face. “So, these books are accurate?”
“As I have said, Matsuda-san, I do not mind telling you about my country,” she said, smiling again. “Or! Is this courting? I’m afraid I will have to sadly decline, much as this feels like something out of a J-drama...”
She says while looking disappointed in herself...
“It’s more that I thought you should know what other people are writing about your country,” he said. He paused. “Ah, I guess that was pretty presumptuous of me.”
“Not at all!” Sonia shook her head. “Awareness and control of the media are essential! Not to mention you have informed me of quite the pressed issue! I will have to take care of it when I return...is what a responsible, attentive ruler would say.” She sighed. “Sadly, I will have to inform others and hope for the best.”
She has said in the past that she’s more of a figurehead than a leader.
“That’s a part of being young,” he remarked. “Don’t let it get you down too much. Just prepare for the future to the best of your ability.”
Sonia does giggle at that.
“Matsuda-san... Sometimes, you remind me of the male lead in a J-drama.”
“No comment.”
She laughs again. “In my humblest opinion, the best J-dramas are the ones aimed at women between the ages of 20 to 34. Just before Japan’s economic bubble burst! You would not believe how many times I have seen I Will Arrest Your Eyes! Why, when I first arrived in Japan, the first thing I did was run across the Spain-zaka!”
As fascinating as that all is, what gets my attention is...
“Hold it. Were you calling me mature or were you suggesting that I speak like an old man?”
“You certainly do have a worldly weariness to you, Matsuda-san,” Sonia went on to sigh. “Broody and broken down by life... While it would be attractive on the screen, it is worrisome and exhausting in person.” She perked right back up. “But have no fear! For a fairly dreamy maniac will someday come into your life! And the two of you can partake in the ritual entrapped within the blizzard!”
“I hate the cold,” is Matsuda’s only reply to whatever the fuck all of that was.
“Then when will you cuddle under a blanket in the nude?!” Sonia gasped, aghast. “Will you do so at a different temperature?! Is the blizzard not necessary after all?!”
“First off, you’re referring to a cliché rather than a ritual,” Matsuda said, waving his hand. “Shouldn’t the fact that it was happening during a damn blizzard tipped you off? Not every couple is going to go to the fucking mountains.”
“So...” Sonia quieted. “It is not like the Makango?”
The Makango? Matsuda remembered. Ah, the Makango.
“We don’t have anything like that as far as I’m aware,” he said. “Mind you, I’m...not aware of much...”
Thinking about this gives me a headache. Actually, it really, really fucking hurts right now.
“I see...” Sonia pursed her lips. “So peculiar. Oh!” She blinked, realizing. “Matsuda-san, you look pale.”
“Sorry,” he mumbles, rubbing his forehead with a wince. “I think... I’m gonna check out.”
“You should check out what’s wrong with you!” she exclaimed. “Do better for yourself, Matsuda-san!”
“...right.”
On that note, there wasn’t anything else to do but stumble out.
--
It’s another calm day at the library. Sonia, however, snaps up immediately when Matsuda walks inside. It’s scary how alert the princess is, but that was probably a good thing considering her situation. Matsuda sighed, waving and taking in how she lit up and eagerly saluted him.
He also takes notice of the book that Sonia had been reading. The cover—looks quite gruesome.
“How are you feeling?” Sonia asked kindly. “You are not in pain, yes? Matsuda-san?”
“I’m doing fine,” he said, stretching as he makes his way over. “I’ve been dealing with headache after headache since I got here, so I’ve gotten used to them.”
“I see,” Sonia murmured, downcast and sympathetic. “I will trust you to your own mechanics.”
“Devices,” Matsuda corrected without thinking as he seated himself. “Anyway, I’ll be reading. Don’t mind me.”
He does pull out a manga he brought with him—the library was just a better environment for reading than the cafeteria hence him making the trip. He cracks it open, but he doesn’t get very long to enjoy it. He gets maybe five minutes before there’s a nudge at his side.
He ignores it, but Sonia elbows him with enough force that he nearly yelps. With a now throbbing side, his gaze drops to see a folded-up piece of paper tucked between Sonia’s delicate fingers. Her nails are perfectly manicured yet polished to give off the illusion of natural beauty.
Hm.
He takes the paper, unfolding it and—
What do you know about the occult?
Sonia is feigning innocence. She’s scarily good at it. If not for the flicker of her intense stare to his, he wouldn’t have suspected a thing. That...and his side still...stings. Seriously the princess had a bony fucking elbow.
“Princess. What the hell is this?”
“Shush!” she ordered and he dutifully shut his mouth without a second thought. Sonia looked around discretely, lowering her voice as she leaned in to whisper into his ear. “Any information you have on cults would also be appreciated, Matsuda-san.”
No, seriously, what the fuck?
He does try to make sense of it. If Sonia felt the need to convey these questions inconspicuously, then, maybe—?
He takes out a pen and writes down his response. He hands it under the table for Sonia to read.
Do you think our kidnappers are part of a cult?
“Oh!” Sonia gasped. “I never thought of that! What a fascinating theory!”
Guuuuuuess not.
“If it just interests you, you don’t have to be so fucking secretive,” he griped. “Just ask me outright like a normal fucking person.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I truly didn’t think the way I was conducting myself was...regal. They pass notes like so in the dramas. Is that not normal behavior, Matsuda-san?”
Oh.
“I...no, actually...” Matsuda shrugged helplessly. “I...guess that is in fact a way high schoolers communicate sometimes...”
I haven’t gone to a normal high school...or a normal middle school for that matter.
“It is quite—unheard of if not prohibited for a princess to have such interests,” Sonia sighed. “But even if it is forbidden, my heart still longs for more when it comes to the subject of Freemasonry! Oh, but it’s purely academic!” She looks quite serious as she insists, “I could never dream of conspiring against the government.”
“A lot of people do find that stuff interesting,” Matsuda said. Sonia lit up only to deflate when he added, “I don’t think it’s that deep.”
“No?” Her head tilted. “You think it...kiddy?”
“In a way,” he admitted. “Cultism comes about through societal failings and instability. Political turmoil, lack of education, paranoia, peer pressure... People long for a sense of community by nature and they’re drawn to a charismatic figure who knows how to prey on the insecure and vulnerable. People just want someone else to tell them what to do, what to think, like fucking children and obviously, obviously, they get taken advantage of by the worst fucking types...”
Sonia’s eyes were wide.
“Oh! Matsuda-san, have you been in a cult before?!”
Matsuda immediately jolted. For some reason, he broke into a sweat. For another, his head hurt so much that he wanted to shut down then and there.
“...Matsuda-san?”
He needed to grip his hand and will them to stop shaking.
“...I... No.” He shook his head firmly, digging his nails into his arm, would’ve raked them through the flesh if not for the sleeve of his coat. “It’s, uh, just something I read one time.”
“You are looking quite pale,” Sonia remarked worriedly. “I apologize, Matsuda-san. I—think we should drop the subject for now. I do not wish to cause you untoward pain any longer.”
She draws back from him as if he’s too fragile to be near. It’s seriously annoying, especially when not only does Sonia look stricken with guilt, she also looks lonely.
“I...” He swallowed. “While I don’t think much of it, I do think it’s important to understand. It isn’t productive to just...dismiss it wholesale.”
Sonia does perk up.
“I agree,” she says, albeit tentative as she does. “To dismiss a different sense of values due to ignorance is foolish. Such ignorance leads to bloodshed. And—it is important for a member of the royal to expand one’s knowledge.”
He nods.
“I just...” He wants to bite his tongue clean off. “I guess it’s a sore subject for me...”
But w̴̟̹̠͐̿̋ḧ̶̟́y̷̘͓͛?
“I understand.” Sonia nodded back. “I apologize.”
“It’s fine,” he said. “Just...do what you can to guide your people right.”
With that, he gets up.
“Sorry,” he said, acting on autopilot now. “I need to go.”
He doesn’t look back.
--
“Oh, Matsuda-san!”
As usual, Sonia looked delighted to see him.
“What a pleasant surprise!” she exclaimed, every word dripping with sincerity. “Come, come! Sit with me! There is much I wish to discuss with you!”
“Yeah?” The closer he comes, the more she can see her stack of books. Quite a few of them have been shoved away, but the other titles—there actually seemed to be a couple of romance novels and recognizable manga. “What about...?”
Those are titles that have been adapted into TV dramas.
“The friendship between men and women as depicted in Turn On The Heart,” she explained. “If you do not know that title, then will a different J-drama suffice? Perhaps one of these?”
She offers one of the manga. Her intentions are clear, and he truly appreciates the gesture—but he’s read that title. It was one of the worst fucking things he ever skipped through. The love interest in it was just scary. And he was a spoiled rich brat. Urgh.
But the princess really isn’t that bad. She’s really trying to get along with me. Not a lot of people have done that unless they wanted in my pants or something.
He’s not so fucking full of himself that he’d assumed a goddamn princess would be interested. That, and he’s conscientious of that shit to begin with. Sonia was just friendly, not flirty.
“I do mostly read manga,” he said. “I guess I could recommend a title or two that’s been adapted?”
I haven’t watched a lot of dramas actually. I’ve had them going on in the background, but that’s...
His sharp eyes do notice the titles that Sonia had pushed away. They were various studies on cults throughout history. And an anthology on ghost stories.
“Matsuda-san.” When Sonia spoke, her tone was low. She stood up and bowed, making him jump. “I wish to sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart! If I could, I’d throw myself at your feet! Alas, it’s improper for a princess...! I’m so fucking sorry!”
“Wow.” He didn’t even know how to respond. “If this is about what happened last time, it’s fine. It’s water under the bridge. I...”
I actually—don’t remember what happened. I ended up taking a lot more pills than I should’ve.
“Still!” Sonia exclaimed, shaking her head. “I asked you a very inappropriate question! It was quite uncouth! Thus—I wish to make out with you for it!”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, meaning it figuratively and literally. “It’s fine.”
“Are you sure?!” Sonia’s frown deepened. “I... Despite my status, here I would like to be equals, Matsuda-san. Is that not possible?”
Equals, huh.
“When I came to Japan, I thought I could be considered a normal girl,” she said, and it sounded like a confession. “Perhaps...that had been...immature of me.”
It is immature, Matsuda agreed with as he bit his tongue. It’s beyond fucking immature. Even if you learn the language and go along with trends, you live in a fucking castle, Sonia. That’s not normal at all. Normal people are one bad fucking month away from losing everything they care about. It’ll take more than a damn month for a monarchy to topple. Especially one that’s absolute.
“If you insist so much, can I ask you a question?” He studied the way she perked up. How annoyingly eager she was to hear it. And how he—“It’s not going to be a pleasant one.”
“As long as it is about my personal inclinations or government secrets, I am willing to speak about it,” she told him, smiling sweetly.
She really was so painfully sweet sometimes.
Ä̷̮̖͇́̅̅͝ ̷̬̎̽c̴̨̛̥̳̙̔̈̊ͅo̵͕̤͠ṃ̵̻̒ͅp̸̭͕̽͝l̸͍͈͎̀è̶̛̝̫̒͗͝t̸̗͒̂̐e̴̛̳͔̾͐ ̵̧̼̐ô̸̞͇̖͋̽̀́ͅp̵͉̘͗̅̍͝p̴̖̙͑̊̒̆o̸̧͙̹̘̠͂s̴͈̀̕ị̶͇̅͛͝t̶͉͊e̴̲͈̩̫͠ ̴͔̺͔̙͗́̓̓̋f̶̺͂̚͘r̴̛̘̾͝o̶͍̭̯̖͐̐̓͛m̶̳͑̋—̷̱̘̩͙͓̇͒̏̋̉
“This isn’t your first time being kidnapped.”
It hadn’t been a question, despite himself. But a statement. A statement that drained all that sweetness from Sonia’s face, leaving behind calm stoicism. She looks so at ease and unshakeable that Matsuda could draw several conclusions if he wanted to.
But it seems tacky to make assumptions about what were traumatic experiences, regardless of those involved.
