#whatever you're thinking it's not worth it

[enderlordisadumbusername]

as if being high nullifies any worth the piece had? like 1. things being done intentionally in a piece of art happens way more than middle schoolers would like to think and 2. even if something wasn't done on purpose that doesn't mean it's not still a part of the piece. like art isn't like a puzzle to be solved in order to figure out the artists "true intentions" nor is it just a bunch a bunch of arbitrary decisions the artist made just cus they're high or like blue or whatever the new meme is this week. if you don't like school that's literally fine and normal, but don't like blame it on the subjects you're learning about.

[venusinmyrrh]

You said you love a good fashion doc- do you have any more to recommend?

Designers and tastemakers

Very Ralph (2019). The preeminent American designer of our time, one of the very few who can stand toe to toe with the titans of Paris and Milan. To call Ralph Lauren's work "sportswear" is to call the Sistine Chapel "kind of a big painting".

Halston (2019). Speaking of going head to head with Paris, Halston did it first. Skip Ultrasuede-- this is a much better doc about the king of American 70s disco glam.

McQueen (2018). When people talk about fashion as an art form, chances are they're thinking of Alexander McQueen. Worth watching for the pulse-pounding runway shows alone.

Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (2018). Obviously you already know about this one, but it's gotta go on any comprehensive list. Without Vivienne Westwood, punk would have been nothing but a handful of noisy assholes.

Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel (2011). My icon, my north star, my personal hero. The empress of taste and high priestess of personal style. Watch this doc whenever you need encouragement to do and wear whatever the hell you want.

The Gospel According to André (2017). Diana Vreeland's protegé and a godfather of style in his own right. If it happened in fashion in the last fifty years, André Leon Talley was there for it.

Lagerfeld Confidential (2007). I have a high tolerance for difficult and unpleasant people as long as I like their work. Your mileage may vary, but Karl Lagerfeld's immaculate, relentless taste cannot be denied.

Institutions and events

The First Monday in May (2016). Witness all the hustle, bustle, savvy, and stress that goes into planning the Met gala!

The September Issue (2009). Same as the above, but for the famous September issue of Vogue. Watch this to learn who Grace Coddington is.

Dior and I (2014). How do haute couture collections get made? In 8 weeks from start to finish, I guess, if you're Raf Simons during his first season at the House of Dior. A documentary and a thriller.

Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf's (2013). No matter what other retailers might want you to think, Bergdorf Goodman is the last great department store. A portrait, already halfway to a time capsule, of what luxury shopping used to be.

Peripheral, but may be of interest

Nose (2021). The passionate, delicate art of perfume creation for the House of Dior. The French landscapes where they source their materials will make you swoon.

Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story (2017). As the makeup artist to pretty much every single icon of the 80s and 90s, Kevyn Aucoin invented the image of that era as much as any designer.

Fabergé: A Life of Its Own (2014). Come for the dazzling jewels and sumptuous objets d'art; stay to find out how this illustrious name ended up on hair care products in the 70s.

Crazy About Tiffany's (2016). Another luxury jeweler whose name alone is the stuff dreams are made on.

Bill Cunningham New York (2010). The original street style photographer, since before "street style" was even a thing. A love letter to curiosity, and a testament to the power of taking an interest in the world around us.

Still on my watchlist

Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams (2020). Directed by Luca Guadagnino, which is enough to put this Ferragamo doc at the top of my list.

Advanced Style (2014). Portraits of seven women aged 62-95 with truly fab personal style. Top Letterboxd review is seething about how out of touch they are with the real world, which means I am probably gonna love it.

Suited (2016). A study of gender through clothing in modern culture.

Dries (2017). A year-- and four collections-- in the life of Dries Van Noten, who, interestingly, doesn't see the point of clothes that people can't buy to wear, and so does not do couture.

Yellow is Forbidden (2018). This doc about Guo Pei appears to use her career as a framework to understand the gatekeeping of global culture by the West. Dope as hell, if it can pull it off.

American Style (2019). The political, social, and economic history of America through its fashion. Another one that could be really awesome if done with insight and panache.

Quant (2021). She may share the credit for inventing the miniskirt with two other people, but it cannot be argued that Mary Quant invented 1960s Swinging London. And for that we say thank you Dame Mary.

[kisakis-boyfriend]

Now, I never played Persona 3 but the protagonist looks breedable. So The Persona 3 protagonist (the male one) investigating an haunted/creepy site only to meet an horny male werewolf reader who fucks them 🎃

Author's Note: Makoto truly is one of the hottest persona protags (possibly even one of the hottest characters in general). Not to mention both of his English VAs did a fantastic job! I could gush over Makoto all day…so I'm just going to let the smut to the talking now 😶‍🌫️

Pairings: Makoto Yuki x male reader

Warnings: Male werewolf!reader, dom/top!reader, paranormal investigator!Makoto, adult Makoto, sub/bottom!Makoto, dubcon, finger sucking, dry orgasms, premature ejaculation(?)

