#make of that whatever the hell you want

[anarchicarachnid]

this will get me absolutely no love on this site, but the way tumblrites perpetually and thoughtlessly hate on AoT is a perfect encapsulation of this site's specific brand of leftist discourse lacking critical analysis skills.

Nearly 100% of the time I see AoT, one of the most popular animes of all time, mentioned here, it's someone trashing on it for extremely non-specific reasons, such as "you can say AoT is bad op". there is literally never any meaningful critique or analysis, ever.

and I have a strong suspicion it alllll comes back to the time a couple posts circulated calling the mangaka a fascist for a couple of, let's be real, really weak reasons.

AoT is ab extremely political narrative which depicts bad people AS BAD PEOPLE, and still nobody on tumble dot hell seems capable of understanding the themes whatsoever. Literally if you have so little understanding of the messaging and characters that you think Eren's actions are portrayed as justified in the eyes of the creator, you don't understand the story well enough to trash on it.

The worst thing you can say about it and be broadly correct is that there is a very bad line toward the end that makes it easy to misunderstand what the creator's actual messaging is. But it's a good thing the entire rest of the story is extremely clear about the themes and messages, so maybe you can understand how it isn't all undone because one bad person says a bad thing one time at the end.

I hope at the very least there isn't one single person media illiterate enough to think that the messaging is that genocide is good. Or war. Or child soldiers. Or racism. Or racial oppression. Or eugenics. Like these should be realllllly obvious themes if you paid even the slightest bit of attention.

[seiwas]

you wear katsuki’s clothes to bed.

among all your cotton and silk pajamas, you prefer the thinning fabric of his faded tees. there are holes in some of them, just a few more seams away from their undoing as they fit far too large on you—but that’s why you love them.

they’re comfy and worn; lived in with love from the man that you love. when katsuki is gone for days or weeks at a time, you find his warmth intertwined within the threads of his t-shirts. when the fabric presses against your back, the bed doesn’t feel nearly as empty as it is.

(though it can never replace him. nothing can, you fear.)

“hoggin’ all my shirts,” he tuts, but you know it means nothing. the roll of white fabric is neatly folded unto itself, its crisp corners unfurling once handed over.

you giggle, shaking off its folds and fitting the hem right over your head. from the corner of your eye, you see katsuki’s gaze, watching you wrangle the fabric over you as the towel wrapped around your body slowly drops to the floor.

he turns away then, a little too quickly, a little too abruptly. if you look at him now, you’re sure you’ll find flushed cheeks and crimson eyes burning in shame for wanting you so inopportunely.

“guess you’ll just have to take me with it then.”

[rustedhills]

Disney, releasing Wish: "so it's all about legacy--the new generation surpassing the old, overcoming the evils perpetuated by them, relinquishing singular power... and there's an old man in a tower, uh... animal sidekick, i guess..., ah... magic...?

Miyazaki, just out of frame, sledgehammer raised:

[redhotarsenic]

@nowfallc PICTURE!! FOR YOU!! PLEASE TAKE IT!! <3

[intotheelliwoods]

Here to announce that I for one love the future design for donnie in the comic ✋🥺

[scalpho]

the more i think about garthy meeting the bad kids the more i realise how wild saying "thank god you've got your mother's looks" to fabian is as an introductory sentence. imagine meeting someone and they immediately go "oh yeah i recognise you. i find your father DEEPLY unattractive"

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

Laughingstock Lives in My Head Rent Free because Of You (/pos)

YIPPEE YAHOO <3<3

[metamorphesque]

... and the fact that there are people who think this is okay infuriates me beyond words

[plulp]

heres yalls science teacher. have fun go crazy

[tesseractingrey]

i was watching a video essay on another rpf ship and like. comparing any other rpf ship to phan is so different it’s crazy. like yeah back in 2012 or whatever maybe it wasn’t so obvious but the things that other rpf shippers have as “evidence” are like “they looked at each other 10 times in this interview” or “this lyric is probably about her” meanwhile we have dan and phil buying a house together and selling tshirts of themselves holding hands. so like yeah phan is real and all but that doesn’t mean all rpf shippers are onto something here the situations are so different it’s crazy. taylor swift could never like a tweet about serving karlie kloss dressed as a slutty nun.