“I’ve read up on your country and there were reports of the royal family being abducted by insurgents,” he said, keeping his voice level. “It hadn’t mentioned those affected by name...but you were among them, weren’t you?”
“Yes,” Sonia spoke as if she were untouchable. “I was.”
“No wonder you’re so damn calm about all this,” Matsuda went to remark. “It’s not your first time. And...quite fucking frankly, this is literally the Bahamas of hostage situations.”
“Haha, I do not think we are in the Bahamas, Matsuda-san,” she replied, casual—but still with that flaring distance. “I believe we are in the middle of the Pacific, rather.”
...hah.
“That’s not important,” he snapped. “What was important was... Clearing the air, so to speak.”
“I see.” Sonia agreed with him like he’d kill her if she didn’t. “Then, have I been to your satisfaction, Matsuda-san?”
Matsuda stared at her. He reached out, and she didn’t even flinch. Not even when he snapped his fingers in front of her. Impressive, honestly.
She’s completely shut down.
“Do you want to talk about dramas? I kind of enjoyed Hana-Kimi.”
Sonia blinked, and it was like nothing happened at all. Especially with how she went back to smiling as she always did, dazzlingly open and amicable.
“I haven’t heard of it! Please tell me all about it!”
“If I remember correctly there were like, four adaptations, the first Taiwanese and the most recent a K-drama, actually, so...”
The two of them chat lightly like this for a while. Like a normal pair of high schoolers.
--
“Greetings, Matsuda-san! I have read the illustrious Hana-Kimi! And! I enjoyed it!”
“Good to hear...”
“There is much I wish to discuss about it!” Sonia exclaimed, but there was something strange. Her smile was so wide it looked strained. She was wearing more makeup than usual, especially on her cheeks and around the eyes. “I would also like to hear more recommendations, so...”
“Rough night?” Matsuda asked, and Sonia shut her mouth.
For a second, Sonia looked lost before she gave a weak laugh.
“Ahaha, I should’ve known that Matsuda-san would not be fooled. You’re quite sharp, after all. It’s one of the reasons I admire you.”
“Did you want me to pretend nothing was wrong?” Matsuda huffed. “I’d rather you not have to force yourself around me. With how shitty my attitude is, I’d be a hypocrite if I expected everyone on their best behavior....especially in this situation.”
“Truth be told, I do not mind it,” Sonia murmured. “In a way... I find it refreshing. Around Matsuda-san, I can just scream at the top of my lungs—Jesus Fucking Christ Bastard Of A Fuckity Fuck Bitch! And you wouldn’t bat a tongue-lash!” She took a deep breath. “That said...if we are to discuss further. I’d prefer we do so in my cottage.”
“Fine by me,” was Matsuda’s immediate response. That was all there was to it.
Without another word, he followed Sonia to her cottage. She led him inside, and the interior was so fancy that he felt like he’d be stoned if he didn’t remove his shoes right away.
Polished floors, elegant rugs, ivory silk sheets, and plush furniture—even a damn chandelier hanging about them... It at least looked like the inside of a high-end hotel suite. Even the way plants were arranged from the ones hanging from the wall to the potted plant in the corner and the vase on the table by a wide-screen television felt so prestigious and artful.
“Would you like a seat?” Sonia asked, indicating a loveseat that definitely costed more than he could get selling his ass on the street for a week. He sits down on it anyway. It’s annoying supple, and he can’t help but relax. Sonia is giggling at him, “I apologize for any messes. I am still getting a handle on cleaning as it were. And the shower.”
The rug had been a little damp under his feet. She must’ve accidentally flooded the floor. He should probably help her wash it so that it didn’t contract mold, but... There were more pressing matters.
Sonia clearly wanted to speak to him, but she was just standing there. Fidgeting and wavering.
“Nightmare?” he guessed. “Homesickness?”
“Both,” Sonia replied, chuckling a little. “As well as—that conversation we had earlier...weighing on my mind...”
Matsuda clicked his tongue but said nothing. Gave Sonia the time to take a deep breath.
“Back then, I was not permitted to show fear for my people’s sakes,” she recounted. “I was, after all, a princess before a person. But here... I do not know what I should do. Must I wait in silence for rescue? Shall I allow myself to scream and cry?” She was fidgeting. No, she was trying to distract herself from how badly her hands were shaking. “Say, Matsuda-san... You are...quite intelligent. And you never—you do not sweet talk. Tell me...what I should do.”
Matsuda stared at her. She kept her head bowed.
“Fuck if I know.” Matsuda sighed loudly. “Like holy shit, why you think I’ll know what to do? That’s illogical as fuck. You’re just being a coward by forcing someone else to make the decisions, princess.”
“I am aware,” she whispered.
“I’m not Togami,” he said. “I’m not going to seize control and tell everyone that it’s going to be fine. I’m...”
...not going to lie about that shit.
“I thought not.” Sonia laughs again. It’s almost an ugly sound. Scratchy and unbalanced, completely unbefitting and yet—perfect in this situation. “Matsuda-san, you may have the signals of a legendary hero... But, in reality, your scowling face is too remarkable.”
...
...
...
...
...
...
What the fuck did that even mean?
“The legendary hero of legend,” Sonia reiterated with the utmost seriousness. “The only fault with that—is your face, Matsuda-san! It’s not just remarkable, it’s beautiful!”
What the FUCK is she talking about?
“I would still like to take you with me to my kingdom, once we escape from here,” Sonia went on. “Even if you are not a destined one, you would make for a wonderful advisor and companion. I wish to continue our conversations—and even if it is cowardly, I also wish to look towards you in times of need.”
What the fuck is going on?!
“I...” He’s confused. He’s so hopelessly confused. And yet... And yet... “I heard the medical practice in your country is nothing to sneeze at...so I can’t deny being interested.”
“Splendid! Then—let us continue working together, Matsuda-san!” Sonia clapped her hands. Another dazzling smile, an even more radiant laugh. Just like that, she was back at peak princess. “Ho, ho, hey!”
“Hey, hey, ho...”
Despite that, there’s a lot unsaid. We haven’t really talked, either. We’re just pushing on with forced optimism, filling our heads with empty reassurances and promises in the hope that it’ll be enough to carry us through.
It could very well be. In a situation like this, keeping ahold of one’s morale was pretty fucking prudent. Even if he and Sonia knew shit all about how to lead, they had no choice but to keep stumbling and scrambling. Hoping for the best.
Sometimes... That’s all we really need.
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Michael Gray: Better Man pt 15
Olivia thinks back to the moment before Ada left to go home. They were both just lounging by the couch, talking about what she had missed back home. Not that Michael had fill her with it already, just that there is no more detailed narration than from Ada herself. Hell, even when she wasn't around that much in the family meetings, Poll doesn't fail to tell her everything.
"You are so lucky, Livy." Ada smiled at her.
"Now what does the princess of Birmingham herself doesn't have that I don't?" She teased.
Cringing that Olivia called her something her brothers would use to mock her, she hit her with a throw pillow. "I'm serious, Livy." She said, sitting straighter this time. "You and Michael have what Freddie and I have always wanted - a normal life."
Taking Ada's hand, she gave it a slight squeeze. "I'm sorry, Ads. I know how much you wanted to move away."
"I do still miss him, and I'll always will. But what happened can't be undone and I've come into terms with it. I'm just glad that at least the only person I consider as a sister could have it."
"I don't know how long though." Olivia opened up. Because as close as they are, they were also opposites in some ways. Ada wants the simple, quiet life, she's always liked a thrilling one. That's part of the reason why she misses Birmingham more than she probably should.
There has been a long running joke in the family that they were actually switched at birth. The first time Ada went to her first dance was the first time Olivia was thought how to handle a gun. Sure, she wasn't the violent kind, but she couldn't deny how she enjoyed being part of a growing empire.
"You can take a girl away from Birmingham, but you can't take away the Brummie in her." Ada said, shaking her head, chuckling. "But I don't know, Livy. Sometimes we are at our happiest when we are in a peaceful environment."
She was about to answer, when the front door had opened.
"The service is ready outside." Michael announced, the moment he came into the apartment.
--------
It had been three weeks, and to say that Michael and Olivia's relationship was doing well was an understatement. Sleeping together, sharing kisses, actually being closer. She recalls a time when things got to heated, but it was Michael himself who diffused the situation and declared that it wasn't the time yet.
She could go as far to say that what they have now is better than what they had before everything went south. Maybe it's because they're older now, or maybe it's because they're away from the chaos brought upon by their jobs back in Birmingham.
Just the two of them, living like two normal adults. Going on constant date nights, actually getting more comfortable with being more acquainted with her clients instead of the solid business approach she gave them, having a third opinion in conversations she has with Ginny, and having their own personal freedom together.
She was now getting ready for the gala. Sitting down in front of her vanity dresser, wrapped in her silk robe, still trying to perfect her makeup.
Maybe what Ada had wanted isn't as boring as she thought it would be.
But what about Michael? Would he want stay here with her? She already had an inkling to his answer.
She was just about to put on her lipstick when Michael called for her outside.
"Yes, Michael?" She approached him. He was in the living room, looking for something. Checking vases, behind the couch, and cabinet drawers.
"I can't find my lighter luv." He answered, still busy looking.
"Oh? What would you need it for?" She asked, confused.
"Just in case I get the jitters being around people I don't know."
"I'll be right back." She knew where it was. The last time he smoked was when they were both getting back from a night out in town together. It was really chilly outside and he had given her his coat and opted to smoke to keep himself warm, and he had actually put the lighter back inside the pocket of the coat after using.
It was hung together with her rack of clothes. Putting her hand in the pocket she remembers where it was placed in, she felt the cold material of his lighter inside. Pulling it out, she saw that something fell out the moment her hand was out of the pocket.
A rolled small piece of paper on the floor. Picking it up, she opened to see what it contained.
2Br Midtown Manhattan
Don't fucking step a foot back in here if you can't get her to come with you.
- T. S.
It was her address, probably written for him so he'd knew where to find her. But the note below it...
Confusion. That was all that she felt. She just had been sitting down on the edge of her bed, just staring at the note as if the longer she'd look at it, she'd feel better.
This was no doubt Thomas' handwriting. She'd worked with him too many times to recognize it anywhere. What was written was clear and easy to decipher. But what was bringing her into confusion was everything that has happened the moment Michael came to New York.
She is his ticket. Was everything that had happened even real? Or just part of his ploy so he could go back home?
So that was why he was so eager to fix everything between them. Fucking Michael Gray.
And what in the hell was Thomas thinking dragging her into such bull?! Wasn't he the same one who actually helped her settle in here?
As mad as she was at the moment, she couldn't help a lone angry tear from spilling.
Why do the men in this family always think that they could play god? They think they could just ruin someone's life and have a free conscience as long as they don't see the aftermath.
She was hurt, but more so, mad.
I'll bring you the fuck home, myself.
Pulling herself back together, she got up and went back to her vanity dresser to fix herself.
With new found strength, she decided to go through with tonight. She needed to be in the good graces of her clients because when she gets back here alone again, she'll need them.
She had just finished dressing up and was just now checking that everything was in place.
"Luv are you ready?" Michael called from downstairs. Him calling her that almost made her skin crawl. He's too natural at it that she was almost disgusted with herself for actually falling for it.
Taking one last look in the mirror, she went out of her room, note and lighter in hand. Walking down the stairs, Michael was already at the bottom of it, waiting for her with a grin. One she didn't bother returning.
When she was at the last step, she stopped so they could be level with each other. Michael was in a dark suit with a maroon tie, and his hair was styled.
What a handsome prick.
"You look absolutely beautiful." He commented, looking at her with total admiration.
"You don't look bad, yourself." She shrugged.
"Are you alright?" Michael asked her, confusion written on his face.
She extended her hand that had the note and lighter and placed it on his.
"I found your lighter." She coldly answered and went pass him.
Having realized that she had read the note when he saw it on his palm, he tried to get her attention. "Livy, I-"
"You have a lighter but you couldn't burn that one down? Has John not taught you about burning evidences?" She scoffed at him.
