#I don't know how to tag it

[bunderies]

about luka's outfits

when i introduced alien stage to my friend last night, something struck me about luka's off-screen performance. in the brief glimpse we get of his outfit, i noticed, for the first time, the small cutouts revealing parts of his body. it caught me off guard.

i realized how intentional this detail was: all of luka’s stage costumes expose slivers of his skin in carefully chosen areas. his chest, his back, his shoulders — always with an almost princely delicacy that ensures it never slips into vulgarity. he’s the only character presented this way; till and ivan are entirely covered. even when till's skin is visible for the final, it's with a tank top, far removed from the meticulously crafted, subtly suggestive outfits luka wears. it reminds me of heperu, who mentioned loving luka's neutral expression, comparing him to a doll. there’s also the way luka sits so obediently in the top 3 video, perfectly still. on stage, though, he’s in motion — dancing with mizi, physically interacting with till. while these moves are clearly meant to unsettle his opponents, i like to think they’re also his way of ensuring he delivers the fanservice the aliens expect from him. i can’t help but think back to the scene in sweet dream where he’s just a child, overwhelmed by the relentless cameras and flashing lights. ultimately, luka throws others to the wolves to ensure his own survival — but in truth, he is the real prey. the aliens may have crowned him "ruler of the stage," the stage itself is shaped entirely by their desires… with their unhealthy obsession for him, they are the ones truly devouring him. they elevate luka into an idol —perhaps even a sex symbol — and i imagine the consequences this could bring in a world as dark and merciless as this one. yet it's fascinating to see that luka doesn’t see himself as a victim of this situation; instead, he appears to be in control of it. i keep thinking about that one line he said about hyuna: "Poor thing, if she was in my arms, she would be safe."

in the idol industry, outfits like these would be deemed impractical, and some fans might even blame the stylists for making the idol appear vulnerable under the watchful eyes of the world and countless cameras. there’s this connection where people genuinely worry about the idol’s comfort — whether it’s a skirt that’s too short, a neckline that plunges too deep, or a shirt that’s too sheer. what’s chilling about alien stage is the idea that the entire industry is made up solely of individuals who want to see luka that way. it makes me wonder how he manages to feel safe, or even remotely comfortable, with it all. the only comfort he might find would be with the other humans, but instead, he chooses to psychologically dominate them, always striving to rise higher... the peak of glory must be a lonely place.

[anabantoid]

I finally made the gofundme for Wednesday. If you see my deadname no you didn't.

tl;dr I had to put my cat's emergency vet bills on various credit cards and now I need help paying them off after she passed away. The total was $5,668.85, rounded up to $5700 for gofundme since they're not exact.

Wednesday was probably the best cat I've ever had, she meant everything to me and losing her has been one of the worst things I've gone through in my life.

Here's proof of her bills.

Please reblog and share the link.

[katieaki]

🎀 SOMEBODY HELP HER! 🎀

instagram | twitter

[diminuel]

I was rewatching Friends the other day with someone who hadn't seen it and we got to the episode where they taste breast milk and it made me wonder...did dragon even try Crocodile's milk when they had luffy? did Crocodile?

I'm going to say probably?

*wanders off to edit my essay*

[fuckyeahfreeimmortal]

Anyone have that picture of this two people passing a sigarette to each other reminding of the creation of Adam? I think there's a beach in the background but I'm not sure???

THANKS!

[figuringthengsout]

Ok, I have polls, so let me ask you all

[fitilechka]

hiii~ would be appreciated if anyone gave me some ideas for arts in my ask box!!

i'll pick one or two… those that will have my full interest 👀

also kirby or pressure related pls

[blindwildnoise]

quick portrait comm

[zialinart]

A lil friendly flower for a ko-fi !

My kofi

[theunderflower]

cuts and bruises

4 . 09 . 2023

[thebvbbletea]

nerdy loser gf x popular sunshine girl gf. I'm so ready for this trope hdsoejksjd, i begging you 23.5 please coming quickly to me skdjdkd

[teddybasmanov]

Orc/elven prince thingy (drabble??)

inspired by the beginning/premise of this (very NSFW) roleplay. I should have probably posted this on the NSFW side blog, but it'd be completely ignored there and I know people here to suffer.