This was supposed to be an easy job for once. Another "haunted" old cabin, multiple eye witnesses and videos and pictures worth of "proof", only to end up being a hoax unintentionally created by some local kids. He's been there and done that, time and time again. So, this place should not be any different, right?

Well… as luck would have it, Makoto would finally encounter something paranormal — a real experience, unlike the majority of his previous calls.

That's how Makoto ended up here; bent over a desk with the air knocked from his lungs while something wet drips all over the back of his body.

Drool drips from your snarling mouth, pooling on the back of the human's shirt, while your cock drips all over the ass of his pants and slides down the sides. You keep one clawed hand on the back of the human's head, and the other on his waist to prevent him from escaping.

The scent of iron and dirt burns Makoto's nostrils, invading every deep inhale as he's just short of hyperventilating. You're obviously not any sort of spectre, nor spirit nor ghostly being—you're really more of a beast, though your features are still quite human in nature. The man's best guess is a werewolf. Whatever you are, he's seen enough to know that he doesn't want to stick around any longer.

Attempts at wiggling free don't go so well, only building up Makoto's frustration and yours. Silly as it may sound to think a beast can understand the human language, he decides to try it anyway. “What do you- hnngh… what do you want?!” he hisses, “Are you the one…causing trouble, scaring the locals?”

You almost want to laugh at that absurd question. Causing trouble, he says. “Me? Please, ask yourself who's the real troublemaker here; the dozens of humans trashing my house and surrounding woods, or me, the guy who's lived here for decades — long before that filth migrated in.” you growl. Ignorant, ignorant humans as always.

“If anyone here is a troublemaker, it's you–” your razor-like nails dig into Makoto's side, and he winces, glaring at you with the eye not covered by his hair. “walking in here with that sexy body of yours, having the audacity to bend over and pick things up and present that fine ass for me.”

The human's heart leaps within his chest, pounding away loudly while he grips the edge of the table harder. “Your job is to help people, yeah? You wanna help these people? Then…” you lean down, covering the human's body with your heat, and whisper in his ear; “…give me the relief I need to not be so fuckin' grumpy, maybe I'll let some of their idiotic actions slide, hm?”

Truly, Makoto should protest, or try to run, literally do anything to fight this situation, but he doesn't. For some reason, he feels like…like he wants to see where this goes.

When you yank his pants down and flip up his jacket, he doesn't stop you. When you rest your heavy, leaking cock in between his cheeks and groan like a perv, he's not disgusted by it. When you let go of his head and stuff your fingers in his mouth, his tongue dances in between the spaces of your digits.

It's a surprise to you too, when the smaller human man lifts his ass up, almost inviting you—giving you permission—to fuck him. And you're not about to pass up a cute slut like this.

Makoto's knees shake when you spit on his hole, giving him at least a tiny courtesy before you break his body with your cock. Your tip pushes incessantly at his entrance, adding slippery precum to it as you swipe your cock up and down, then finally slip the head in. The human flinches, nearly causing himself to choke on your fingers, but he recovers just fine and makes no signs of protest.

Soon enough, you're moving a few inches of your length in and out, enjoying the tightness around only a third of your dick. “Sho mush…sho big…” he slurs, unable to properly enunciate with your fingers keeping his mouth occupied. Little does he realize how big your full length is. You push a little more, and the human moans again, drool spilling out from the corners of his mouth while his ass stretches to accommodate the larger girth filling it up.

“Big, yeah? You think this is big, little guy? This ain't even halfway in yet~” you taunt, keeping a tight hold on his waist. At this point, you're confident that he can take plenty more without breaking yet, so you go a little harder until half of your dick is pumping in and out. “Mmm feel that? Now that is halfway in. Feels even better, right?”

“aAahAAAHhhNn–!! gHNH-!” Makoto spasms on the table, whining something unintelligible while his body twitches. Slightly concerned, you ask him what the hell that was all about, but he doesn't answer you. Frustrated, you remove your fingers from his mouth and yank his body up by his hair, forcing him to stand while you inspect the situation.

It only takes a second for you to notice the puddle of translucent white fluid dripping from the edge of the wooden table and onto the ground, with a matching fluid dribbling from Makoto's flushed dick.

“Goddamn– cummin' before me…I haven't even fucked you yet, little guy. Is it that good for you?” you laugh, pulling the human's head back so far that he's forced to look up at you, meeting your gaze with pink cheeks and cloudy eyes.

With a newfound confidence, and a newfound horniness, you decide that your little slut is more than ready to take it all in. Makoto makes a little noise at first, but when you bottom out and, finally, begin thrusting with intent, those noises turn into happy little moans and whimpers. The fucked out look on his face is proof enough that your fat cock is hitting the right places—filling his tummy with butterflies with every long drag against his walls.

