#THE GAZE

[oldmama]

UME WITH A BABY

HOLDING A BABY

A BABY B A B Y

* Edit *

Full art

[stimtickle]

“Martyrs are exceptional people. They survive pain, they survive total deprivation. They bear all the sins to the earth. They give themselves up. They transcend themselves, they are … transfigured.”

[celtos]

When you encounter the gaze of the Other, you meet not a seeing eye but a blind one. The gaze is not clear or penetrating, not filled with knowledge or recognition; it is clouded over and turned back on itself, absorbed in its own enjoyment. The horrible truth … is that the gaze does not see you. … You are on your own; the gaze of the Other is not confirming, it will not validate you.

—Joan Copjec

[the-nosy-neighbor]

The Eye of Wally, Part 2

This is kind of a side exploration of the idea of decapitation/disassembly of a body represented both in the relevant mythology as well as the project.

Here we have stories about gods being reduced to multiple pieces or entities resurrected from a dismembered state, with echoes in the traditions of other mythologies.  We’ve talked specifically about the dismemberment of characters, in the Greek as well as Christian traditions.  Granted, a lot of traditions are adopted and adapted, but I had a comment at some point talking about how Barnaby’s head being removed had echoes of the Christian story of John the Baptist.

Examples of mythological dismemberment:

Egyptian—Osiris is destroyed by being cut into 14 pieces to win a throne, his genitals are lost and recreated, a goddess uses this as an impetus to conceive and give birth.  Interestingly, he is sometimes resurrected and sometimes not. 

Greek—Venus is born from the dismembered corpse of Uranus, which was thrown into the sea (specifically the bloody foam, usually).  I did see a suggestion about this being genitals specifically, but she’s a love goddess, which is a connection probably to both the generative properties of reproduction and its connection with love, as well as a sense of emasculation in being beholden to a woman.

Christian—John the Baptist is beheaded and his head served to a king.  There is a lot of information about where the head might be throughout history.  Of course, humans during the early years to middle ages (and probably beyond) are somewhat obsessed with keeping parts of the physical bodies of saints and villains.  Hitler’s genitals are said to exist out there somewhere, so maybe we aren’t over that.  In this story, the dismemberment is because John TB criticizes Herod for divorcing his wife.  He has the head served to him on a platter and his head and other bits become scattered through the world as people believe in the magical properties of his body.  (side note: after further research, this action is blamed squarely on the women in the situation)

Dismemberment in mythology is often used in creation myths to describe what the world is made of and how it came to be.  Other concepts often go along with it, the dichotomy between male and female, light and dark, and spring.  But a major element is this destruction and creation.  It goes violence>dismemberment>generative act>the body as magical/desired items.

There is also a modern conversation about an equivalent to a dismemberment—the objectification of othered bodies.  In feminist theory, there are discussions of the tendency of female bodies to be presented in pieces rather than the whole (which is part of a concept named the “male gaze”):  “the act of depicting women and the world in the visual arts and in literature from a masculine, heterosexual perspective.”  Often, the idea of “objectification” is discussed, which hasn’t necessarily lost its meaning, but has lost its teeth.  The original concept is that there is a tendency in media to represent women as parts rather than a whole, which is not only sexualizing but somewhat threatening as it chops women into pieces: 

Before anyone gets too upset about this idea, it is not generally considered a conscious move.  In some advertising and forms of photography, this may be the case.  In these ads, the top two are built to appeal to men, and the last one is seemingly aimed toward women, but there is always the argument that this is the female being courted into supporting their own objectification.  Not to go too far into it, the concept analyzes efforts to remove the personhood of a woman by reducing her to her parts (and those parts are considered exist to please others).

The feminist concept of objectification might be in use here, but more in a general sense, in that when you dismantle a body, then it becomes objects in your mind.  In this universe, in particular, we are all getting attached to blorbos and considering them “alive” but then we are faced with these images of very obvious puppet parts, which forces us to acknowledge that they are not alive.  That’s where the horror comes from, right? 

And considering the mythology, the taking apart of bodies is either a creative or a destructive state—sometimes both. 

[tangled-wires-and-a-dead-heart]

Trick or treat!! :D

Have another one of my fan made princesses! I'm calling her the gaze!

[whyarewecalledtheshipname]

need more content of riku looking at sora completely in love ok gimme those kh1 reunion eyes i NEED—

[keischreiber]

Secretly Enjoys The Nagging

And here is a piece made by @adrienwithane. Again, this one is something I commissioned from them in order to commemorate the anime's ending.

I am once again sharing this, because I am a sucker for how this turned out.

Have y'all ever wondered if, after the Rumbling, the titan shifters are subconsciously a little bit reckless? I think about it every now and then. About how they forget they don't heal at the same rate that they did before.

And to be honest, I like to integrate a little bit of that in little domestic moments like these.

As a man that had never truly been fuzzed about... I often like to think about how Reiner felt the first time someone genuinely does.

Hear me out. We all saw how he reacted to Krista when she treated his wounds, or when she showed concern to him, Armin, and Jean on one of the expeditions. How he felt like she treated him differently compared to how she treated the rest. But we do know, that the Krista persona was being kind and earnest for certain reasons which Ymir called her out on. And this particular persona trait of hers was extended to everyone, not just Reiner.

So, just the thought of actually having someone be genuinely concerned for him... probably sets more than just his loins on fire.

I'm imagining that at one point, he meets up with Kristina post Rumbling with an small injury because of an accident, but before he can finish explaining she nags him to be more careful, reminding him how he is no longer a titan shifter, hence, the abilities that come with it are gone too. He goes to argue that she's over-reacting to such a little thing... but sees her tearing up from frustration... and something in him just gets triggered. He apologizes, of course and promises to be more careful.

Buuuuut... that doesn't stop him from purposefully nicking himself with a razor, or getting minor scratches from what he's working on, just to see Kristina nagging him a little. Not all the time, or else she'll catch on, and he'll be scolded for something entirely different.

He does feel guilty thought, but sometimes, he does appreciate the fact that she'd care enough to get mad at him, and then fuzz over him.

Gives him an excuse to keep the person he enjoys being vulnerable with close to him.

They be like:

Reiner: I can sit down if you want me to, to make it easier. Kristina: Shut it, I'm mad at you. -While continuously helping him shave.- What if it's not just a tiny wound next time? Why are you so careless... Reiner: I'll be careful next time. Kristina: That's what you said last time too... Reiner: -Keeps silent and just looks down fondly in defeat.-

[mysstikspiral]

this pic is too intimate like i fear i was not meant to see it

[emotionalsupportsoccerball]

It’s the concentration for me

[skoolz-of-thotz]

[yungchaeng]

Lord, have mercy 🥲

[rryeongchaes]

💗💗💗

[tangled-wires-and-a-dead-heart]

Made my own different paths/ vessels! This is The Vampyr and The Gaze! Based on a vampire and Medusa/a gorgon respectively!

(the gaze petrifying you)

[checkeredflagsandshit]