The premise, so that you don't have to listen/read anything on GWAG: rulers of an elven kingdom started to mess with the orcs (who presumably live somewhere on the borders) - taxing, fining, restricting their moments etc. Orcs tried to negotiate, but their words fell on deaf ears. So, a chief of an orc tribe kidnaps an elven prince to make his parents pay attention to their demands.

In the original roleplay the prince is silly and scared, which is fine, but I want him to be a politician. And for him to have trouble with his parents, of course. (Slightly inspired by a whole bunch of stuff and also my beloved Elven Prince series (still very NSFW).)

TW: kidnapping, threats of violence, mentions of fantasy racism.

Notes: I just had to get it out of my head, almost unedited.

Word count: around 600.

The scene - the orc chief's tent, the prince has his hands tied together (I'm not sure if he's supposed to be tied to a chair or not, but it's not important), the chief enters with a smug look on his face, expecting the captive to be panicking, but...

"Good evening, noble chief, to what to I owe the honour?" the prince turns to the entrance and respectfully bows his head.

The orc is a little surprised but tries not to show it: "To your parents' stupidity and stubbornness, princeling," he chuckles, expecting a disagreement, but he isn't met with one.

"I presume this concerns the latest," the elf makes the tiniest pause, choosing a word, "developments in the orc policies in the kingdom."

"Yeah, it concerns," the chief is making fun of the elf, "your parents pushing us around and ignoring us."

"And what exactly is your plan, if I might inquire, noble chief?" the prince remains uncharacteristically calm.

"Rough you up and demand your parents attention," the orc says bluntly.

"I'm afraid I'd have to disappoint you, but you'll just be making their majesties a big favour, or even two," the elf says without breaking eye-contact.

"How?" the chief breaths out, moving closer and towering over the prince, who's holding back a shudder.

"You see, noble chief, they aren't happy with both of us. You and your people weren't silently accepting mistreatment and I haven't been agreeing with their policies for a while and 'behaving as a proper elven heir should'. So, by having me here, you give them a perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone - launch a crusade against you and find my body in the ruins of your camp," the elf explains.

"Why would they want you dead? Why not just have another heir? And why would you be dead in the first place - I wasn't planning on killing you," the orc is very confused.

"Due to longevity elves can't have more than one child - the rulers are supposed to be an example to their people. And lately, leaving the kingdom in my hands has become their worst nightmare," the prince huffs bitterly, "Oh, and who said you'd be the one to kill me? No one would pay attention in the heat of battle."

The orc chief stares at the elven prince in disbelief. In orcish culture hurting a child - moreover your child - is one of the worst crimes. They stand in silence for a bit.

"And what do you suggest, prince?" the orc is so surprised, he forgets to be deprecating.

"Have you already sent a messenger to the capital?" the elf asks, cool and collected, as if nothing happened.

"No, why?"

"If you're willing to work with me, noble chief, we can turn this situation into an opportunity for both of us," the prince gives a small smile, "You didn't kidnap me - I came here myself to help work out a solution of the latest problems with the kingdom racial policies," the orc raises an eyebrow, interested, "We'll make an official statement to the elven people and then I can offer myself as an ambassador and a negotiator on the orcs' side. That'll help us push their majesties and, hopefully, earn us an ally in each other."

The chief give the elf another long look.

"Well, if we are to be allies," he reaches towards the bindings, "here," with one swift motion of an orcish knife the elf's hands are free.

"Introductions are in order," he extends his hand for a handshake, "I am Chief Drorik, a servant to my own people."

The prince readily returns the gesture.

[fox-bright]

I am never going to be able to leave Reddit.

[shadesofmauve]

I want to step away from the art-vs-artist side of the Gaiman issue for a bit, and talk about, well, the rest of it. Because those emotions you're feeling would be the same without the art; the art just adds another layer.

Source: I worked with a guy who turned out to be heavily involved in an international, multi-state sex-slavery/trafficking ring.

He was really nice.

Yeah.

It hits like a dumptruck of shit. You don't feel stable in your world anymore. How could someone you interacted with, liked, also be a truly horrible person? How could your judgement be that bad? How can real people, not stylized cartoon bogeymen, be actually doing this shit?

You have to sit with the fact that you couldn't, or probably couldn't, have known. You should have no guilt as part of this horror — but guilt is almost certainly part of that mess you're feeling, because our brains do this associative thing, and somehow "I liked [the version of] the guy [that I knew]", or his creations, becomes "I made a horrible mistake and should feel guilty."

You didn't, loves, you didn't.

We're human, and we can only go by the information we have. And the information we have is only the smallest glimpse into someone else's life.

I didn't work closely with the guy I knew at work, but we chatted. He wasn't just nice; he was one of the only people outside my tiny department who seemed genuinely nice in a workplace that was rapidly becoming incredibly toxic. He loaned me a bike trainer. Occasionally he'd see me at the bus stop and give me a lift home.

Yup. I was a young woman in my twenties and rode in this guy's car. More than once.

When I tell this story that part usually makes people gasp. "You must feel so scared about what could have happened to you!" "You're so lucky nothing happened!"

No, that's not how it worked. I was never in danger. This guy targeted Korean women with little-to-no English who were coerced and powerless. A white, fluent, US citizen coworker wasn't a potential victim. I got to be a person, not prey.

Y'know that little warning bell that goes off, when you're around someone who might be a danger to you? That animal sense that says "Something is off here, watch out"?

Yeah, that doesn't ping if the preferred prey isn't around.

That's what rattled me the most about this. I liked to think of myself as willing to stand up for people with less power than me. I worked with Japanese exchange students in college and put myself bodily between them and creeps, and I sure as hell got that little alarm when some asian-schoolgirl fetishist schmoozed on them. But we were all there.

I had to learn that the alarm won't go off when the hunter isn't hunting. That it's not the solid indicator I might've thought it was. That sometimes this is what the privilege of not being prey does; it completely masks your ability to detect the horrors that are going on.

A lot of people point out that 'people like that' have amazing charisma and ability to lie and manipulate, and that's true. Anyone who's gotten away with this shit for decades is going to be way smoother than the pathetic little hangers-on I dealt with in university. But it's not just that. I seriously, deeply believe that he saw me as a person, and he did not extend personhood to his victims. We didn't have a fake coworker relationship. We had a real one. And just like I don't know the ins-and-outs of most of my coworkers lives, I had no idea that what he did on his down time was perpetrate horrors.

I know this is getting off the topic, but it's so very important. Especially as a message to cis guys: please understand that you won't recognize a creep the way you might think you will. If you're not the preferred prey, the hind-brain alarm won't go off. You have to listen to victims, not your gut feeling that the person seems perfectly nice and normal. It doesn't mean there's never a false accusation, but face the fact that it's usually real, and you don't have enough information to say otherwise.

So, yeah. It fucking sucks. Writing about this twists my insides into tense knots, and it was almost a decade ago. I was never in danger. No one I knew was hurt!

Just countless, powerless women, horrifically abused by someone who was nice to me.

You don't trust your own judgement quite the same way, after. And as utterly shitty as it is, as twisted up and unstead-in-the-world as I felt the day I found out — I don't actually think that's a bad thing.

I think we all need to question our own judgement. It makes us better people.

I don't see villains around every corner just because I knew one, once. But I do own the fact that I can't know, really know, about anyone except those closest to me. They have their own full lives. They'll go from the pinnacles of kindness to the depths of depravity — and I won't know.

It's not a failing. It's just being human. Something to remember before you slap labels on people, before you condemn them or idolize them. Think about how much you can't know, and how flawed our judgement always is.

Grieve for victims, and the feeling of betrayal. But maybe let yourself off the hook, and be a bit slower to skewer others on it.

[luckyladylily]

So a few months ago there was the discourse about would you rather meet a man or a bear in the woods. I didn't want to touch it while the discourse was hot and everyone dug in hard because those are not good conditions for nuance, but I waited until today, June 1st, for a specific reason.

I'm not going to take a position in the bear vs man debate because I don't think it matters. What is really being asked here is how afraid are you of men? Specifically, unexpected men who are, perhaps, strange.

People have a lot of very real fear of men that comes from a lot of very real places. Back when I was first transitioning in 2015 and 2016, I decided to start presenting as a woman in public even though I did not pass in the slightest.

I live in a red state. I knew other trans women who had been attacked by men, raped by men. I knew I was taking a risk by putting myself out there. I was the only visibly trans person in the area of campus I frequented, and people made sure I never forgot that. Most were harmless enough and the worst I got from them was curious stares. Others were more aggressive, even the occasional threat. I had to avoid public bathrooms, of course, and always be aware of my surroundings.

I know how frightening it is to be alone at night while a pair of men are following behind you and not knowing if they are just going in the same direction or if they want to start something - made all the worse for the constant low level threat I had been living under for over a year by just being visibly trans in a place where many are openly hostile to queer people. You have to remember, this was at the height of the first wave of bathroom law discussions, a lot of people were very angry about trans women in particular. My daily life was terrifying at times. I was never the subject of direct violence, but I knew trans women who had been.

I want you to keep all that in mind.

So man or bear is really the question "how afraid of men are you?", and the question that logically follows is "What if there was a strange man at night in a deserted parking lot?" or "What if you were alone in an elevator with a man?" or "What if you met a strange man in the woman's bathroom?"

My state recently passed an anti trans bathroom bill. The rhetoric they used was about protecting women and children from "strange men", aka trans women.

Conservatives hijack fear for their bigoted agenda.

When I first started presenting as a woman the campus apartment complex was designed for young families. The buildings were in a large square with playgrounds in the center, and there were often children playing. I quickly noticed that when I took my daughter out to play, often several children would immediately stop what they were doing and run back inside. It didn't take me long to confirm that the parents were so afraid of "the strange man who wears skirts" that their children were under strict instructions to literally run away as soon as they saw me.

"How afraid are you of a strange man being near your children?"

I mentioned above that I had to avoid public bathrooms. This was not because of men. It was because of women who were so afraid of random men that they might get violent or call someone like the police to be violent for them if I ever accidentally presented myself in a way that could be interpreted as threatening, when my mere presence could be seen as a threat. If I was in the library studying and I realized that it was just me and one other woman I would get up and leave because she might decide that stranger danger was happening.

Your fear is real. Your fear might even come from lived experiences. None of that prevents the fact that your fear can be violent. Women's fear of men is one of the driving forces of transmisogyny because it is so easy to hijack. And it isn't just trans women. Other trans people experience this, and other queer people too. Racial minorities, homeless people, neurodivergent people, disabled people.

When you uncritically engage with questions like man or bear, when you uncritically validate a culture of reactive fear, you are paving the way for conservatives and bigots to push their agenda. And that is why I waited until pride month. You cannot engage and contribute to the culture of reactive fear without contributing to queerphobia of all varieties. The sensationalist culture of reactive fear is a serious queer issue, and everyone just forgot that for a week as they argued over man or bear. I'm not saying that "man" is the right answer. I am saying that uncritically engaging with such obvious click bait trading on reactive fear is a problem. Everyone fucked up.

It is not a moral failing to experience fear, but it is a moral responsibility to keep a handle on that fear and know how it might harm others.

[mart-allioth]

I need to talk about how much I love ghosts in fiction. I love when they aren't just some scary monsters, when they are just someone that happens to be dead

But the most important part is to add some melancholy to them.

You can never allow the audience the luxury of forgetting that this character being a ghost means they are dead, means they are someone that lost everything that one have to lose

I need to feel the absence of them even when they are the center of the scene, I need they to force us to go through the grief for a character even if we didn't ever meet them alive

I need their death to be such a gravity point that we can never go too far from that

I need, especially with older ghosts, for them to still act like their lives are the center of their beings, even if they are dead far much longer than they were alive