Makoto holds onto your arms for dear life, taking your length like the good boy he is, while you rail him with enough force to knock him over, if you weren't holding his smaller body. “Ah-ah-ah-yes-yes-yes-!!” he stutters, smiling like he's on cloud nine. “Ah! Hard-er! Harderharderharder~!!”

When you blow your first load in him, the tightness of Makoto's ass and the strong scent of his hormones are enough to make your eyes roll back. Your hips slam into him a few times to empty all of your cum in there, and each time only brings the human that much closer to a complete mindbreak.

“Ooohhfuck… haah~ That was fuckin' good er- damn, I never got your name, did I?” The human shakes his head 'no', panting as his dick stays stiff as a board, red from cumming a second time.

He mutters something under his breath, but you can't quite make it out. You ask him to repeat it and he replies, “it'sss…Makoto…” in a sleepy, worn out tone.

“Well, Makoto, you think you're up for more?” you're asking, but not really asking…because you're going to fuck him again regardless. After all, all of these dumbass locals keep you stressed out every damn day — at this point, a full 24 hours of sex probably wouldn't be enough, much less one tiny orgasm.

Makoto lazily nods along, grinning up at you while you scratch his scalp affectionately. He has zero time to react as you begin thrusting again, ready to pound his hole until it's permanently molded to your shape.

His ass tightens around you again, and a third round of cum shoots out of his dick as it slaps against his warm body. His dick seems to stay hard even after that, turning redder by the minute, all while you ensure that his ass will be left gaping and oozing with your seed long after you're satisfied.

By the time you fill him up again, Makoto has orgasmed five times before, and his sixth nearly causes his voice to crack as his whole body convulses in your arms — his twitching cock shoots nothing this time, and the human is left with only dry orgasms for the rest of the day. Meanwhile, you have no intentions of stopping yet, even if it means your new human will fall unconscious—he'll still be your fuck doll while he rests.

[flightyalrighty]

Hey you got an advices for a newbie who thinks about doing commissions? :>

And did you have any bad experiences? (You don't have to answer if it is too private)

I won't go into detail for any bad commission experiences, but I can at least tell you what I learned from em in the form of the advice you asked for:

PRICING! When figuring out pricing, ask yourself the following:

What is an hour of my work worth? This question helps you avoid underselling yourself aka selling under minimum wage. You're definitely worth more than that. $20 is a pretty good starting point for folks who aren't too confident in their own stuff.

How long does it take to complete an art piece? Create one sample of every type of commission you want to sell. Time yourself when you make them. Whatever amount of time it takes to create each piece multiplied by the hourly wage you've set for yourself is going to be your base price for each thing ($20 x 2 hours for a full body sketch = $40). You can also use the samples you've made to help advertise in your commission post and show your potential clients what it is they can expect from you!

How should I charge for add-ons? Once again, figure how long something takes, and shoot for something that seems both fair for you and the client. For extra characters or something like a background, for example, I charge an extra 50% of the base price.

PROBLEMATIC CLIENTS! Got a client that doesn't know what they actually want? Too wishy washy? Too nitpicky? There's a solution! Offer a limited amount of revisions. I offer two free ones, personally. Once the client is out of revisions, I charge them 20% for each additional revision, and I MAKE SURE THEY CAN SEE THAT ON THE FORM THEY FILL OUT. That way, clients are encouraged to get their WHOLE idea in order before going to you. No one wants to be charged extra for a mistake they made, after all -- And it's definitely their mistake if they leave out any details they later deem important and want you to fix.

THE AFOREMENTIONED FORM TO BE FILLED! I used Google Forms, personally. It makes your little business look a bit more professional AND it helps you keep track of multiple projects at once, while prompting the clients to give you the info you specifically need (like reference images). It's good!

BE PROFESSIONAL! You're more likely to get repeat customers if you maintain a professional customer service attitude while handling clients, and deliver your work as promptly as you can. Delivering work PROMPTLY is definitely something you need to imagine me circling and underlining. Please do your best to not take, like, a year? To complete a commission? It's a really bad look. Treat it like homework. Give yourself your own little due date to work with.

While we're on that! DEFINITELY send your clients WIPs while you work! Showing that you're making progress is a great way to get feedback from the client before it's too late to change anything, PLUS it keeps their mind at ease about the possibility of you potentially taking their money and running.

KEEP YOURSELF SAFE! Speaking of taking money and running, set up a system that works when it comes to charging clients and delivering the goods. I have been burned in the past and have learned from this. Some artists charge their clients upfront before delivering anything at all. Personally, I'm not a fan of this, because then it leaves the client open to feeling uneasy about possibly getting scammed. Obviously I'm not a scammer, but to lift the weight of that possibility on the minds of my clients, I charge half upfront and half upon completion. This way, I already have SOME money so the client isn't gonna "dine-and-dash" me, and the client, likewise, is holding the other half of the pay in a friendly self-imposed hostage situation. I do recommend this!