"Believe me, I wanted to tell you about Thomas' terms." He explained.
"Sure, you did. But I bet it's when we're actually already back in Birmingham so I could go back here alone. Typical Michael Gray."
They were both just looking at each other with intense gazes. Her, mad at what he's done, Him mad that she'd actually think that low of him.
"Let's just go, Michael."
The ride to the gala was pretty intense. They were both seated beside each other but not uttering a word. But both of them could feel how mad the other was.
Mr. Harry Coleman was his typical self - loud, funny, with a stomach as round as an expecting mother. Greeting guests with him was his son Luke, the same lad who personally handed her the invitation.
When the Coleman men saw them, both making their way in the venue, they approached them with pleased faces. "Ah, Miss Peterson!" Harry exclaimed.
"Mr. Coleman..." She greeted him. "Luke." She acknowledged his son who took her hand in his to give it a kiss.
"It's good to see your friend again." Luke smiled nodding at Michael who already had a burning gaze at him.
"Michael. Michael Gray." He introduced himself to both men, shaking their hands.
"Well I hope you both enjoy yourselves. It's such a pleasure to have you both here." The old man smiled at them.
When both men finally excused themselves to go greet other guests, she turned to Michael.
"I see empty seats." She told him, already heading to the table.
They were both seated next to each other, with a lady to his left, and a man to her right who both appear to be in their late 40s. They both noted how the lady and the man appeared to be in a bad mood, and were constantly stealing glances at each other.
"I'm sorry ma'am, did I happen to sit where that man on my companion's right should be?" He whispered to the lady.
"Well yes, but I don't want him to be." She answered, stealing another glance at the man, and took a sip of her drink.
On Olivia's side, the man also happened to strike a conversation with her. "She looks beautiful, huh?" He asked her quietly enough that the lady wouldn't hear.
"Do you know her?" She asked him.
"Mmmhm. I happen to be married to her."
"Uh, would like to switch seats with him?" She asked pointing to Michael.
"Nah, she needs her time. She's quite mad at me right now. I insisted to buy her dress for tonight, and when she finally unwrapped it, it was two sizes small." He explained, shaking his head at himself.
"You men, and your expectations for us women. I gave him two beautiful children, and he still expects me to fit in my old dress size?" The lady who had finally introduced herself to him as Monica, ranted to Michael.
But back on Olivia's side, the man was also explaining his end.
"I bought it all because I thought that it would look absolutely beautiful on her. It was my bad for not asking for the right size. I was too dazed imagining her in it. Now she won't talk to me because she thinks I'm trying to make her lose weight" Olivia was just listening to him, nodding along and thinking why the lady didn't bother listening to him explain.
"Did you tell that to her?" She asked him.
"Believe me, I tried. She doesn't want to talk to me at the moment."
"What was his excuse?" Michael asked. Monica couldn't answer that because she didn't let him explain.
"He doesn't need to. I got the message. I'm not as desirable as before." She answered accidentally loud enough that her husband actually heard it this time.
The man looked so offended, Olivia and Michael almost laughed at his face.
"Would you mind switching seats with me, mister? I need to talk to my wife and it cannot wait." He asked when he finally recovered.
"Not at all. I was just about to ask my date for a dance." He stood up and offered his hand to Olivia.
Wanting to give the couple time to talk, she took his offer and stood up.
A slow tune was being played by the band, and they were both just swaying together to it, not speaking, and stubborn to even make eye contact despite the physical contact.
It's disappointing to think that just yesterday they were a hundred percent happy. And tonight, was supposed to be the same moment she has decided that she's ready to tell him she loves him back. Now she isn't even sure if his were even real every time he said it.
I have every right to be mad too. Michael thought to himself. Yes, Tommy instructed him to win her back before he could be allowed back home, but it's not like he didn't want to, he just needed the address.
Looking back to the table where the couple was, he saw that they were now both smiling fondly at each other, probably made up already after she heard his side of the story.
He wanted that too. Yes, he wanted to go home, but he wanted to do so with her. But what does she want?
The entire duration of the party, they weren't arguing, but how could they when they weren't even talking? It was made slightly bearable when they got back to their seats, where Monica and her husband were now in happier moods and started talking to them all night.
When they were outside waiting for their service car, Michael looked at her. Olivia seemed to be in deep thought when she finally stared back and sighed.
"I'll go back with you to Birmingham." She told him,
"You don't have to, I don't want to force you."
"You're not. I miss home and our family. And if that means that you could get home sooner, I don't see why we shouldn't go there immediately tomorrow." She said sternly.
It stung him when she told him that. But he understands why she wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible.
"I'll explain when you're ready to listen." He answered.
Home it is.
#Peaky Blinders#peaky blinders imagine#peaky blinder imagine#peaky blinder fanfic#michael gray#MichaelGray#Michael Gray imagine#michael gray x reader#michael grey#polly gray#polly grey#thomas shelby#thomasshelby#thomas shelby imagine#thomas shelby x reader#Arthur Shelby#John Shelby#Ada Shelby#finn shelby#finn cole#fanfic#finncole
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The Truth About Dogwhistles Part 1
Before taking this Topics in Pragmatics: Truth course, I had never heard of the term “dogwhistle” before. And knowing now what they are, I have been and will forever be more aware of what people, specifically politicians, say and by the end of this blog post, I hope you will be too.
Firstly, let me go through what exactly a dogwhistle is. Dogwhistles communicate a specific message to an intended audience that is not received by the majority of the audience. An interesting aspect about dogwhistles is that once something is identified as a dogwhistle, its dogwhistle effects cease to be.
An example of this is when George W. Bush uttered the specific phrase, “power, wonder-working power,” during the State of the Union Address in 2003 (Politics 101, 2017).
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[Start at 21:14]
To those that aren’t a part of the Christian community, this specific phrase probably doesn’t invoke any particular thought or idea. However, to those Christian individuals who are familiar with the popular evangelical hymn, “There is Power in the Blood,” they can identify the phrase, “power, wonder-working power,” and immediately receive a different message than the rest of the audience. They understand that Bush is one of them; he speaks their language, and shares their identity.
Jennifer Saul, in her essay, “Dogwhistles, Political Manipulation, and Philosophy of Language,” identifies four different types of dogwhistles: overt intentional, overt unintentional, covert intentional and covert unintentional (Saul, 2018). The previously mentioned example of a dogwhistle would be an example of an overt intentional dogwhistle. In this case, it is overt because the particular subset of Christians who heard it immediately knew that Bush was sending them a message. It is intentional because Bush purposefully used the phrase, “power, wonder-working power,” to relate to this specific subset of the audience and gain their support.
Another example of a dogwhistle is when George W. Bush outright claimed he would not appoint anyone to the Supreme Court who would condone the Dred Scott decision during the Second Presidential Debate on October 8th, 2004 (PBS News Hour, 2020).
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[Start at 1:18:30]
Anyone who knows about Dred Scott, is obviously against the Dred Scott decision, as the 1857 Supreme Court decision made slaves remain property of their owners even in free territories.
You might be thinking to yourself as many people did, “Why did he feel the need to oppose Dred Scott if everyone is already opposed to Dred Scott. He is not saying any new or relevant information.” The answer as it happens lies in the fact that Bush wanted to send a direct private message to a specific group of the audience: those that are anti-abortion. Dred Scott is actually code for Roe v. Wade. Let me explain. Dred Scott has previously been compared to Roe v. Wade various times. The Dred Scott decision denied black men and women the status of being free and declared them “non-persons (Noah, 2004).” In Roe v. Wade, fetuses are also called “non-persons,” because of the fact they have not yet been born. Anti-abortionists claim the legal consequence of Roe v. Wade is the death of fetuses (Noah, 2004). By Bush saying that he is against the Dred Scott decision, he is also saying, only to a particular subset of the audience, anti-abortionists, that he is against the Roe v. Wade decision, and is therefore, against abortion just like them.
What kind of dogwhistle do you think this is? If you thought it was an overt intentional dogwhistle, you would be right! Just like the previous example, Bush is directly targeting a specific group of people and that specific group, anti-abortionists, were aware that Bush was sending a private coded message to them. It is intentional because Bush was intentionally trying to send this message to this particular group. He knew that when he would talk about his opposition to the Dred Scott decision, he was really referring to his opposition to the Roe v. Wade decision.
Next, let’s talk about covert dogwhistles. These are not as clear as overt dogwhistles. These are dogwhistles in which the audience it is targeted for, fails to recognize it, and isn’t aware they are being swayed a particular way. Saul posits that covert dogwhistles are based on this idea of “racial resentment (Saul, 2018).”
In today’s day and age, overt racism is not widely acceptable. However, there still lingers this racist belief system that black people are inferior. Saul writes, “Racist resentment includes four main claims: ‘blacks no longer face much discrimination, (2) their disadvantage mainly reflects their poor work ethic, (3) they are demanding too much too fast, (4) they have gotten more than they deserve (Saul, 2018).’” Covert dogwhistles communicate racist messages in order to sway racially resentful people’s opinions.
We can see an example of a covert dogwhistle when we take a look at the Willie Horton advertisement George H. W. Bush used during his campaign against Michael Dukakis (llehman84, 2008).
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The advertisement doesn’t outright mention race at any time, however, using a picture of Horton, who is black, was enough to sway voter’s opinions of Dukakis. Before the ad was aired, Dukakis was ahead in the polls, however, after airing it, Bush began to lead in the polls (Saul, 2018). A specific group of voters, racially resentful ones, were influenced by this ad without being aware of it. The relationship between racial resentment and voting intentions was strongly influenced by the advertisement. The more times the ad was played, the more likely that racially resentful voters would favor Bush (Saul, 2018). This would be an example of a covert intentional dogwhistle because Bush and his team knew exactly what they were doing when they made and aired this ad; they wanted racially resentful voters to favor Bush and sway towards voting for Bush. It is covert because people seeing the ad didn’t outright know what the ad was trying to do.
Can covert dogwhistles become overt dogwhistles? Sure they can! Jesse Jackson called the Willie Horton ad “racist.” Once he said this, people were able to notice what Bush was trying to do and the dogwhistle lost its power. After this, Dukakis started to rise in the polls again. But it was too late in the game and Bush won the election (Saul, 2018).
All of the examples of dogwhistles we’ve seen have been intentional. What does it mean for a dogwhistle to be unintentional? An example of a covert unintentional dogwhistle was when reporters and TV producers would replay the Willie Horton ad over and over again, essentially making the effects of the original ad more widespread and powerful. It is covert (before Jesse Jackson called it racist) because racially resentful individuals were not aware that they were being swayed towards voting for Bush. It is unintentional, however, because there is no evidence to suggest that any of the reporters and TV producers intentionally wanted to sway voters to vote for Bush by playing the ad over and over again, although there may have been some. Saul called this an “amplifier dogwhistle,” because it greatly increases the spread and reach of the original dogwhisle and what they are trying to say.
The only dogwhistle we haven’t discussed yet is overt unintentional dogwhistles. An overt unintentional dogwhistle would be someone using a common dogwhistle that targets a particular subset of individuals, but the person who used it was unaware of it being a dogwhistle. They either said it by mistake or it was a coincidence. An example of an overt unintentional dogwhistle can be seen in the following scenario. “Yahoo,” is a term used by some to mean an ignorant, uneducated person.
A yahoo can also be called a hick or a hillbilly. A frustrated person can reasonably say, “Some yahoo stole my pen at work,” and everyone would reasonably think that “yahoo” referred to an uneducated person right? Well, not necessarily.
Back in 2016, some people (racist ones) on Twitter started using the word, “yahoo,” as a dogwhistle for Mexican people. They also used other words to refer to other minority groups including, “google” for black people, “skittle” for Muslim people, “skype” for Jewish people and “bing” for Asian people. Racist Twitter users started using these coded terms for racial slurs in order to avoid censorship (Chen, 2016).