[fujii-draws]

OKAY! Chatot rant in tags below! Read at your own discretion.

[khihi]

i'm not gonna be able to put my thoughts on this into the kind of wording they deserve because my brain is burned to a crisp at the moment, but now we've got all the chapters i'm sort of piecing together a narrative...

the story starts with kris, whose photos are very tender and exposing – they seem to be about him learning to being comfortable in himself, letting himself be soft and let out his emotions in a healthy way (the shower that washes away the black and white to reveal the gold).

there's comfort and relief in the solitude of his photos – it feels like he's embracing a fresh start for himself – the first new chapter. his nudity isn't for show as much as it is in the others' chapters; it feels more like an innocent "naked as you were born" kind of situation.

then you get bojan, who is the opposite of kris; instead of water, we have fire as the main element, and also a lot more focus on props and costume to tell the story of this guy who finds himself being close to burnout so much. but also perhaps to hide and protect himself.

unlike kris, we're seeing someone who finds little relief or healing in the loneliness of his images; in fact, he never really feels alone in most of his images — he stares down the lens with such intensity it's making it clear to us that he's up there in the spotlight surrounded by an audience. unlike kris, any of his nudity's all for show.

then chapters four and five; jan and nace both expressing a turmoil of emotions in their own shoots – nace's internal stress and strain being put on show, paired with jan's determination to keep the messiness of his own emotions in the dark as much as he can – they're both uncomfortable with themsleves in some way on their own...

but then they come together, and there's happiness and love and support. they look at the audience, but there's no fear or worry there like there is in bojan's shoots; just a silent determination that they're there to protect and care for each other.

then, finally, we've got jure's pictures. which are clearly meant to be sexy as fuck. i think it's interesting how the story began with kris being comfortable and unbothered by any potential onlookers while half naked, then progressed to bojan putting on an uncomfortable show of his half-naked body for any spectators, then on to jan and nace not really showing off much of their bodies at all, and now the story concludes with jure very much putting on a show for the audience but feeling totally comfortable in doing so. he's lounging around in most of the photos – hell, he's got the goddamn baby boo socks on, he seems very comfortable, even playful about letting us look.

so the arc – one of the arcs, at least – i'm reading into this story is finding a healthy balance between showing yourself off - giving the intimate parts of yourself away, if you like - and hiding yourself away from all the discomfort too many eyes on you leads to. it's being confident and comfortable in yourself enough to have fun in revealing enough of yourself without letting it burn you out.

at the end of a good story, the protagonist is usually changed to the point of no return. there's no going back to the innocent, relaxed state that we began with in kris' photos, not after having gone through bojan and jan and nace's photos. but we can find a happy ending within jure's photos, even if changed.

the relief and comfort found in jan and nace's photos together leads us very nicely to the reason behind this happy ending, i think; they feel safest and most supported when together. and that goes, i think, for all of them. while jure might be on his own here, he's surrounded by images of his bandmates. he can be comfortable and confident in himself because he's got his friends behind him. art intertwined.

[lucienne-thee-librarian]

Just to minimize my chances of being genuinely misunderstood OR deliberately misinterpreted, and crucified for something I don't think, How Dare You Say We Piss on the Poor website etc...I'm gonna say this right up top. I absolutely understand why people don't like Thessaly as a character, if anyone does completely unironically stan her as some kind of feminist hero who Did Nothing Wrong uwu, I personally see it as a bit of a red flag. I don't like terfs real or fictional. In a vacuum, I could even completely sympathize and agree with the people who want her cut.

HOWEVER.

It's really something to me to see people clamoring for her to be cut, because she carries and expressed an ugly indefensible prejudice (transphobia) in words towards (1) person. Meanwhile Hob fucking Gadling enacted one of the most violent forms of antiblack racism I can even think of against thousands no, millions of people, the ripple effects of which still affect billions more today. Just a little light idk, profiting off the fucking slave trade and had to be told by someone else that it was bad...and he's a fan favorite.