I also use Paypal to INVOICE my clients. This way, I have full control over the nature of what I'm charging and can avoid the client accidentally (or maliciously) sending a payment with something in there meant to get my Paypal account shut down. DO NOT WRITE JOKES ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE CHARGING YOUR CLIENT FOR. DO NOT GET YOURSELF IN TROUBLE FOR SOMETHING STUPID.

And this is all the advice I currently have on me! I hope it helps!

[fairuzfan]

I think Palestinian diaspora in the west who openly critique hamas in front of a western audience are the most annoying and opportunistic people in the world. Congrats you called hamas a bunch of terrorist who are a barrier to peace you get a pat on the back from israelis and get told you're "brave" or whatever, now what. How do you feel knowing you basically called for the disarmament of Palestinians and for them to be at the mercy of western liberal order? How do you feel that you acquiesced your self worth to get a few brownie points from a liberal zionist who "knows what true democracy looks like"?

You say stand with the people of Gaza but are Hamas not also of the people of Gaza?

[faerunfemme]

you are not less of a femme or butch just because you "don't dress like one."

if you can't afford to buy the wardrobe you really want, or if you struggle to find clothes because you're plus-sized, or even if you don't dress in the aesthetic most people think of when they think of the word femme or butch because you just don't want to, it's okay. you are not less femme or butch than someone who does dress that way. you're not less worthy of love or compassion or kindness.

you deserve to feel confident in your clothes, and i'm sorry if you're not in a position where you are, for whatever reason it may be. someday, you'll have everything you want and more.

that's the beauty of the word "yet." you're not confident yet, you don't have those clothes yet, you don't have someone to give your love to yet.

so don't give up. you're worth so much more than you realize.

[eternalera]

tbh i feel like the real reason illumi turned out the way that he did (controlling, putting his family needs above his own, etc.) is mostly because he was the firstborn child in what was going to be a dumpster fire. like am i approving of his actions? hell no, but when you think about it... how else was he supposed to turn out?

cause he's their first kid so all of their attention is really on him until milluki is born and im pretty sure theyre around 5 years apart so he grew up with that for five years. and after they had milluki... yeah lets be honest for a second they probably realized he kinda wasn't worth training all that much and focused more on illumi which... YEAH PROBABLY NOT GOOD

and the reason that this is so bad is because he probably didn't interact with any kids when he was younger like at all. most likely because his parents told him not to and yeah, he (probably) listened. killua didnt of course as we see his interactions with canary but he didnt listen and thats probably because he saw how illumi turned out and was like 'oh that does NOT look good'

while illumi on the other hand really didnt have anyone to compare it with, to see like 'oh this is probably not a good thing' because that was his normal. and of course it's also killua's 'normal' but the difference is that killua was able to look at that and realize that that was not normal. illumi couldnt do that, being homeschooled and all he didnt grow up around people his age and yeah that made him kinda... eccentric in a way but still.

if you were put into a room with no memories and someone started telling you what to do obviously you're going to listen to them, especially when they're the ones taking care of you. youre gonna listen to them no matter what because in your mind they most likely care for you because you're still alive and such. however over time they might start molding you into something else.

now imagine that same scenario getting put into a room with no memories and such except there are other people in the room with you, one of them has obviously been there the longest but that doesnt matter because there are other people and you realize 'hey this is kinda fucked up' and you manage to leave.

thats basically how i picture illumi vs. killua in terms of what they realized growing up, of course personality is definitely a big factor but also who and what they grew up with helps.

like i truly believe that if killua was born first he'd be just as fucked up if not more fucked up than illumi (mostly because theyd HYPERfocus on him and stuff because they believe he's 'the strongest' or whatever)

yeah anyways thank for coming to my tedtalk ig

[lukasf27a8]

Remember why you started shifting in the first place.

For someone? To get away from here? Better life? Love? Desire to explore? Don't forget that. It's 2025, i do not care how long have you been a shifter, remember what year you started and why did you start shifting.

And if you're remembering it right now? Let me tell you, don't you ever throw away something that was worth to fight for that long of a journey.

Whatever the hell is your reason to give up, but don't ever have your reasoning to be because you think you're getting absolutely nowhere. That's not a reason, that's an excuse. Don't have your dedication be thrown away over an excuse than a reason.

I need you to keep going, this will be the moment of your life for you, and us.

[haru-dipthong]

Fansub release + Analysis of Utena Ep 18

There's a lot of ideas packed into this episode about patriarchy and what it means to become a man. This is an issue that I've personally done a lot of reflecting on, and also something I've been reading about recently with bell hooks' The Will To Change, so this episode I'll be doing a little more textual analysis than usual and comparing readings of Utena with bell hooks.