An example of an overt unintentional dogwhistle could be someone tweeting, “Some yahoo stole my pen at work,” not being aware that “yahoo” is being used as a term for Mexican people, and just wanting to show frustration that some stupid person stole their pen. It would be overt because a specific subset of individuals, racist ones that are using “yahoo” as a term for Mexican people, will believe that that person wants to say that “some Mexican person stole my pen at work,” and shares similar ideologies and uses the same words as them. It is unintentional, however, because the person has no idea that the term is being used to mean that.
The following tweet could be seen as an example of an overt unintentional dogwhistle if there was a reader of the tweet that thought the person’s usage of “yahoos” was meant to refer to Mexicans.
Here we see one person, @fourfoot, calling people who don’t understand what Brexit means, “yahoos” meaning to say that they are stupid and uneducated. This person does not mean to use “yahoos” to refer to Mexicans, but if someone who does use “yahoos” to refer to Mexicans, sees this tweet, they may think that they share the same ideologies as them. We even see this other person, @banalyst, warning against the use of the term “yahoos” for fear that it may be taken to be the slur for Mexican people.
Now that you are all experts on the different types of dogwhistles and we have taken a look at various examples of different types of dogwhistles, we can examine more ambiguous examples. Let’s talk about Trump, shall we.
[Continued in Part 2]
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I just read the post about Aeschylus’ Myrmidons and it made me wonder about Modern Greece’s opinion on LGTBI+ rights. In Spain, there’s a clear difference between older, religious (or at least of religious upbringing) and more conservative people and younger, mostly non-religious and less conservative citizens. I have the feeling that religion and tradition are very important in Greece (correct me if I’m wrong), so I’m curious about Your Average Greek thoughts on LGTBI-ness. Thanks! :)
From my own experience I think the situation is similar in Greece. As you said, religion and tradition are very important here. Family is one of our core values - and because for many people this usually means heterosexual couple with kids, they are against homosexual couples. As it always happens, the close minded ones use the values of this country in order to promote their bigotry.
I could summarize it this way from the people I have met:
AGES
0-20 generally accepting
30-50 neutral to accepting
50+ proceed with caution
However, I wouldn’t say the majority of 50+ are extreme. It’s lgbt-phobia Lite. They are disgusted by the differences of the community but they are willing to befriend someone from there. They usually say “I don’t care what a person does in their bed but I don’t want them to show it outside.” (Oh, and then they go watch lesbian porn). The extreme ones hide behind the Church and country’s values while being aggressive and full of slurs. We all know how these people behave, I think I don’t have to analyze it here.
The youth is usually pro-lgbt but amongst them you may find a few people (usually the religious or nationalist ones) who don’t support this “lifestyle”, as they call it. It was from a 20+ y/o university student that I heard “I don’t understand why gay people should exist”. How more “Yikes” can you get in the 21st century?
Men are usually the most bigoted in the group of extremists, because there is this “macho” standard here and a lot of men don’t accept someone who doesn’t behave “mAnLy”. And if they think this way about cis effeminate men, imagine what they think about lesbians, trans people and other members of the community.
I know people who have been kicked out of their homes because they were lgbt+. This cases are rare, but they still happen.
Sooo descrimination and abuse are alive and well here but I think we are taking some great steps forward. The lgbt+ community is getting vocal and has a stronger presence. For decades, the islands Mykonos and Santorini, have been strong magnets for gay tourists. Some famous Greek people have slowly come out. Gay Prides gather thousands of people. Most of Greeks appear neutral. I think in terms of legal rights we are in a good position and, in my experience, we are far from the worst case scenarios. Here is the current state of LGBT+ Legal Rights in Greece (Link)
I found an article that sums the situation up. “What it’s really like to be Gay in Greece” was from the English ones I could find (Link)
“All of this presents a country that I have found welcoming to tourists, gay or straight. In reality though, often, when in discussion with neighbours and acquaintances, they do remain astonished when you as a man mention you are married … married to a man. It remains something which although it is accepted, is often not talked about here openly. Greece is therefore, in terms of gay rights, a country in transition. No country goes from gay discrimination to total equality overnight, it is a process. Greece is no exception. But it is slowly making that progress.”
There are more juicy details there so I wouldn’t skip a read!
This article gives another point of view, which is also valid (Link). It offers the results of a poll, which are important. In this one Spain seems to be far more accepting than Greece in 2014.
A last comment: Depending on where you are in Greece, the situation can be night and day. (Like in Mykonos, in Summer, you can be very affectionate with your same sex lover on the street, something that you wouldn’t do in the average North town). This 2020 article gathers the most popular locations for gay people and tells you what happens there (Link).
I should finish the answer by saying I am one of the optimistic ones, lucky enough to be around (kinda) accepting people. Other Greeks will have different experiences than mine. They are encouraged to comment and discuss!
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SnK Chapter 122 Poll Results
The chapter 122 poll closed with 1,472 responses. Thank you to everyone who participated!
RATE THE CHAPTER
1,428 Responses
This is one for the record books. Chapter 122 is officially the highest rated chapter since we started the poll. A whopping 85.2% of respondents gave it the top rating. The previous record holder was chapter 101 (79.8%) which featured the long awaited return of the Survey Corps.
5 out of 5 for the pig who seeks freedom! Fight For Freedom! Revolt! Revolt! Revolt!
Each chapter is becoming my favorite every time and this one isn't different. It's a fantastic read.
In a single chapter Founder Ymir became one of my top five characters in this series point blank.
I thought nothing could top chapter 100. 122 is the best one of the entire story.
A turning point. Very well executed. Congrats, Isayama, can't wait to see what you still have on store!
Yet another mind-blowing chapter, honestly one of my favorites in the series! Honestly, this was a chapter I have been awaiting since I started getting into SnK, and those feelings increased following the basement reveal chapters where we are left to wonder which parts of Ymir's story are true and which are false.
One of the best chapters of the series! Definitely gave me a new appreciation for Attack on Titan from a story telling standpoint.
I love how many questions this answers and also creates; I’m happy that there are still many things left a mystery!
Aamazing chapter, I fucking cried. Now give me Historia, Isayama. I need her.
I'm just so happy to see it finally coming together and not be let-down
If Floch doesn't die in the Rumbling I want a refund
Worldwide genocide, taking care of kids, get you a man who can do both
LEEEEET'S GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!!!
Damn, Isayama.
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WAS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT?
1,439 Responses
You guys are almost as split on this question as Ymir’s Titan Powers are. Speaking of, she also happens to directly occupy the two most common answers, with 48.7% rating their favorite moment as either her backstory, or her conversation with Eren.The fall of the walls takes third place, followed by Eren’s revival and the cliffhanger at the end of the chapter.
WHO IS MOST RESPONSIBLE FOR 'STARTING THIS STORY?'
1,419 Responses
You started this story, didn’t you: pig who got freed? 45.1% feel that the earliest in story event makes for a good starting point. Just over ¼ of respondents felt the Founder Ymir Fritz is most responsible. 8.4% feel it’s Eren, and only 3.4% chose Grisha for whom the quote originally signified. The most popular write-in answer, King Fritz, overtook poor Grisha at 4.2%. Variations on King Fritz in the write-ins numbered almost 200.
People's greed. It started with the first King Fritz and it continued with the next generations
The Eldians (First Fritz)
Isayama. He started the whole story! If that wasn't him, the pigs would not run away.
Everybody has played their own part, it is not simply a matter of what single person is the most responsible.
The Attack titan
The Marleyean military higher ups that ordered Bertolt, Reiner, Annie and Marcel to breach the walls of Paradis Island
Those that blamed Ymir
The spinal fluid that was inside the three because if that wasn't there, titans would have never existed in the first place.
The cycle of violence/hatred/slavery. The King Fritz probably wasn't the first to be this way. The story has no true beginning because it's a cycle, but Eren will be the end.
King Dickz
The first King. Why isn't it an option?
WHO DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST CONNECTED TO/PARALLELS YMIR THE MOST?
1,422 Responses
Our current queen seems to resemble the first queen quite a bit, with almost half of respondents, at 46.8% saying Historia parallels original Ymir the most. 35% feel Ymir is most connected to, well, Ymir. 14.3% chose Eren, and a sliver of votes went to Zeke at 1.6%.
Though there are more parallels to Freckled Ymir, the pregnancy of Ymir Fritz can be a connection-foreshadowment of Historia's pregnancy plan. So I'll say that there are parallels to both Freckled ymir and Historia.
Mikasa is a lot like pre freedom ymir
Anyone who has been trapped in life
Connected to: Eren. Parallels: Freckled Ymir.
both Historia and freckled Ymir, obvs. And Mikasa, to a lesser extent
A lot of the cast parallel OG Ymir
Grisha
Definitely Freckled Ymir. She took the blame of all those people in the hopes of being useful or wanted through her sacrifice and then got the power of the titans.
Ymir has parallels to Historia, freckled Ymir and Zeke
Time will show.
I'd say both Historia and Ymir: the cult picked up Ymir, who was a homeless child, similar to how Founder Ymir was a slave without name or status; the two of them stood for their people even after they've been denounced out of cowardice and fought for someone else until their very end, out of pure selflessness. Historia parallels Founder Ymir by how she became a slave of her blood, and a tool to be used.
I was gonna say Oluo, but he never actually lost his tongue.
HAVE YOUR OPINIONS SHIFTED NEGATIVELY ON ELDIA?
1,421 Responses
In a conflict with no clear start, we get to see further back into the past! But did the revelations change your mind? The vast majority at 66.3% don’t give a flying fritz about who started it, they just want to see the bloodshed end. 12.7% say their outlook has changed but Marley is more in the wrong still; and only 5.3% had this chapter change their mind to the Eldians being most at fault.
All the men in power are as bad as each other
Both nations committed atrocities
Both sides are slaves to history, Eldia today is not responsible for the actions 2000 years ago.
Eldia in the past I always figured were some tyrannical force, I mean what else would happen with an ancient civilisation discovering the Power of the Titans. But Marley's propaganda having some truth to it doesn't mean they're justified in their treatment of Eldians in the modern day who had nothing to do with the original Eldia.
How could we know? What was the relationship between eldia and Marley before Ymir turned into a titan? Was Marley in the wrong before they were overtaken by eldia/even before king fritz took Marley people prisoner?
King Fritz is the one to blame. Not all of Eldia and ESPECIALLY not the Survey Corps.
Marley is more in wrong because they are continuing to perpetuate the conflict in the present.
The current characters we love and want to end up happy have nothing to do with the past, they just want to be free.
EVERYONE IS IN THE WRONG BUT THAT'S HOW THE WORLD WORKS
There's neither bad or right in this story "Everyone can become a god or a devil, all it takes is for someone to claim that to be the truth"
WHO IS THE BIGGEST ASSHOLE IN THE MANGA THUS FAR?
1,433 Responses
In a story filled with lovable characters, there’s also tons of douchenozzles. 67.7% believe the original King Fritz is the worst of them all. 17.2% took the intellectual route and responded with “Yes”.
All of them are rotten, selfish and full of hatred people who only think about themselves and are ready to manipulate own children (or other people) for own benefits.
first king Fritz of Eldia and Eren
Gabi a.k.a. Garbage
I believe king fritz and gross deserve eatch other, they are the assholes of their times
I'm surprised Zeke finally got a rival in being the worst human ever in person of King Fritz.
No recognition for our very own Darius 'poo-chair' Zackly?
Most have a at least some humanizing (if not redeeming) qualities, but both King Fritz and Gross are evil to the core
King Fritz, but Flock is also an big asshole (it's never a bad time to point that)
Where's Zeke? To be honest I can't decide between Fritz, Floch, and Zeke.
Who the fuck put floch here, come here and fight
Why on earth are Karina and Alma here? They were horrid mothers to their kids; the others are guilty of murder, torture and genocide.