People are saying Thessally being Dream's love interest reflects badly on him or is somehow endorsement by the narrative (?!?!?!?!?!? Didn't she (SPOILER ALERT AS IF IT MATTERS BY NOW) help participate in his extended assisted suicide? She's not painted as a great person to me just another character what are y'all SMOKING whatever fine. It's fine this is fine.) But shipping Dream with Mr. Former Slaver is not only not verboten or frowned on widely in the fandom but its THEE most popular pairing by far. So...why the difference?

Like where are the same fans who are saying Thessaly shouldn't just be more clearly shown to be wrong, she shouldn't even be in the show at all when it comes to Hobert's crimes??? Yes, transphobia is indefensible. Isn't racism?

And I hear the cries of "it's fiction!!!" Already rallying (if anyone who needs to hear this even sees it lol) to which I say:

HORSESHIT. I KNOW you don't, deep down, really agree because if you did, why get upset about Thessaly being included??? Why does what she said to one person matter if it's Just Fiction You Guyze. Fictional characters are allowed to do bad things and fiction isn't reality sweaty....except when you only apply that standard to fictional racists you like and simp for, but fictional transphobes you don't are SO HARMFUL they shouldn't even be portrayed in fiction.

Like. Give me a big fat BREAK. This looks like bullshit, no? I'm sorry, but I'd love for someone to try and give any other explanation besides one personally offended you or hit home for you, and the other doesn't.

And if that bothers you or you feel like it says something negative about you...idk what you want me to say??? You can't control how other people perceive you and that's how people outside this majority-of-the-fandom bubble see it. You don't need to respond, I just wish and genuinely hope this gives you a moment to think about why fans who ARE bothered by both (and not just paying lip service to being bothered by the one but railing against the other) are so frustrated with people saying everyone is welcome but in practice only bending over backwards for the comfort and emotions of themselves, and people they can easily relate to.

You don't have to like Thessaly (I don't. I find her an interesting antagonist, I don't stan her. And frankly that's not the point of her character) but you'll pardon me for feeling more than a bit cynical and side eying people's motivations for what seems a...pretty obvious double standard, on what fictional crimes related to real world issues matter to y'all, and which clearly don't. Either actually bring the same energy to the table for fictional people who committed atrocities, even if against a group you're not part of and thus don't feel the need to empathize with, or just carry on, but accept that you don't have the SLIGHTEST room to talk about cutting characters who do immoral things. And you also need to accept that you look like a hypocrite when you do.

[sephospaganplace]

There are so so so many ways to experience the gods.

There is no right or wrong way. There is no blunt way. Its all feeling and ephemeral.

If you've felt warmth, if you've had a dream, if you've seen a crow that stares at you for too long, if something inexplicable happens and you're lucky suddenly, if you've caught eyes with a stranger and felt like you knew each other. If the candle flickers a certain way, if one time when you're singing your voice sounds gorgeous in a way you weren't expecting, these are all the presence of a god.

God phoning is popular on witchtok but half the time what they're saying is bullshit. I've very very rarely heard a voice and every single time it was my own voice, just suffused with something, saying something I normally wouldn’t say. Or maybe I would. I've never heard a clear, distinct, audible voice. Its an invisible world we're connecting with, its a different plain. We cannot experience it the same way we experience every day life.

We'll never sit down at a coffee table across from the physical manifestation of our god, and know that its them, not until after. And even then we can never be sure. That’s the nature of it. There are no absolutes, there cannot be. That’s what makes it beautiful. That’s where belief comes in. It isn't about being good enough or worthy enough or devout enough, that doesn't exist. That isn’t what its about at all. You are worthy even if the divine doesn’t manifest in a way we've been told is the only real way, and you are connecting even if you cant see it now. My most intense spiritual experiences are never something I realize are happening in the moment, its always only after that I can see it clearly.

The gods are all around us.

[tangledinink]

clenches fist. finally sucked it up and ordered a new ipad...

[just-a-mod]

yeah

so

-clicks tongue-

I blame this post