Utena: つわぶき君はよく続くなー。僕だったらあの生活三日も持たないや。 Anthy: きっと好きだからできるんですよ

Utena: I don't know how he does it. I wouldn't last three days being bossed around like that. Anthy: If you loved someone, you'd understand.

This line is soooo revealing. It really shows how Anthy thinks about love. And god, the way she says it — so condescending to Utena with the んですよ. Like “you poor naive thing who has never experienced love, I know better than you do”. It sounds very "you'll understand when you're older". And it tears me up inside to see Anthy believing that she is the one who knows better. Even Utena’s naivity is better than Anthy’s horrible warped idea of what love is. And obviously the reason Anthy essentially takes a stand behind the idea that love is unconditional servitude is because of her curse and her relationship with Akio. She is obliged to be at the beck and call of her betrothed, a position of love. And she has learnt from Akio that love is running yourself into the ground, from his time serving the people as Dios. And her relationship with Akio, a familial relationship that is traditionally one of love, is essentially slavery. What else can she do, how else can she live with herself, if not by telling herself that this is what love is meant to be?

A more literal translation of Anthy's line would be something like "I'm sure he can do it because he loves her". But her tone and phrasing in Japanese makes it clear that she's extrapolating - she's thinking that anyone in love would do the same. That's why I translated the line the way I did.

I also tried "That's just what love is" but it didn't sound condescending enough. I needed Anthy to sound like Utena's mum in this exchange, because that's how she sounds in Japanese.

大人になりたい！大人になって世界をめちゃくちゃにしてやりたい！

I want to grow up! I want to become a man so I can fuck up the world!

Oh god oh fuck. What is happening to our little Mitsuru… who could have predicted this?! Well, bell hooks did:

Boys are encouraged by patriarchal thinking to claim rage as the easiest path to manliness. It should come as no surprise, then, that beneath the surface there is a seething anger is boys, a rage waiting for the moment to be heard. The Will To Change pp. 44

In isolation they lose the sense of their value and worth. No wonder then that when they reenter a community, they bring with them killing rage as their primary defence. pp. 43

The word めちゃくちゃにする is difficult to translate. It’s a word used often in casual conversation, so it doesn’t sound very formal or proper. It kind of means “to throw into complete disorder; to make everything a complete mess”. E.g.

その地震��何もかもめちゃくちゃにした

The earthquake destroyed/smashed up everything.

In this context though, “destroy” or “smash up” doesn’t work because we’re not talking about buildings and furniture, we’re talking about “the world”. Other translations try their best to translate this line without swearing (I want to become a man and wreck the world! // I want to be an adult and just kick over the whole world! // I want to a grown up, and just… just do whatever I want with the world!). But I really don’t think it’s possible. THE translation for めちゃくちゃにする in this context is “to fuck up”.

経験を積んだ大人を倒してこそ子供は大人になる

But a kid who beats an adult… will become an adult himself!

Maybe I’m reading too much into the word 倒す here, but allow me to digress: I don’t think this translation is particularly controversial. 倒す literally does mean “beat”. But I originally had this as “defeat”, a much less violent word (also used by the one of the translations I’m using as reference). However, I think “beat” is better for several reasons.

First, 倒す is a word that comes up a lot in anime and manga targeted at the 12-16 year old boy demographic. “Beat” is similar — “can superman beat goku in a fight?” It has the same schoolyard feel to it. Using a word like this emphasises Tsuwabuki’s boyishness.

Secondly, while 倒す means “to defeat”, this meaning is actually metaphorical. Its literal meaning is “to knock down/to fell”. I’m guessing the “defeat” meaning comes from its use in boxing, where knocking someone down is equivalent to defeating them. Because of this, the original Japanese could be interpreted more literally — Tsuwabuki wants to batter an adult, he wants to prove his manhood by beating a woman, by knocking her down. I think this reading is reinforced by Tsuwabuki’s violent patriarchal outburst in the Seminarium elevator.

Another except from bell hooks’ The Will To Change (emphasis mine):

Researchers found that boys agreed that to be truly manly, they must command respect, be tough, not talk about problems, and dominate females. pp. 42

And another:

Boys who are allowed to assume the role of “mini patriarch” are often violent toward their mothers. (…) Obviously, as small boys they do not have the strength to overpower their mothers, but it is clear that they see the use of violence to get their needs met as acceptable. pp. 61-62

As always, thank you to my editor @dontbe-lasanya for their amazing editing skills! This project wouldn't be possible without you!

Remember to follow the blog if you want to stay updated with new episode releases. For all episodes released so far, go here:

Rose divider taken from this post

[pikahlua]

In one of her metas @linkspooky claims that Hawks offered Twice redemption but not the rest of the league, because Hawks supposedly consider them not worth saving. Do you agree with this take? My take was that Hawks didn't have the opportunity to offer redemption to the rest of the league.

