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Marlene Dietrich, Shanghai Express, 1932

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I think I reblogged a post that said something like this before, but it seems to me that the reason why the TVA fandom is so inundated with think pieces about the Ways In Which Marius Sucks that just kind of rehash the same points over and over is that a lot of people (namely show fans — of which I am one, so this is not just me hating on them) went into the book expecting/wanting that to be the focus and then were surprised — and, frankly, put off — by all the theological pontification. Except, since these people were already Armand fans, they wanted to love TVA, so instead of accepting that they weren’t quite the target audience for it, they chose to focus on the part of the book that aligned with their motivation for reading it and dismissed the religious themes (which are essential to the narrative and Armand’s character arc) as boring and cringey and extraneous — or ignored them completely.

I have said this before, as well, but Anne’s depiction of Marius and Armand’s relationship is, in many ways, a very deliberate framing device for her exploration of Armand’s feelings about God. I believe that any analysis of Marimand (as abuse or romance or otherwise) that overlooks or chooses not to address this is a fatally incomplete analysis. It’s also kind of insane to me how rarely people discuss Armand’s relationship with art — outside of the postulation of him as an exploited muse, that is. His connection to (religious!) art is the whole point, arguably.

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something i think about a lot is the way utena twists and subverts the idea of the chosen one protagonist. from the very first sequence in the very first episode, utena is set up to be special in this way. in her past she met this mythical figure, the prince, and it is her destiny to meet him again. eventually we of course start to suspect that this isn't really the case, that there's something else going on, but the narrative still leaves us for a long time with the impression that there is something special and important about utena. she's the dueling champion after all! she keeps winning, seemingly through magic. but, as it turns out, it's all an illusion and a lie. she isn't, and never could have been, this larger than life hero figure. she's just some kid. and the only way in which she was ever "chosen" was by a predator picking out his prey. using this exact narrative about the special and important and heroic to isolate her and gain her trust. and not even in this is she particularly unique. she just happens to be the most vulnerable, the most convenient, of his targets.

and, crucially, it's okay (good, even!) that she's not this hero she is initially painted (and trying to paint herself) to be. princes aren't real. it's not a moral failing on her part that she was hurt and deceived. she's not supposed to be perfect. and the best way she can help the people she wants to help, is simply by trying to be a good friend.

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Beauty beyond human comprehension

Instagram: consumerofthedivine

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LECTURES by William Morris. Binding by Florence Paget who was part of the Arts and Crafts Guild.

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Apollo and Daphne, Jakob Auer, Vienna, before 1688

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Source: On Our Backs Guide To Lesbian Sex, edited by Diana Cage

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they should invent an extreme codependent lesbian situationship that's actually good for you

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Galatea (1847) by Charles François Jalabert

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Maybe it hit me too hard to watch a series where the moral is, well you can't actually save people, at most you can look people in the face and let them know you see them and you care for them and you would like to hang out with them some more, and even just finding a way to say this in a way that actually gets through to them might cost you far more than expected, but it might make a very little teeny tiny bit of difference, and that minuscule speck of difference might be enough.

It's really like, hi, i can see you're full of hundreds of swords today that are eternally stabbing into your flesh, wanna hang out? Unfortunately i can do fuckall about all the swords but hey, I can make some tea, and there's some biscuits too!

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(Lesbian OP) "women are more attractive than men"

(The replies)

"Hey, I'm a man and this hurt me worse than anything else in the world. My wife left me this morning and this post was my final straw. I'm standing in my bathtub right now with a pistol in my mouth and it's your fault you bitch. You bitch. You cunt bitch"

"Aaaaand this right here is why everyone hates lesbians."

"What about trans men????? You're saying you hate trans men??? You're saying you want all trans men to kill themselves??????????"

"Hey op this is a lil uhhh....yikes! Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood Cheese Goblin™️ that people of ALL genders and sexual orientations are attractive. MEN ARE VALID. MEN ARE BEAUTIFUL. MEN ARE LOVED. Sexism towards men will NEVER be okay, and if you disagree you can fuck right off *gif from Good Omens*

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Caroline Walker Bynum, Holy feast and holy fast: the religious significance of food to medieval women

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royal green necklace by pinkabsinthe

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Claudia de lioncourt

Happy father day to this little dad killer!

Commission based on leyendecker painting

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I imagine that if you're an object being restored feels so good

Imagine feeling so loved

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Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell. —William Shakespeare⊹

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I am pretty much incapable of getting obsessed with shows/movies/books/etc. unless they devastate me — and I’ve been this way since I was a preteen getting into Les Mis for the first time — so it can be a bit of a challenge for me to watch things with other people or give them media recommendations because it’s difficult for me to understand when they say things like, “Oh I can’t watch/read that, it’ll make me too emotional.” Like… isn’t that the point?