Ymir Fritz because she received godlike powers and decided to stay with a power hungry king; she was free and could have done anything but because of her slave mentality she decided to stay with him for 13 years! as uncle Ben said "With great power comes great responsibility"
The 145th king is the only one who did unreasonable bad things to his people, he literally allowed his people to be enslaved all over the world and he allowed the future genocide of his people. The worst thing is this doesn't do anything. It doesn't save the world from anything. Even the paradise he created was all for himself because he couldn't deal with reality. His logic is faulty, but even so he couldn't even do the job himself. The only one that can be worst than him is Zeke who's another evil man who wants to exterminate his own people. But, unlike Karl, Zeke is willing to do the job himself.
That goddamn pig
WHAT IS THE TREE YMIR FOUND?
1,424 Responses
In a chapter with so many answers, we still have vague origins! Starting from the start, what in the world is that tree? Over half of you, at 55.5%, think it’s Attack on Titan’s version of the Yggdrasil tree from Norse mythology. 24.2% say it’s the source of all organic matter we’ve heard discussed. 11.3% say it just grew out of what it’s housing, and 5.9% think it’s similar to the forest of giant trees.
A connection between a human and the Earth, hence the Devil of All Earth
A wellspring or hidden primordial lake
Yggdrasil but is the source of all organic matter somehow, and I think it's somehow related to the trees on Paradis being so big.
A hideout for that Hallucigenia thing left by the devil
It appears almost as a man and women embracing. Adam and Eve??
It doesn't matter. It was never about the origin of the titans, it was about the power of the titans and the moral implications of it. How the titans came to be is irrelevant.
The Great Deku Tree dungeon
Titan tree. It is probably the same species as the trees surrounding it, but has grown unnaturally large due to the parasite in it's water source.
Tree
WHAT IS THE THING IN THE TREE YMIR FOUND?
1,421 Responses
Another layer of mystery within the mystery tree! Two main thoughts emerged and are almost even in popularity. 46.9% believe it is the source of all organic matter; wheread 44.3% say it’s a parasite of unknown origin. 3.2% say it’s in fact the devil itself.
A connection to the earth, making her the Devil
A *Symbiote* of unknown origin
A root of the tree that connects whoever it touches with the paths realm
A root of the tree that's been soaked and absorbing the water; the water is the real source.
I've seen enough hentai to know that is an alien
It could be the very first living being on this planet, a sort of progenitor from which all genes and all variations of biodiversity came to be.
Just a spine in the water turning little girl to big girl. What's supposed to be special about that?
This world's version of Níðhöggr, the many legged dragon that eats at the roots of the Tree of Life.
The spine of the previous founder
The Great Deku Tree dungeon boss. Ymir lost.
A poorly designed shit-machine that can't get the job done
A L I E N S
DID YMIR TEMPORARILY DIE WHEN SHE FELL IN THE TREE?
1,425 Responses
When Ymir fell into the tree, did she drown? The majority of the fanbase doesn’t feel anything like that happened, whereas over a ¼ at 26.6% feel she died and was revived. 5% believe she died, and was thereafter controlled by the parasite type thing.
Dying and being brought back to life is meant to be Zeke's thing!!
I think she was almost dying but the parasite healed her.
It revived her and created a clone within the paths dimension.
I think Ymir's body as a child is still in that tree to this day, with the parasite still attached to her. It was deep underground, thus affecting the ground shared by its roots (assuming this is Paradis), and being the reason for all the giant trees. It also explains a little Titans being creatures of the Earth, and Ymir forming them with sand.
She became a Titan seconds before dying
She probably passed out for a few seconds after she drowned, and it was during that brief state of unconsciousness that parasite attached to her.
Ymir the human died, and Ymir the Titan was born. That's why Ymir the human is in the Paths and not Ymir the Titan. Ymir the Human sculpts the titan body for her Titan self, because time is infinite and strange in Paths.
A mix of both Yes answers - it revived her but also controlled her body so that she could only watch on as an observer. It makes her more of a slave without a free will as something else is literally controlling her body from within her and she can’t do anything about it
P A T H S
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST STANDOUT TO YOU ABOUT YMIR'S TITAN DESIGN?
1,429 Responses
We finally got to see the original founding titan in the flesh! The ribs sticking out stuck out to 39.7% the most. 29.5% of you found it interesting that the overall design was uglier than the goddess like depictions we’ve seen. 17.6% went for the skull face she has, and 11.8% simply went for the HUGE size.
All of above, just look at that atrocity
Her missing eyes
Everything, the ribs were the first thing I noticed with the face being next. It took me a 2nd read through the chapter to realize that she is bigger than the Colossal titan. Definitely one of the best titan designs from Isayama
How malnourished it looks
It's terrifying and it's the fusion of the 9 titans
The fact that it looks nothing like I expected or imagined
Everything about it - One can see exactly why the truth about her was easily manipulated.
ON A SCALE OF 1 TO 5, HOW OFFENSIVE TO YOU IS THE FACT THAT THE ORIGINAL WARHAMMER TITAN HAD HAIR?
1,418 Responses
This question was for that one guy who absolutely could not deal with the original WHT’s hair. You’re in good company, but the results are about as polarized as global politics. 35% want Emma back immediately, 16.4% don’t really care about this egregious crime, and 32.4% are totally indifferent. Only 16% had slight feelings in either direction. The poll lawyers are telling me that I have to clarify that Emma is still only a fandom name for the previous Warhammer. Get on it Isayama.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE DESIGNS WE SAW FOR THE ORIGINAL TITANS?
You guys liked Ymir’s Founding Titan so much that it’s literally off the charts. The original Attack Titan got some pretty mixed reviews, but the general consensus is that you guys prefer an Eren and/or a Jaeger to be driving that thing. The scourge of the hair comes back to beat down the original Warhammer’s ratings as well, but the majority remain indifferent. Speaking of indifference, more of you were indifferent about the OG Colossal Titan than had strong feelings one way or another combined. We’ll see how that result changes when it ends up CGI in Season 4. The general consensus on the original Armored Titan is, “It’s alright, I guess.”
The Female Titan was the second on the list to have a majority “Love” rating, though whether this is due to the design or severe Annie Deprivation Syndrome remains to be seen.
DID YMIR MANAGE TO GRAB THE 'MOST TRAGIC BACKSTORY' AWARD?
1,422 Responses
Another tear jerking childhood to add to the list, but does it top it? The overwhelming majority at 83.5% feel that she did earn that award of tragedy. 6.3% believe the classic sufferboi Reiner still tops the charts. 3.4% went for Levi, 1.8% for the other Ymir, 0.7% for Zeke and 0.4% for Historia.
Everyone has suffered uniquely in this series, how can I choose ?
First, I'm offended Grisha wasn't included here. Second, everyone's suffered too much. So they all win.
Her backstory definitely is the darkest and saddest one. Reiner, Historia, Ymir and the rest had their moments of happiness. They were surrounded by loving people. Ymir was always all alone; born as a slave, had full of sadness life and after death she was creating titans for 2000 years. She just wanted to be free and wanted be loved, yet she had none of that.
Homegirl is still living her 2000-year-long tragic backstory, she definitely wins
I don't think tragic backstories should be a competition
I think you forgot about Mr Yeager :) those guys are not even close to him
Is this Suffering Olympics or something?
Ymir and Mikasa the most sad tragic backstory
Ymir is always showed as a mindless slave, even at the start of her backstory, it is too hard to empathize with someone that never acted as a human being and lived her whole life without any emotion
Grisha easily has it for me. Ymir's circumstances were worse from birth, and Reiner's dissonance and misery is tragic, but Grisha's perceived misery throughout his cycles of perpetual tragedy shows that he easily suffered the most.
Give them all a hug.
P I G
WAS THE MURDERER OF YMIR HELOS?
1,408 Responses
Is Helos historical or completely fabricated? 10.7% believe the Marleyan who killed Ymir is in fact Helos, and 66.9% believe the character is based on him. 22.4% don’t believe the idea of Helos and this man are related in any way.
The one showing rebellion in this chapter is the figure serving as a role model for Helos. Unlike Ymir, he was powerless and only had his spear, but he took enough courage to show resistance to Eldia's domination and toss his spear at the king. He paid it with his life, but he fatally wounded Ymir in return, showing even the goddess of titans could bleed. I'm confident the myth of Helos is going to be relevant in the future chapters.
YMIR didn't die with the spear-throw..I think her conscious form was stuck in the paths before her body revived.
Helos? Really?? Helos???
WHICH OF THESE LIKELY TO BE CENSORED SCENES WAS THE MOST GRUESOME?
1,421 Responses
In a series filled with gore, this chapter was above average with violence. Ymir’s young daughters cannibalizing their mother was the most gruesome according to almost all of you at 89.2%. Second place is a bit behind at 3.5%, with centipede spine Eren.
All of the above
Everything but Centipede Eren
The guy getting his tongue cut out that was even censored for the manga.
We've seen lots of people being eaten so not that, and Erentipede is going to be stunning animated so not that. Maybe head on a pike.
The tongue cut from the beginning really horrified me, it put the chapter in a great atmosphere from the start
No mention about that slave getting his tongue cut out by those ancient Eldian soldiers? That was pretty grizzle. That panel implies that all people enslaved by the Eldians lost their tongues upon getting captured, which meant that Ymir likely lost her tongue as well. That really explains how she had no spoken dialogue in the past, and while the tongue may have regenerated following her first Titan transformation, the length of time she couldn't speak and her status most likely prevented her from speaking.
No need to be censored
WHAT DOES EREN MEAN BY 'PUT AN END TO THIS WORLD'?
1,419 Responses
Eren’s finally stated what he plans to do; but what does it mean!? 45.9% believe the world he plans to destroy is the paths realm, eldning titans that way. 25.4% think he just meant dismantling the status quo of the world. 14.4% say he’s just going to rumble enemies of Eldia, whereas 10.6% say the whole earth.
All options seem plausible
Destroy the PATHS realm and rumble the enemies invading Eldia.
He plans to rumble all life, destroy the paths realm, AND erase all the memories of the remaining Eldians on Paradis so they completely forget about the history of the titans, thus effectively making the past 2000 years seem like they never even happened. ANDHe plans to destroy the PATHS realm, putting an end to titans
He wants to destroy the world as it is now. He wants to create a world where none of the things that happened to Ymir can ever happen again.
I think he just needs a nap
I understand that fandom wants to see Eren as good guy who will not destroy the world, but I think that everything is simple - Eren is planning to use full rumbling; destroy the whole world, kill millions of innocent people, animals and plants.
IT ALL COMES RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN
4+5
HOW DOES THIS CHAPTER RELATE TO THE SCENE OF EREN CRYING IN CHAPTER 1?
1,399 Responses
2,000 years ago, 2,000 years from now. The titles of this and chapter one parallel, but what else? Over half of you, at 52.7% believe Eren was sent Ymir’s feelings when she had her emotional epiphany. 33.5% say Eren was sent memories of what’s about to happen, and 11.1% don’t think anything from this chapter related to Eren crying in chapter one specifically.
1st Chapter name suggest it does, but it just make no sense as Eren at that point didn't had attack titan power, so he could not receive others memories
Eren crying will be due to the consequences of this chapter
Eren learns of Ymir's backstory
I don't think Isayama meant for it to originally mean anything this far in the story, but I think there could be some Paths tomfoolery going on.
Eren saw the memories of his death and literally everything until that moment
Eren was sent a message like a cry for help maybe? Strong, intense feelings of sadness and despair... Because in this chapter Eren says she'd been waiting for someone for 2000 years, so I am guessing 2000 years ago she started sending a message.
ON A SCALE OF "EH" TO "I NEED TO HUG HER, HOW DID YOU FEEL SEEING LITTLE YMIR TEAR UP?
1,417 Responses
Sad Girl Hours have officially been endorsed by Hajime Isayama himself. 73.7% of you guys are in full support, and an additional 15.2% of your mice slipped when answering. 6.9% of you guys kinda just wanna see something else happen, and the first one of you on Reddit to say “Nice.” about that is getting sent to Paradis. Lastly, a grand total of 60 of you defy all explanation.
I want to hug Ymir so bad :( mute babby
WHY WAS EREN THE FIRST TO OPEN YMIR'S EYES?
1,415 Responses
It took 2,000 years for Ymir to open her eyes and her heart, what about Eren got her to that point? 29.9% think he was the only person to ever empathize with her at all, 8.4% think it was simply Eren’s chadness, while 8.3% think it’s only because the previous royals viewed her as a slave. The majority at 41.1% feel it’s a mix of all available options.
Because he was born into this world
Because he is the protagonist
He embraced her and showed her compassion- something she never felt before
Defiance of old wills. He does, after all "just keep moving forward."
Eren didn't seek to use Ymir as a slave
Eren made her realize that she isn't a slave OR a god. She was enslaved and in later years worshipped, but just like Eren: from the moment she was born, she was free
He knew/experienced everything she went through.
He manipulated her to be able to use her powers
He was the first person to tell her she could make her own choices
He was the only one that put his ideals over his personal gain to the end. Ymir is a slave, therefor Eren frees her from her slavery. /The previous royals viewed her as a slave
TALK NO JUTSU 2 GOOD; Eren is good at manipulating kids when it suits his needs best + He was the only one to ever empathize with her
WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY THOUGHT ON THE CENTIPEDE SPINE THAT SAVED EREN?
1,417 Responses
Eren’s alive! But what is that… thing? IT LOOKS AWESOME! 32.9% had that as their first response. It was nearly a three way split though, and 30.6% first thought of how it must look for those for whom only a moment has passed since his head flew off. 30.2% quickly made the connection that it looks like the parasite thingy Ymir Fritz found. Only 3.2% thought it looked stupid as hell.
CREEPY but COOL
DO NOT WANT
100/10, better than Kaneki
Ken is hiring a lawyer for copyrights lawsuits against Eren.
I am wondering, what if this is basically Ymir's renouncing of the power she had, finally freeing herself, and thus passing it on to Eren?
I thought that Eren was becoming Níðhöggr, the literal devil that causes Ragnarok (the apocalypse). He looks really cool and frightening at the same time, I love this young man!
It cant be stopped anymore and weird for whom only a second passed
It looks less like a centipede and more like roots to me.
My thought, "The hell is that?!"
Nothing personal Eren, but burn that thing immediately.
Oh thank goodness Eren didn't split into two.
pure "why is the boss music changing to MORE intense?", and that's great
HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT EREN SURVIVING THE BEHEADING?
1,410 Responses
44.3% of you are really enthusiastic about Eren surviving his beheading, despite proclaiming that you knew it’d happen anyway. It takes the noggin for a joggin’, but I’m not here to judge. 27.1% of you guys are relatively indifferent about it, and 21.1% of you didn’t think you’d like it, but ultimately bent the knee before Isayama’s storytelling abilities.
Am I surprised? No. Are you surprised? No
Disappointed but not surprised...
Excited, but wondering how he is actually going to die.
GABI GANG BTFO
It was predictable but the revival still felt epic
It was predictable since he's the main character, c'mon anyone else would die like Porco did.
oshiete oshiete
THE WALLS HAVE FINALLY FALLEN! WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THIS MOMENT?
1,410 Responses
A moment that’s been built up so long, what feeling took over when it finally happened? Most of the fanbase, at 68.3%, were just in awe at how well Isayama pulled it off. 14.2% were filled with hope that Eren actually made it happen. On the opposite end of the spectrum 13.5% were filled with dread.
All of the above. This story is a rollercoaster.
Dread as the wall titans are facing into Paradis so Eren's plan may backfire!
Everything in the manga has led to this moment
I kind of thought/hoped the rumbling would be a red herring, but oh well. it'll still be cool
I want them do the colossal dance
I was hoping this chapter won't end with cliffhanger
IT ALL COMES RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN RUMBLING DOWN
Looks very dramatic, will be momentous animated, still not surprising since I think a lot of us knew it was gonna happen eventually
meh, I want the story to advance, but the rumbling never grabbed me as an event I was waiting for
LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!!!!!
I peed
IN SUCH A BEAUTIFULLY DRAWN CHAPTER, WHICH WAS YOUR FAVORITE DOUBLE SPREAD?
1,412 Responses
Isayama’s art truly has improved over the years and this chapter showcased that. The final panel left the biggest impression on 33.7% of you. 25.1% felt a deep impact from Ymir’s emotional closeup, and the walls cracking and crumbling rounds out the top 3 at 14.8%.
All of them
Original 9 titans.
the one where Ymir was building thousands of collosal titans
not so beautifully drawn but still nice
The pages with Ymir alone in the Paths realm while Fritz tells his daughters to continue the reign of Titans and Eldia
Ymir’s children eating her
IN CHAPTER 86 GRISHA MANAGED TO QUOTE KING FRITZ WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO READ THE "HISTORICAL" DOCUMENTS. HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE?
1,406 Responses
In this chapter King Fritz used the same line Grisha did when learning about Ymir much further down the line. Half of the fanbase at 50.6% don’t feel that anything’s at play and it was just Grisha making assumptions based on what information he had. Just about ¼ at 25.7% feel paths are involved but they don’t have to explain anything after that. 14.2% feel there was a chain of memory sending that led to the result we got.
Actually Grisha never deciphered the documentation. I thought it was obvious he was being portrayed as extremist at the point to show the other side of the coin. Both sides just make up facts as they want.
I suppose it being the exact wording as what the King said made people think there was memories shenanigans but Isayama does these kind of parallels all the time, with characters saying something word for word that they don’t have knowledge of.
"Grisha how did you understand this?" "Pretty pictures."
WILL THERE BE A RUMBLING?
1,413 Responses
The walls have fallen. What will happen next? In a near even split, 48.1% win out saying there will be a small scale rumbling, whereas 45% say it will be worldwide. Only 6.9% feel there won’t be any form of rumbling at all.
I WAS WAITING FOR YEARS FOR THE RUMBLING!!!!!!
AWESOME! But i really don't want a full scale rumbling
Eren is becoming more and more the last antagonist of this story and it's just scary how some people in the fandom understand and support Eren's plan. Hopefully Marley, Zeke and the SC will working together to stop the rumbling and Eren.
i really dont think eren is gonna go full rumbling or even in a small scale, hes gonna end the word dominated by titans by taking away the titan power from eldians
The rumbling isn't a metaphor people. Eren is planning to kill billions of innocents. Can't wait for the warriors and 104th to team up and put down that mad dog.
Zeke said it himself a few chapters back: Eldia would have no chance of fighting the entire World Army; the Rumbling really seemed to be their only way out, and launching those Colossal Titans now as a pre-emptive strike would be the best way to suppress the Army before they can even attack.
I have a feeling that the rumbling will turn out to be anti- climatic. Lots of people seem to be pinning their hopes on the rumbling being the cure-all to Eldia's problems, but the world of attack on titan is not that kind.
WHAT/WHO IS THE TITAN FORMING AT THE END?
1,412 Responses
The chapter ended with a titan forming, but what will it end up being? Barely over half, at 51.6% believe it to be Eren with a power up from Ymir Fritz. 20.5% think it’s Eren with Ymir attached in some way, and 14.1% think Eren has accessed a new form on his own.
Eren and Ymir combined, rather than attached. Could be a new Titan form, could be Attack Titan on Titan Steroids. Need to wait until 123 to maybe find out.
Eren in Warhammer, he is not in the nape
Centipide Titan that will die after getting out of energy
Eren with full power from the Founder, Attack and Warhammer
I'm thinking it's some sort of founder-unlocked version of Eren's titan. Maybe Ymir is giving him full control now.
Eren and Ymir fused. Ymen
It's Eren but I don't know how his titan will look like and I don't care about it, cause I'm more worried about Gabi.
Eren's founding titan form. He had it all along, but he could never use it, until now.
The last two sound so lewd without context
DEATH FLAGS! WHO IN SHIGANSHINA IS GOING TO DIE AS A RESULT OF IMMINENT EVENTS?
1,340 Responses
I was gonna ask for Fs in the chat for whoever led in the results for this question, but then I saw it was Floch, so… Fs in the chat for Magath I guess, because a lot of you seem to think Hulk Hogan is going to suplex him (and Floch) through a table at Royal Rumble DCCCLIV. That’s fancy talk for “die.” Pieck and Zeke are pretty high on the list as well. There’s a lot of information here, so I won’t give you all the specifics in this written part—take a look! Armin has 92 votes, which lands him at 6.9% don’t say it Reddit, and Mikasa has 117 votes, with only 8.7% of you suspecting death in her immediate future. For a brick, she flies pretty good!
I hope no one, but I'm sure everyone
Everyone without plot armor, in other words no main or supporting characters.
I think the named characters are still safe. For Now. But soon, not so safe.
Less people than realistically possible
literally no one because Isayama is a hack
For some reason I feel like Yelena will die soon
Pieck, Niccolo, I don't want it to happen but I feel like Nikolo's gonna go down protecting the Braus family! :(
None of the above
HOW WAS YMIR STRANDED IN THE PATHS REALM AFTER DEATH, BUT NO OTHER ELDIANS SEEM TO BE?
727 Responses
Because she sort of... disassociated there
I think her younger self was "recorded" and so a version of ymir was there ever since she fell down the tree. The tree itself being the physical portal to it or sth like that. No one else fell down that hole...
in order to create the other 8 titans, she gave up her soul and became stranded there.
Because she started it all, she's the only one who touched the whatever it was that gave the titan powers.
I think it's obvious, she was the original slave, the only one that King Fritz's evil targeted specifically. Damning her to an eternity in the hellish isolation only making titans to oppress mankind, because that was his goal.
After she came in contact with what I believe to be the silver branch from Celtic Mythology, her conscious was unknowingly split into two; one in the paths and the other in the physical word. Once Ymir finally died in the physical world, her conscious fuse with the paths conscious and became aware of it.
I think the paths realm takes place inside the mind or dimension of that worm/nidhogg/ancient god parasite and she was brought back to it after she allowed herself to die. The sand Ymir uses to build titans may be her tapping into the reservoir of liquid underneath that giant tree or something.
she's tied to it as a slave and never had the strength on her own to break free
SHE created the PATHS dimension. She is the first titan and has almost unlimited power
A combination of being the bearer of the Centispine and the long years of abuse she went through making her unable to disobey yet another order. Hers is pretty much the most heartbreaking case of learned helplessness. What keeps her obeying the commands of the royals is the fact that she doesn't even realise there is another possibility. Because nobody ever cared enough about her to show her there is one.
Another version of herself was created, when she came in contact with the thing, so that she could create her titan etc..
As the very first Titan, she is the conduit through which PATHS flows. The parasite had now host in the beginning so PATHS couldn't be conveyed until Ymir showed up.
Because with her started everything, i believe her “burden” was to be attached forever
Maybe it's because she's the only one that's physically attached to that weird, interdimensional organism. Maybe it's because her body was dismembered and consumed by 3 different people. Other titan shifters don't get stranded there because their spirits can in some way inhabit the one person who inherits their power. Maybe there is significance to Eren having gotten 3 titans, perhaps one from each lineage: Maria, Rose, and Sina, which now somehow allows Ymir's spirit to leave Paths. He certainly did work hard to get the War Hammer, specifically.
i think paths always existed and have always been there, but there wasnt someone to be in there, because no one discovered that spine under the giant tree. so, i think that ymir's soul somehow connected with the paths at the moment she gained the titan power, and when she died, her soul converted into the "ruler" of the paths
It was always her, she's the special one. There is nothing special about eldians, other than them being biologically related to Ymir. Ymir was always the one with the power, the only one. She was only limited by her slave mentality, if she wanted to, she could've ruled the world forever and she would've been the only one with titan powers. It seems she has given her powers and special function to Eren. That means that Eren alone will be the special one and he will rule the world forever with only him having titan powers.
She held all 9 titan powers, and as the only person in history to do so, she has the ability to view all of the other branches on the tree. Similar to how a shifter might be able to view the memories of a past shifter.... Ymir can view ALL of them, for all time.
The devil needed a host for his dimension
That's her curse. Possibly bound by her loyalty to the King Fuck-Face-Fritz
you know PATHS, i ain't gonna explain that
THERE ARE MANY THEORIES ABOUT THE CENTISPINE'S QUALITIES—WHAT ARE YOURS?
579 Responses
A number of responses here ranging from the hilarious to the creepy; The centispine. A great many of you (We can’t tell if you’re serious or not…) are talking about Aliens, whilst others postulate that the thing results in parasitic possession, ALA Sekiro.
A parasite thingy? Source of organic matter?
A power-bestowing parasite, hence why it needs to be eaten
Alien would be the easiest. But maybe the tree is actually Yggdrasil and its roots pass through other worlds. And the parasite is from another world.
alien/prehistoric being capable of phasing matter through dimensions
Aliens
ALIENS
Bruh its an organic life form/parasite, when bonded to a host ot provides them the titan ability
Don't think it's a biological, probably a mythical being inspired by Norse mythology
Eren will become the human centispine
For me the most plausible is the fact that it resembles a living creature from our world who is supposed to create the whole world 300 millions ago or so
I believe its power weakens the more it divides. The power of each of the 9 current titans is nowhere near that of how powerful Ymir was after she first got the power.
I don't think we'll get any concrete explanation, but it's some creature with fifth-dimensional qualities that unwillingly merged with Ymir. I think the 9 main spines on the bottom on each side doesn't necessarily represent the amount of Titans but how divisible Ymir's power is before it becomes warped (mindless Titans). I also think of some level the idea of the parasite being connected to the Titan power is an inherent correlation that only exists because of Ymir. The idea of power = giant big monster seems like a very childlike concoction, and an antiquated one too. Since we know willpower and manifesting a goal in mind are part of the Power of the Titans I don't think it's too far-fetched that those specific powers came from Ymir herself, and the parasite merely made them possible on her physical plane of existence. This would seem to be at odds with its connection to being giant existing before Ymir made contact with it, due to the giant tree and my inferred connection with it and the giant trees on Paradis, but remember this thing exists outside time itself, it's a frankly unperceivable organism.
I don’t fucking know
WHAT ARE YOU MOST HOPING TO SEE NEXT CHAPTER?
1,383 Responses
Next chapter starts off the the new volume, but what do you want to see in it? 28.1% want to see the full rumbling begin, 23.4% want to see how Eren’s titan transformation turns out, and 15.4% just want to see some action in Shiganshina. For those who want the scene to change, 11.9% want to catch up with Levi and Hange, 8.2% want Annie, 4.4% want Historia, and 4.3% want even more historical info dumps.
ALL OF IT BRING IT ON ISAYAMA
Armin transforming into the colossal titan
Death and suffering
Eren's master plan and more history hopefully
Full rumbling AND Levi and Hange.
i really look forward to see annie but what i really want to see is what is going to happen to the others (pieck, gabi, falco, reiner, etc etc)
Levi/Hange AND Annie. I feel like if Annie is going to ever return to the story, it'll be at a climax of some sort.
The hizuru lady piloting the boat-plane over Shiganshina
Lore, HISTORIA PLEASE I LOVE HER AND WANT TO SEE HER, Levi/Hange, Eren, and the immediate consequences of the Walls crashing down.
What the heck the plan actually is. For all we know, they could be uncovering the wall titans just to send the material that makes up their bodies back to Paths land. An Ymir/Eren hybrid titan could just have them hold still and spend the next years devouring them. We literally know nothing.
Somebody stopping Eren and bringing a sense of honor and morality(preferably Reiner, Armin or Gabi)
The ending Audio might be next chapter
WHERE DO YOU PRIMARILY DISCUSS THE SERIES?
1,309 Responses
Reddit continues to dominate the discussion field, comprising 52.4% of this vote alone. Tumblr, Facebook, and Youtube follow far behind, and 4 of you said Snapchat. That’s 0.3% of respondents, which is technically a low enough percentage to make sense, so maybe I should believe you guys, but I don’t.
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON THE CHAPTER?
My thoughts on Eldia after reading this chapter: "Oh, so Marley really wasn't fabricating history with how ancient barbaric ancient Eldia was, especially with how ancient Eldia treated them. Can't blame Marley for putting that on the history books and using that as part of their propaganda. Considering that and what Marley is doing right now, it just adds to the moral grayness of the story.
Eyes have always told a story in SNK, whether it was the intention of a character (Zeke, Grisha, etc) or their true feelings (Levi). Eyes, and the lack thereof, in Ymir's backstory, told us that THAT was finally the real history. Until now we've always had someone else's warped perspective of history, but now we know how it actually was.
Eren's not JUST a murderer and teenage terrorist, look, he also hugs kids!
Ymir's backstory was a bit disappointing, I expected it to be more grey; Ymir is basically a poor girl who never did anything wrong and King Fritz is the big bad who seems to be the greatest jerk of the story; I don't think this fits with the ""the world is grey"" theme of the story at all, even Gross had at least something interesting to say
Amazing turn of events. Ymir deserves to be released from her enslavement. If the devil has to come out now that his plan is being foiled by Eren, I think Zeke can be a good host for him to incarnate as, justifying Levi killing Zeke as the final main villain of the story.
Definitely one of the best chapters of the overall series.
Annie...oh Annie... God knows how isayama is going to put her back into the plot now!
As much as I want to see Levi and Hange again, I really want to know more about Eren's plans. We still don't have a clear answer, but the part where Eren hugs Ymir makes this my favorite chapter.
Barely feels like the same series, but in a good way.
Brilliant payoff after having the action suddenly halted for multiple chapters. Shit is finally going down.
Eren and Ymir deserve to succeed and completely destroy the world. It’s already been corrupted too much for it to be fixed any other way at this point. This world was crafted by filthy, bloody hands and it’s about damn time for Eren & Ymir to break it down so it can be crafted by cleaner hands.
Eren and Ymir have done nothing wrong ever at all fite me
Eren best dad. I'd rumble a million worlds for him to hub me like that. Yelling right into my ear is just a bonus.
Possibly the greatest chapter. The last 3 chapters together could be the greatest side story in Attack on Titan. Isayama is just...I am at a loss for words. He's just the greatest. He just needs to finish the story on a high note and that's it. Even if he doesn't, this is one of the greatest manga and anime of all time.
People who have unquestioning trust in Eren aren't invited to my birthday party
Honestly, I loved it. It was so well executed and so goddamn interesting. I love how Isayama gives us *almost* all the information we need to piece the whole thing together and leaves just enough for us to have our own speculations. I just hope that they're all resolved at the end though considering there's probably only 4 chapters left at least.
I cannot wait to see the last 5 pages of this chapter animated, easily one of my favorite set of pages from the whole series
I couldn’t have ever thought this was going to be the content of this chapter but I’m so glad it came out the way it did
I cried so much, I love the story
I honestly didn't care much for Ymir's backstory. But hopefully the Rumbling will make things more interesting
I think this chapter might have benefited from being two chapters. There was so much information to absorb in a very short amount of time, I feel like a lot of questions weren't answered that probably never will be now like- why are there 9 human controlled titans? How did the mindless titans factor in? Why did Ymir die from the spear when Eren can have his head shot off? Why did the other slaves turn on Ymir in the first place? Where did she come from originally? Was she captured? Born a slave? There was I think a missed opportunity to develop her character a little more. I get the idea of even the narrator not really caring about what she's experiencing but getting a little more insight into her perspective would have been really interesting.
I read earlier that the closest creature of the devil are human beings .. but humans are more evil .. King Fritz represents the devil .. Thank you Isayama .. In our reality many demons already exist and I have one in my house .. In the corridor
I see a lot of people shitting on Zeke (even comparing him to that asshole king) for ordering Ymir around, but like.... he just heard Eren saying he will end the world (plus remember what Grisha said about Eren memories/intentions), he must be really panicking, so of course he would desperatly shout orders to Ymir and insisting he's of royal blood, that's basically at the moment the only way he could try to stop Eren. And yes, that's not nice to Ymir, but still that doesn't put him on the same level as King Fritz at all.
I thought Gross was the epitome of evil. Then came Fritz. HOLY. FUCKING. SHIT. Don't tell me Ymir doesn't deserve a little payback after 2000 years as a slave.
So Zeke endorses genocide, but not Total World Destruction? Whatevs, man.
Sucks to be Gabi after killing Eren only for this to happen a second later.
I was kinda shocked when Eren, given the shitty way he treated Mikasa in ch 112, started comforting Ymir and telling her she's not a slave. I never realized Mikasa meant that little to him. What a fucking asshole.
I'm glad the question "is Eren going to activate the rumbling as a part of his plan?" was finally answered. I also finally made up my mind about Zeke and I now know I don't like him due to how he acted towards Ymir. I love that we finally learned about Ymir, and that both Marley's and Eldian Restorationists' versions of history were partially correct. I love that the devil was actually King Shitz and Ymir wasn't a goddess but a slave to the devil, but she still helped the Eldians develop and thrive. Also, I love how most of my theories were proven to be true this chapter. Overall I really liked it.
IT CanNoT bE sTopPeD aNymOre
What is interesting to me is that Ymir's legend seems to be the opposite of what women in history usually get: Often great women are forgotten or their agency is reduced only to that of a mother, lover, wife or daughter of some man. Whereas Ymir is remembered even after 2000 years as the Founder and forebear of Eldia, but in reality she didn't do any of those things on her free will. She was just one of the many who were enslaved and used by Eldia, yet she is celebrated by Eldian rebels as a symbol of its former greatness. Heck, even her last name, Fritz, isn't her own, but her abuser's. Chilling and fascinating.
it was fucking amazing. holy hell, i’m in TEARS after reading this latest chapter. it was so beautifully executed and drawn, and the walls crumbling deadass made me cRY OKAY-
It was incredibly tragic but the final portion somehow combined sweetness and epicness
It's been over a week and I'm still reeling. This series gets better every month and I really don't want it to end
Ymir Fritz being presented as she is defied a couple of perceptions we've got from her: the books either implied she made a deal with the devil, or she was a benevolent goddess, when she was neither. Born as a girl from a ravaged tribe, she didn't have any voice, or agency, yet deep down she believed showing kindness was her way to make people happier after the damages of war. She accepted being fingerpointed if the other slaves could keep their eyes, she served the Eldian tribe with her newfound power, fought their wars, bore the king's children and took the final hit for him. Her spirit is then condamned to serve her line for eternity. Truly the most pitiable character of SnK so far.
I found Ymir's story too strange to be attached to her and I was a little disappointed to see that there was basically nothing that had come from her own will. It would have been more interesting in terms of conflict to see if there had been reasons why she had done this, if there was something that prevented her from acting against the Eldians for any reason. But in fact she just let herself be guided by the flow again and again, and I do not feel it's a valid reason to let herself go for more than two thousand years.
Never thought I'd hate a character more than Floch and Sergeant Major Gross, but here we are…
The whole Ymir's backstory moved me a lot because I didn't expect it to be so sad and full of despair. Ymir is definitely the most tragic character in the whole story and one of the most tragic characters in the world of manga/anime. I hope she will finally get some love and will be surrounded by honest and loyal friends. Every tragic character in SnK deserves a hug but I think that she needs it the most.
this chapter's artwork really stood out to me. The way literally no eyes were present in the flashback, even the king's, and the expression of fury and agony on OG Ymir's face when Eren tells her she has a choice. Isayama just keeps getting better and better with his art, and some of his style choices really made me see the individual panels differently.
Predictable and necessary. About this poll and the fandom in general: is amazing how the mayority (or the loudest part) of this sub tends to take things in the most literal way possible while praising Isayama as a genius or something like that, or labeling as "subtle" things that scream "HELLO I'M HERE MY NAME IS BRIAN" at your face, or misread characters in the most extreme way
Ragnarok has started and I don't know if I should be excited or afraid
Read this together with Ch.121. Eren is such a well-developed complex character. You may not like him, but credit must be given to his amazing character building trip. GJ Isayama
IT'S HAPPENING! THIS MANGA MAY END IN LESS THAN A YEAR FROM NOW, AND WITH AN EPIC ENDING IF THE ENDGAME SO FAR IS ANY INDICATION. I DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS, HELP
nothing to add, just amazing job from isayama
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Dear Democrats, I’m mad at you. I was raised a die-hard, bleeding-heart liberal. My grandmother was an Irish Catholic New Englander who worshipped JFK almost as much as Jesus. My dad and his nine siblings sang for the Kennedys at Hammersmith Farm.
For decades, I was a loyal regular at your bar until suddenly you started ignoring me. You took my support for granted and dismissed my concerns, focusing instead on courting the young city hipsters with their scooters and their designer weed and their craft beers. You began overlooking pragmatic moderates and catering to loud extremists who favor rewriting the Constitution and accelerating our lurch towards socialism.
So in 2016, feeling politically homeless, I dropped my party affiliation. How did this happen? How did I go from being a lifetime Democrat to a registered independent? I am far from alone:
WHY DON'T YOU DEMOCRATS SEEM TO CARE?
Like most Americans, I developed my politics through osmosis. You absorb what you grow up around. I call this unexamined position ‘factory settings’. Factory settings are the default beliefs installed when you were a child. ‘I grew up in a conservative home and so I vote Republican.’ Or ‘I hate the Yankees because I’m from Boston.’
As a young person, I could spout Democratic party lines verbatim. I didn’t care all that much. Prior to 2015, I viewed politics as something that only affected the very rich and the very poor. I wasn’t dependent on the government and tax cuts didn’t benefit me. The winner of any election had very little influence on my life. I worked as a waitress. Too busy living paycheck to paycheck, I felt like just another cog in the wheel.
For most of the 20 years in which I have been able to vote, I’ve kept my head down and voted Democrat because I believed they were the ‘party of the people’. And I was told Republicans were evil my whole life.
I understood the importance of voting, but had fallen asleep at the wheel of a self-driving car and was happy to let the autopilot navigate. It was easier. And not in a lazy, ignorant or unmotivated way — I was simply too busy trying to survive, so I rested in the default settings I was born into and trusted the geniuses in charge could work on the details.
For a long time, politicians could count on the factory-settings crowd. People know the lever they’re supposed to pull and that’s about all they’re there to do. But social media and unprecedented amounts of interconnection have added new layers that disrupt the quiet majority of factory-settings voters like me.
Having been born and raised a liberal Democrat, I had only a vague sense of the truth behind America’s political divisions. This was because of the left’s firm domination of media, entertainment and education. I subscribed to what I now call ‘The Approved Message’, a sort of ‘right-think’ that meant you were one of the good guys: a Democrat. It made for a simpler life.
Then came Trumpism. The Approved Message grew louder and angrier. It coalesced into a progressive religion, ‘Wokeism’, which adopted increasingly complex rules. Suddenly, there was no limit on what someone might deem offensive. Certain opinions, words and ideas became unacceptable overnight. Citizens took to policing one another’s jokes, tone and internet histories.
It quickly became clear that anyone who supported Trump (to be clear, I am not a fan) should be shamed and ostracized. If they were a family member, disowned. In fact, coming out as anything other than anti-Trump could end your career, get you kicked out of your mommy group or land you on the wrong side of a virtual mob.
Like most Americans, I was suddenly playing catch-up. Speech is violence, capitalism and democracy are oppressive, critical thinking is ‘fence-sitting’.
If you try nuance or engage in ‘wrong-think’ on sacred issues, you won’t just get into a tiff with the neighbors; now there’s every chance you will have your personal life dragged into the public square in order to shame you into obscurity. The days of buffet-style politics are no longer allowed. You either check all the boxes of the ‘good’ party, or you belong to the ‘bad’ one. When I dared to push back by writing articles, I was struck by how quickly the left rejected me. Millions noticed this too: they watched in stunned silence as leftists demanded books be censored, scrutinized language and called anyone who disagreed a Nazi.
Flash forward three years into a Trump administration and instead of learning from mistakes, the loudest members of the party are heading for the same brick wall. At this point the 2020 Democratic platform feels like a barely veiled threat: ‘Vote for us or you’re racist.’
The progressive push to fully embody the promise made in the Declaration of Independence that ‘all men are created equal’ used to feel aspirational and attainable. Now, the open-mindedness and tolerance that attracted me to the Democratic party seems like a thing of the past. Gone is the party that stood in direct opposition to the rigid moralizing of conservatism.
In its place is a movement that feels less about liberation and more about obedience. Progressivism is no longer interested in ideological diversity and instead demands rigid adherence to dogma. Dare to defy and risk being, as we say on Twitter, ‘canceled’.
When a movement is no long open to dissent, the movement is dead. It is no longer a living, breathing dialogue. It’s a cult.
Like it or not, I’m a canary in the coal-mine. If I, a citizen of the Republic of California, have been abandoned in the center, how many people are there in Ohio? Or Florida? Or Wisconsin? I guarantee a lot more than the polls currently reflect, and a lot more than Democrats can perceive from their liberal bubble. You can’t bully people into voting the way you like and then when they push back imply they are racist and say good riddance — not if you want to survive.
So Democrats, please stop with this nonsense that people like me have left you, as you endlessly tell me on Twitter. You pushed us away. Offer us a compelling vision of the future based on the strength of your ideas and policies. If you can’t, maybe you don’t deserve to win.
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Hiya! Have you heard Slavoj Žižek explaining his odd stance that atheism was impossible until Christianity? Žižek said that the death of God on the cross enables atheist belief (!) Sounds juvenile until he explains that omnipotent God dies with Jesus as a new God takes up residence alongside us. Taking this stance Žižek seems to be saying that the only angels extant now watch us through each other’s eyes. His insight put me back on my heels for a moment—and you? :-)
Hello again Frogs, and thank you for bringing another interesting question. Žižek’s ideas can be very complicated, but I think I can explain this in plain language without using a lot of big words.
Let me tell you what I understand Žižek’s position to be. Žižek does identify as an atheist, and has stated many times that he does not believe in Christianity literally at all. However, Žižek is quite obsessed with Christology and has a unique way of interpreting their theology. I have not heard him say that atheism was not possible until the death of Christ, but rather that gospel of Christ is atheistic in reality. He claims that it was not the physical manifestation of Christ that died on the cross, but rather it was the very essence of God himself. He notes Christ’s feeling of abandonment from God, and says that this is one way in which Christians now relate to Christ, because God is no more after the cross. God gives the greatest gift possible to humanity and that is very essence, which is maintained in the holy spirit. Žižek mentions a verse in the Bible that describes the holy spirit as the connection of love between any two people. So the holy spirit is inherent in us, and both that spirit and our future self-reliance are the greatest gift that God can give. And yes, he does mention this idea that angels watch us through our own eyes. He also believes that there is no second coming, because God has already given everything he has.
Žižek wants to reinterpret Christianity as a known illusion. He uses the example of Santa Clause. Every parent obviously knows that they are Santa Clause, yet we all put on a massive illusion for the children in our culture. Inevitably there comes a time when the children also know it is an illusion and both parties play along to maintain the tradition itself, but without literal belief. Žižek says that only an atheist can be a true Christian. That sounds preposterous, but if we use his Christmas example, we see he means that only by not taking Christianity literally can modern people keep up the precepts of Christian culture and tradition. He sees literal belief in Christianity as a hindrance of real Christendom. My understanding is that he believes that fundamentalism interferes with what Christianity has become, and maybe even ruins what it was always meant to be.
What Žižek seems to seek is create a middle ground that endorses neither “new atheists” or religious fundamentalism. He references the way Judaism has reached a point where literal belief is less common, but Judaism is alive and well. This likely all comes from the fact that Žižek sees Christianity as too important to the hearts and minds of Europe to let it be eroded away by “new atheists.” He seeks to maintain the illusion of Christianity without the literal belief for the structure it creates.
Now, what is my opinion on Žižek’s philosophy?
While I respect Žižek for many insights, we don’t have a lot of middle ground. I’ll start with what little middle ground we do have. Žižek talks about the illusion working despite the lack of real belief. This is an idea that definitely has merit. One of my personal opinions that may not be shared by other atheists, is that I doubt the number of people who actually believe in their religion. This is a bold statement of course, I don’t make a habit of walking around telling others what they do or do not believe in. However, what I observe in life is quite contradictory to the idea that everyone truly believes in their religion. Many polls by Gallup and Pew show that fewer and fewer people believe that the Bible is the literal word of God. A small growing number of Christians and Jews believe it is the work of men. This is actually a significant contradiction considering the dogma of these religions is based in that book which states it is the word of God.
More than anything it is people’s behaviors that tell me they do not believe. If you’re not a full fundamentalist and you live in this world of flexible interpretation, where you pick your Bible passages on what is convenient for modern life, rather than basing your life on passages, then I have a hard time accepting that you truly believe. Here’s an example: terrorists truly believe in their scripture. How do I know? Because the Quran says two things. 1-That this life is so tiny compared the afterlife that it is insignificant. 2-The death is merely entrance into the afterlife and therefore there is no reason to mourn death. Add on 3. The threat of hell is very, very real. These people act certifiably insane because they REALLY believe in the text. Think of how all non-fundamentalists respond to killing, death, and all the morally controversial verses in all scripture. People say they believe in heaven, but we are devastated by death as if it’s definitely permanent. People say they believe the book is the word of God, but they refuse to wage war on non-believers, they befriend their prescribed enemies, they drink alcohol, eat pork, work on the sabbath, have premarital sex, etc. These are not the actions of people who literally believe that Hell is a real punishment. Not at all. So I agree with Žižek on this concept of entertaining the illusion without real belief, and think this is happening for many people right now.
Everything else Žižek talks about does not make sense to me. Unfortunately, I watched a lecture on of his on this topic and he didn’t give any clear justification for how he comes to these specific ideas about the death of Christ, God, and the holy ghost. I think what Žižek is trying to imply is that after the death of god, as Hegel put it, then people were free to live the illusion without literal belief. There are many things here I do not agree with here.
First, I see no dogmatic evidence to suggest that Christ’s death was the end of god. You can make an argument that they were the same person, but what is missing is anything pointing to God’s ability to fully die or even a desire to do so. This is obviously antithetical to Christian philosophy that the Father is eternal and waiting in heaven, and that Christ’s death was a transactional blood sacrifice, which could not even actually kill Christ the son.
I have to mention at this point, that the way Žižek emphatically speaks of the death of God makes me question whether he thought one may have existed in the past. I honestly have not gotten a statement that clarifies that question for me.
So I’ve stated that I do not believe that the death of Christ was atheistic even within the Dogma of Christianity, and therefore this means that it was in no way enabling of atheism. If he has ever said that atheism required the death of Christ, I reject this notion categorically. One thing that frustrates me with Žižek’s philosophical attempt to weave atheism and Christianity together is that in this process I feel like he is transcending the meaning of both of these terms and seeking to recreate them to fit his oddly specific opinions on Christianity. We must remember what atheism truly is, and that is simply a label for those who unconvinced. Atheism is not meant to be intertwined with the debate between the immanent and transcendental, and it is certainly not a middle ground. Atheism is not a philosophy that can be used to alter or create a new theodicy. Most of all, atheism is not dependent the status of any particular god or the zeitgeist of any given generation. The reason why Žižek does not fall in with the new atheists is because he sees the essence of Christianity very different than others who look through a colder glass of empiricism.
I also fully reject the idea that Christianity is too vital to the West to be allow the illusion to be abandoned. Maybe I’ll expand on that later, because it could turn into a lengthy rant. Suffice to say that what Žižek perceives as the essence of Christianity that must be maintained is not the essence of humanity, and it cannot be objectively said that what we will lose will actual hinder us, rather than free us.
Thank you again for asking this question, I hope this makes sense to everyone. Feel free to ask follow up questions.
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