I couldn't easily find whatever meta you're talking about, and so I can't really know if you're representing what this person actually wrote about or if there's other stuff to it. I do see they seem to make a point to focus on what the English-speaking fandom interprets and takes away from the story, so I assume their meta was along these same lines. Because otherwise, my answer is that, as I've stated previously, I think people overuse the word redemption in literary analysis to the point where I have no idea how they mean the word. "Hawks offered Twice redemption" is a vague, next-to-nonsensical statement to me, and so to make any conclusions about it means even less. To me.

I emphasize "to me" because, goodness, this is not an area of discourse I have any real interest in, and I have no desire to invite any more of it. But to answer your question, my most basic take is that the notion of "offering redemption" sounds like putting heroes in the position of being religious saviors who go around judging who gets saved and who doesn't. My reading of heroes in MHA is different from that; the best heroes can do is to offer people a chance to return to the collective, to offer the collective's protection and acceptance. And Hawks is able to do that for Twice because, unlike anyone else in the Paranormal Liberation Army, Twice makes an effort to accept Hawks into his collective. It's reciprocal. Twice demonstrates to Hawks the ability to rejoin the collective, so Hawks makes an overture to it on his end, too. And the League of Villains are poignant villains precisely because of their individual rejections by and rejections of the collective prior to the major events of the story. That's the way I frame it, and unfortunately without being able to see the meta in question I can't really know to what extent their reading matches or doesn't match mine.

[alisonwritesimagines]

This Was the Very First Page, Not Where the Story Line Ends

Summary: You and Mihawk set sail to travel around the world.

Author’s Note: This imagine has dust cause that's how long I've been keeping it in my drafts.

Reader’s Pronouns: She/Her

Warnings: Fluff

Do not repost this anywhere!

You slowly overcame your fear of the ocean when Mihawk took you to other islands that was only a day or two away. When Mihawk thought you were finally ready, he obtained a medium sized ship to take you out to see the world. You had left your position as a teacher at the school since you weren’t going to be home most of the time now.

“Did you tell your boys yet?” Makino asked you. You wanted to spend time with her before you left since she had been your closest friend for the longest time.

“I’ve written to Luffy since he is the only one who keeps in touch with me.”

“Are you sure you want to go out to the sea?”

“My boys are gone and I’ve fallen hard for Mihawk. I think it’s time for a new adventure.”

“What if Shanks comes back?”

“He’s already too late,” you tell her with a sad smile.

“Ready my love?” Mihawk asked as he walked over to you.

“I’m ready.”

“Have a safe adventure. We’ll always be here for you if you ever want to come back,” Makino tells you as she hugged you tightly.

“I’ll miss you,” you tell her with teary eyes.

“I’ll miss you too. I’m so happy for you for getting over your fear of the sea.”

“Thank you,” you say before pulling away from the hug. "I'll write to you!"

"You better," she says. You both laugh a little before you walked out with Mihawk.

You held Mihawk’s hand as he guided you over to his new ship. It was slightly bigger than his old one but still maintained it's minimal aesthetic.

"Are you nervous?" Mihawk asked you.

"A little," you admitted.

"I'll always protect you."

"I know," you say before giving him a quick kiss.

It took a week before Mihawk sailed you both to a restaurant called the Baratie that was a giant ship in the middle of the ocean. After docking, Mihawk led you inside the restaurant where he gave his name to a host.

You both sat at a table that was nicely set up. The restaurant itself was new to you as you had never experienced anything like it.

“This is really nice, Mihawk,” you complimented.

“Order whatever you want my love. You’ve been doing great for sailing out this far,” Mihawk praised.

“Okay."

As you two enjoyed your meals, you heard loud footsteps walking over to your table.

"Didn't expect you to come back here after what happened last time," you heard. You turned to see a chef with a beard and a wooden leg walk over to your table.

"I'm not here for a fight. I'm here to enjoy a meal with my significant other here before we continue sailing," Mihawk tells him.

"I see. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Captain Zeff. Owner of the Baratie," the chef pirate introduced himself to you.

"It's lovely to meet you as well. Your food is excellent," I tell him.

"I'm glad a new palate likes it," he smiled.

"I feel like I've heard of this place before," you mention.

"Luffy has been here before," Mihawk points out to you.

"He has!" You say, now remembering.

"The young boy with the straw hat?" Zeff asked.

“You know Luffy?” You asked the captain.

"Curly hair. Currently worth thirty million berries?" Zeff asked.

"That's my son!" You say proudly, not caring about his bounty.

“Not the smartest pirate so far but he’s got a good heart. You did a good job in raising him on that,” Zeff tells you with a kind smile.

“I’m just glad he’s following his dreams,” you say.

"Took one of my chefs here. But they'll be good together. Especially with that crew of his," Zeff mentions to you.

"Who knows. Maybe his crew will surpass all of you pirates," you joked.

"I like you. Have a bottle of wine on the house. It'll go great with your meal," Zeff said.

"Oh no. We can't ask for that."

"I insist."

"Only if you're sure," you tell him.

"Let me grab that bottle," Zeff smiled before walking off.

"You truly do have a charm that makes everyone fall for you," Mihawk says.

"I'm just that loveable," you joked.

"And you're all mine," Mihawk smiles.

"All yours," you smile back.

Mihawk took you to a new place at an island with a village by the beach. You had enjoyed the travels as you got to see different places and learn of the different cultures. So when you and Mihawk were by the waters, he felt that the timing was perfect for what he wanted to ask you.

“I’d like for you to live with me,” Mihawk says.

“At your home?” You asked to confirm.

“Yes. I want to take care of you Y/n and I would like for us to have a future together,” Mihawk explains.

“I'd like that."

“Good. But before we go to our home, I have one important question.”

“What is it?”

Mihawk pulled out a ring from his jacket and got on one knee. Your eyes widen in shock as you stared at Mihawk.

“Will you do me the honors and become my wife?”

You felt like time froze around you.

“Of course I will,” you say nodding. Mihawk smiled softly as he stood up. Mihawk slipped the ring onto your finger before cupping your cheeks and kissing you.

"I need to tell my boys!" You tell him.

"And you will. Let's just enjoy this between us for now," Mihawk says.

"Okay," you nodded. You kissed him once more before leading him over to the inn you were both staying at for the night.

[yarrowthewitch]

If you search something like "free virtual tarot reading" there are several sites with functions like the facade site! There's also an app called Labyrinthos that lets you do readings that is nice to have on hand.

And honestly even among honest-to-god Witches™️ the thoughts on what tarot IS vary widely. A lot of folks use it for divining the future, yeah, while some use it to talk to spirits and deities and stuff, but plenty of people view it purely as a tool for reflection and creative problem-solving, the same way you use it!

As for the ChatGPT thing...I mean, for one thing, a good tarot reading isn't just pulling cards, reading off the meaning of each card, and calling it a day. There are facets like noting if a certain suit showed up weirdly frequently, or "there are a lot of hands here, I think your ideal job will involve working with your hands." Synthesizing everything, looking for connections, considering context, stuff like that, you know? The cards are randomized; it takes a person to give them meaning.

But also, like...if I pay for an actual person to do an actual reading, I'm expecting an actual person to do an actual reading???? If what you're giving me is something I could find for free on a site programmed in the 90s, then...what is the point of me consulting with you? Even if I'm just looking for a little entertainment, or insight on a simple, minor problem, I would still be expecting a real person to interpret the cards?

It's probably not worth getting Up In Arms or doing anything beyond leaving a review saying "hey if you're using ChatGPT you should be upfront about that" or whatever, but I think it's understandable to be pretty annoyed at not getting what you paid for!

would you be willing to rec any of the good writers/in-depth sellers of tarot readings?

(In reference to my comment that I like to buy Etsy tarot readings instead of flipping a coin for amusingly minor decisions, but the most recent one I bought was blatantly and hilariously ChatGPT generated)

Unfortunately I don’t seem to have records! However, as a more expensive but lovely experience, I had a lovely reflective animal-bones reading from @thegreenwolf , whom I admire very much. I’m not sure if they still do them, but it’s a nice way to support them!

But like I say - in terms of supporting a talented artist with a minor cash tip in order to reflect on a decision (when it’s already half-made-up in my heart) - buying tiny little tarot readings are so great for this! There’s something about externalising it to someone you don’t know well that half-clarifies your heart, plus the reading itself often provokes more thought, and bonus? Giving an artist pocket money. Genuinely fun.

Obviously this is a formal barrier that isn’t necessary. But Although I do have tarot cards of my own, I superstitiously feel like it’s cheating to use my own (lmao @ my beliefs that you can cheat at this - but it doesn’t feel as randomised.) however! The automatic divination machine at www.facade.com/tarot/ is free, reliable, and old-school no-bullshit Old Internet. Feels nice and random . Love her.

And yet the ChatGPT reading - so absurd and hilarious - I can SEE exactly why people would do this, and I can see exactly why it’s silly to be annoyed, but it definitely feels worse than flipping a coin. A free Facade reading is exactly as likely to be reflective and useful as a ChatGPT reading. But Facade feels like a more sophisticated coin flip, and ChatGPT definitely feels biased.

The decision I was trying to make was hilarious and not personal , so I’ll grab the ChatGPT reading and post it in a bit hahaha

[cartridgeconverter]

Don Giovanni La Monnaie 2014 - or, my nomination for the worst Don Giovanni production to ever exist

Let me be clear: do not watch this prod.

Director - Krzysztof Warlikowski Leporello - Andreas Wolf Donna Anna - Barbara Hannigan Don Giovanni - Jean-Sebastien Bou Il Commendatore - Willard White Don Ottavio - Topi Lehtipuu* Donna Elvira - Rinat Shaham Zerlina - Julie Mathevet Masetto - Jean-Luc Ballestra

Content warning: this prod exists solely for shock value, so it contains just about every disturbing thing possible. Notably: rape/sexual coercion, domestic violence, incest, blackface.

*You ever notice that this was one of the last stage productions Topi ever did before he became a full-time conductor?

The overarching issue with this production is that it focuses on being shocking and disturbing to the point of incoherence. This can be traced to misogyny - all of the female characters are sex addicts and/or insane. This is exaggerated so much that neither the "rape" (it's not a rape) nor murder at the beginning of the performance is Don Giovanni's fault, basically defeating the entire purpose of the play.

There is never a moment that isn't sexually explicit, lest you forget that the director knows what sex is, guys. Sometimes the characters have sex or sexual moments on stage during scenes (Non mi dir is happening during oral sex), while at other times half-naked background dancers appear seemingly randomly to, I guess, fulfill the naked people quota that every regie prod needs. Also, one of them is in full-body blackface. Just for fun.

Probably the most typical character in this interpretation is Elvira. This is a low bar to cross. She is portrayed as an overly emotional, unstable stalker, but these traits are just her original text being portrayed in the least charitable manner possible. There isn't any contradiction with the original story, which is what the best case scenario is here.

Instead of being a young, poor couple, Zerlina and Masetto are a prostitute and her pimp, respectively. This also completely removes the class dynamics at play between the characters. Masetto is very rich and rather emotionally detached from Zerlina, which means his aria makes no sense. He isn't even angry, just mildly peeved. After all, if they're not in a relationship, and Giovanni is one of his clients, none of this should upset him.

Both of these examples can be chalked up to typical director edginess, but this production's portrayal of Anna is simply a demonization of the character due to misogyny. Not only is she portrayed as responsible for the rape in the first scene, but she is the one forcing herself onto Don Giovanni, instead of the other way around. The production goes on to imply that she had an incestuous relationship with her father. Meanwhile, Ottavio is depicted as the victim of her emotional, physical, and sexual abuse. Throughout the show, she threatens him with a gun; after the epilogue, she shoots him.

:v

If you want to depict abuse in Don Giovanni, there's plenty of options. Obviously, the relationship between the Don and Leporello is very controlling. One could also make the point that Zerlina and Masetto have an unhealthy dynamic, such as in Peter Sellars's production. However, Ottavio? Ottavio is, textually, in no such position. He is (besides Giovanni himself), the most powerful character because he is an upper-class man. Even in a modern setting, this shouldn't change. By making Anna the instigator of all the violence in the plot, it completely does away with the commentary on misogyny while instead demonizing the women.

Also the singing is bad.

In conclusion, Ottavio look out! Oh no he has airpods in he can't hear us

[sweetberry-roebuck]

There's something to be said about Mouthwashing's weaponization of the video game medium. The game is very easily comparable to a movie, between its runtime and cinematic framing and focus on narrative, but the fact that it is a video game, that we play as Jimmy for much of it and take on his actions ourselves, is I think really effective in its usage.

You are the one given the all caps RESPONSIBILITY, the disproportionate power of the captain, and you are the one failing miserably to use it well. You have to scan the codes, you have to give Curly his medicine, the first action you're presented with is to turn the ship in the wrong direction. No other option available. The experience it gives you of realizing again and again that you, that Jimmy, is not doing the most sensible thing, that he's being stupid and cruel and spiteful, is really effective in forcing you to contend with the excellently written character study on a personal level.

Waking up in the middle of the night and hearing Curly groaning in pain, and then going to bother Anya about giving Curly his meds only for Jimmy to INSIST on doing it himself, I thought to myself "c'mon man why wouldn't you just give him the meds to begin with," only to realize over the rest of the game exactly why he didn't do that. By putting the player in the role of this character, carrying out his actions step by step without choice in the matter, the irrationality of his decisions is made personally exasperating. You notice the patterns.

[inkskinned]

it mattered because when my brother asked me what if this is the happiest you'll ever be? the best you'll ever get? the thing i felt was fear, not peace. everybody thought you were so perfect for me. even i thought you were "helping me grow". i had to challenge every internal clock. make myself more thoughtful, more kind, more beautiful.

i told my therapist it was good because i like the changes i made and there's something so strong about saying i did that. the problem is that i can like the difference all i want, but i changed for you. something akin to getting your name tattooed, all my progress is stamped with fuck you.

it was the happiest i'd ever been and also the best i'd ever gotten. i would still get in the car and think what the fuck just happened.

[not-gray-politics]

Trans women. I'm grabbing you by the shoulders and yelling. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE SKINNY TO BE FEMININE AND PRETTY AND CUTE. PLEASE STOP MAKING DIETS PART OF YOUR TRANSITION GOALS. WEIGHT LOSS IS A SCAM. I LOVE YOU. TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES. YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL.