#you dont even get the luxury of context for this

[robobee]

if trc was a visual medium and I was a tiktoker i would go insane talking about quiet luxury and how Declan and Adam both fall into this position of people with OBJECTIVELY less money compared to their peers and how both of them are trying to replicate luxury (ie: clothing=persona/identity) to varying levels of success. adam wears old gifts from the ganseys and declan is very clearly called out by other characters to be overcompensating. neither are fully seamless and even though thats not an overt plot point it is DEFINITELY very significant since plenty of their story beats echo each other down to their relationship with ronan, who is a different fashion debate (eg. how punk can you get off of a bank account you dont need to look at and a shaved head which needs to be constantly maintained and a BMW you stole w no repurcussion). again I DO think stief implies fascinating plot points that she doesn't focus on but her display of class and economic variation is very very cool & obviously people w more context of specific USAmerican culture can have this debate better than I can

editing to link the video that finally helped me put this thought into words

[safety-pin-punk]

Just saw a post telling people not to donate ‘fast fashion’ to thrift stores because its poor quality and they are already over run with fast fashion. I don’t even know where to start to explain why this is a bad take. But I guess I’ll attempt! (For context - I work at a thrift store that gets a LOT of donations every day!)

Everything that gets donated to a chain thrift store is processed and sorted. Yes even at those bin stores where you can pay by the pound for safety. If an item you’ve donated is deemed too poor quality for the store you dropped it off at, it doesn’t get thrown away, it gets sent to stores that don’t have the luxury of getting a bunch of donations every day.

When I say ‘too poor quality’ I mean in context to what else gets donated. For example: my store is in the middle of Rich People Town. So we get a lot of name brand clothes and a lot of high quality material clothes. So of course that is our first choice to put out on the sales floor when we get it. Someone else may have donated a slightly worn 50/50 cotton/polyester t-shirt that is still perfectly wearable, but we have better options at our store. So we send it to a store that *doesn’t* get those options as often.

If you think the shirt is so poor quality that absolutely no one would ever want it… well maybe you’re right… but you should still donate it anyway. Heres the process for clothes that aren’t sold at Goodwill (I cant speak on this topic for other chains though):

If clothes are not sold at a normal retail store after 5 weeks, they are sent off if an outlet store (typically pay by the pound). The point of outlet stores are to sell at ultra low prices to keep as much out of landfills as possible. If they still dont sell at an outlet store, the next step is auctioning it. The clothes are sold in lots for fairly low prices. The last stop for clothes that dont sell even at auction is that they are sent off to a textile recycler. So all non-ruined clothes eventually get used, even if its ‘poor-quality’

4. The ONLY clothing you should not donate is anything wet/moldy/covered in mildew or god forbid please do not donate clothes that have ANY type of bodily fluids on them. No one wants your kids pooped pants, the shoes you accidentally threw up on, or any uuhhh stained bedroom attire (all real things I’ve had donated). THESE are the only types of items that dont get put through this process. These types of clothes do get sent to landfills… especially if your kids poop is still in the pants…

[my-castles-crumbling]

hi cas!! okay im just gonna pray to the lord that this wouldnt come out racist. week ago my little sister asked me “ people get upset when they draw black people white, so why dont they get upset when they draw white people black??” i honestly never give that much thoughts before so this question really threw me off guard. bc of that i cant give a proper answer to her and shes been asking the same question since then. i was kind of afraid people will saw it as racism so i was hoping that you would understand it and if its not a bother i hooe you can give me an answer to this

loveed the new chap of clandestine btw!! your jegulus makes me feel single in the best way posiible!! hope you had a good day

Ooo okay so please keep in mind that I'm white, so the things I'm saying are based off of what I've learned from research. Please please if someone sees something that is wrong, correct me!

First, I think it's important to listen to what POC have said on this subject. Here is a link to a youtube video I just watched by a POC creator and artist that does an amazing job of breaking down why this is an issue and how to correct it- even going into techniques for drawing darker skin. At time mark 4:25, he answers your specific question. This is, hands down, the best place to get your answer.

Basically, society has a history of whitewashing. For centuries, POC have been erased- taken out of history, not been given proper/literally any rights or voices, literally killed and hunted down. Both their achievements and the way they have been targeted have been purposely not discussed or reported on, and please be aware that even though people disagree, this is still a constant problem. It's not going away.

Society whitewashes in so many ways it's impossible to count them all- giving white people credit for the work of POC; casting white people for the roles of POC characters; basing healthcare rules on research conducted only on white people; teachers taking points from students if they don't use 'Standard' American English and instead speak using AAVE or HVE terms even if they still get answers completely correct; schools only teaching the history of historically white countries and populations; the list goes on and on and on.

Keep in mind too that for years, diversity in literature and media was close to nonexistent in most places. Why? Because any literature created by POC or about POC is not taught or as widely distributed. Think about the books you were/are given in school. Any books from years ago don't have racially diverse characters, and if they do, they either are a caricature of their race, or are solely written about based on the 'struggle of being their race.' They are not given the 'luxury' of personality traits outside their race. It is only recently, as POC have spoken out about this issue and are being given the chance to publish their own work with characters that reflect them, that main characters can both be black AND solve a murder mystery- amazing! (/sarcasm). So now that we are starting to see more diversity in media, it is vital not to take that away.

So, with that knowledge about the history behind whitewashing and lack of racial diversity in media, you now know the context. So when a person chooses to draw a black character as white, they are taking with them all of that history and context. And in a moment, by drawing that character white, they are bringing back that context, and taking away the diversity that is so needed in literature.

And- why? Why do people insist on drawing canonically black characters as white? There is no good reason. People can say "oh, I think she'd be better as white" but that's just racism, plain and simple. If an artist doesn't know how to draw dark skin, they can look up a video.

In contrast, drawing a canonically white character as a different race doesn't take anything from them. It doesn't bring up a history or context with centuries of racism behind it. The only thing it does is add diversity to a fandom and allow people to see characters that look like themselves in media where they might not have.

I hope this makes sense and I hope I've done the topic justice! Please know that any racist or hateful comments on this ask will be deleted, but if someone has anything to add or any corrections to make, please let me know!

[hyperfixationsporfavor]

hey just saw you were taking requests so im here to give one. i dont know if you have read "veil" but its a manga basically you can search it its up to you. so my request is if you could do nanami (headcanons or oneshot doesn't matter) with a reader like emma from that manga (like she likes to dress up, likes to feel things and the main thing she cant see). thank youu 💗

Author's Note: Hello! Thank you for the request. I previously only knew Veil from tiktok so I read some chapters for some more context. It's such a cute manga and I definitely plan to read more.

Here's a little one shot. And I don't explicitly say it in the fic but Reader is blind like Emma. Let me know what you think. :)

When Kento got home he found you on the couch with your St. Bernard, Smalls, curled up next to you. You had been sipping a cup of tea while some Beethoven played from his old record player. 

“Kento?” you called out.

“Yeah,” he replied. 

He closed the door behind him and made his way over to you.

You smiled as you heard him approach you, setting your tea on the coffee table and standing up to properly greet him. He lowered his head to kiss you, which you swiftly deepened. 

After some time the two of you reluctantly pulled away from each other.

“How was work?” you asked.

“Fine. How about you?”

You sighed and leaned against him. “Another day of modeling beautiful clothes? It was pure torture. 

He chortled under his breath and wrapped you tighter in his arms. 

~

“Kento? Can you zip this up?”

Kento finished adjusting the cufflinks on his suit and made his way over to you. You turned away, allowing him to zip up the back of your evening gown. Your face heated up when you felt his knuckle brush against the small of your back as he grabbed the zipper. Once the dress was secure you turned around so he could fully see you.

“How do I look?” you checked. 

“Beautiful.”

~

After the two of you said your goodbyes to Smalls you made your way out of your apartment building to the opera. Kento had secured a pair of tickets months in advance. At your insistence the two of you decided to walk. You held onto his arm as the two of you made your way to the opera house. On the way you passed an array of luxury department stores and Kento halted in front of a particularly special one.

“What is it?” you asked.

“I’m just admiring this model. Her picture’s in the store window.”

“Oh yeah?” you jested. “Should I be jealous?”

“Maybe,” he retorted. “Especially if she could get me a discount.”

You pecked his cheek. “As much as I love playing this game with you we don’t want to miss the 

opening curtain.”

~

Once the two of you had arrived you were stopped at the door by a photographer. 

“(Name)! Can I get a picture for the society pages?” 

More voices approached you. “(Name)? The model?”

“I saw your billboard downtown today! You’re even more beautiful in person!”

Security came forward and waved the onlookers away. Then you and Kento were escorted by an usher to your seats.

~

“Are you alright?” you asked.

Kento rested his hand on your knee. “Of course. Why?”

“Well, that was a bit of fanfare downstairs. I think I caused a scene.”

You reached out and ran your finger over the glass of his Rolex.

“People are starting to recognize you. It’s nothing to be embarrassed over.”

He took your hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“I’m so proud of you.”

You lifted his hand to your lips and kissed his fingers. 

The house lights dimmed and the audience applauded. 

“Will you tell me if one of the singers trips?” you whispered.

“Absolutely,” he assured you.

~

The End. 

[lucky-rabbits]

i don't typically write fics because i dont have much attention span for it and bad at words. but since i've been feeling absolutely horrible since yesterday i thought i'd treat myself to smth

i don't feel like i need to give too much context bc. idk who else in the self ship community ships in this fandom but: im not even close to being done w/ story stuff but roland's playable unit has his official affiliation listed as 'unidentified' which is very ??? he's been a part of the ascension network since we've met him. so i'm like. confused and interested to know bc it seems like he has some sort of falling out with the others from other stuff ive seen.

Rook never had the need for extended periods of rest, even before becoming a construct there they had no one to watch their back at night and it was instinct now for them to always sleep with on eye open. Roland must be the same way, they think: he always found it entertaining that Rook would take the time to scavenge through the ruins of food factories from the Golden Age looking to find traces of sweet treats and canned coffee. Constructs had no real reason to eat or drink like humans did and instead of just laughing at them, he would sometimes rummage through the shelves as well: as if he could understand the reasons behind Rook's meaningless pursuit.

Caffeine addictions were a common things back in the Golden Age, especially between overworked commoners.

Even though the two of them needed very little sleep, the luxury of having another to watch over you while sleeping was an unnecessary act that they both indulged in regularly. Though most of the time the two would fall asleep huddled together, without a care in the world. It was even a common endurance during their time as colleagues via the Ascension Network but they had an unspoken agreement never to acknowledge their guilty pleasure.

But now neither of them had ties to the network and were no longer colleagues; but now consensual traveling companions. And even more so than ever Rook would wake up with Roland's arms securely wrapped around them, his face tucked into the crook of their neck.

And that's how Rook woke up this morning, after blinking away the grogginess they slowly tried to wiggle their way out of his embrace but he let out a content sigh and held on tighter. Rook rolled their eyes, they had no idea how someone like him could be so clingy and affection.

"Get up, we need to get going. I won't let your stupid ass get us killed." Rook finally broke free from his grasp and rolled over to to push themself off the ground, tossing him an annoyed glance.

"Ah, I see once again you've decided not to leave me for dead in my sleep. You continue to make unwise decisions." Roland chuckles, his voice still a bit hoarse from waking up so suddenly. "Someone might take advantage of your kindness."

Rook let out an annoyed grunt while they got rid of any evidence of their make-shift camp before turning around to offer their hand to Roland to help him off the ground. "I'm not going away anytime soon, hurry up we overslept and need to get out of here."

He blinked up at Rook, with a perplexed looked on his face. "You are no longer beholden to me or my safety anymore, you are aware of this yes?" His tone of voice was much softer and less ostentatious. Most would assume this was just another 'mask' of his, but Rook was very aware that he was wearing his heart on his sleeve right now.

"I know. But i care enough to stay, so I'm not leaving you now" Rook didn't know Roland's whole story, but they knew enough about his life to understand his insecurities and fears. And would be there for him with not-so-gentle reminders to assure him that he was worth something to at least one other person.

So Rook continued to hold out their hand and wait for him to grasp it.

[meep--tm]

if it helps i would read your completely self indulgent oc fic i love other people oc's send it to me please show it to me rachel /ref

ANON... for you. this is the first section of the specific thing i was referring to. the only context i can give are that yabis and shoki are two tieflings me and my friend luca played in a dnd campaign years ago (shoki was luca's character, yabis was mine) and latched onto and turned into our own seperate OC thing with their own mini story

i wrote this a while ago now but i like them so much i dont even CARE

👍

Somewhere downstairs, a gnome has taken on the mantle as the evening’s entertainer, and the drunken crowds have fallen silent.

It’s a natural fact of travelling bard-dom that wherever you may go, there’s about one peer for every ten sets of ears; Yabis learned this years ago and has kind-of, a bit, almost, sometimes made peace with it. There’s no one way to perform, after all - some carry a lute or a lyre, some carry nothing, some carry it all (although that’s only those with the luxury of a caravan) - and Yabis likes to believe they’re more unique with their technique than others. To linger on their self-doubt in the face of their competition would just concede the match, and would only foster bitterness; Yabis has a great amount of respect for their fellow performers, no matter the form of their craft or how much of Yabis’s business they may steal. It would hardly do them any good to go about as if they were deserving of special treatment. For one, no one wants to befriend a stuck up bastard - a bard who doesn’t network is hardly any bard at all - and for two, Yabis was homeschooled. They’re already fighting an uphill battle.

This is all to say that Yabis has a natural inclination to rush to the defence of any stray bard they may meet on the road, as it only makes sense to. It’s a lot more effort to be mean than it is to be kind, and you never know when you may need a performance partner. The current problem is that this bard, the gnome downstairs, is butchering The Moon Has Left Us Lonely - one of Yabis’s favourites - with the carelessness of a child’s off-key rendition of happy birthday. He’s singing as if a hag has replaced the lining of his throat with tree bark. He’s playing the lute as if he woke up this morning with new hands and is still determining how one should move their fingers. It’s unbearable.

“Somebody,” Yabis croaks as they’re ascending the stairs to the first floor, “should say something.”

A couple steps above, Shoki stops, turns on one foot, and stares down at them. Her expression is flat. Yabis stares back.

“To the gnome,” Shoki says. It feels like it should be a question - it isn’t.

Yabis nods heavily, grip tightening on the bannister. This is the first time Shoki has made eye contact with them in hours. “Needs to be told.”

“Hm.” Briefly, Shoki glances past the stairs and through the doorway towards the small sliver of the main hall that’s visible, and presumably to the bored patrons taking sips from their frothing mugs of ale. It’s packed tonight. Getting a room upstairs had been a nightmare, and Shoki had been forced to sit at the bar during Yabis’s performance instead of her usual routine of hiding in a corner booth; the house is full of tired labourers in need of relief. The perfect audience. As it is now, nobody is so much as humming. “I think he probably knows.”

“But he’s still going,” Yabis insists, also looking behind them now. One of the men at one of the tables notices her and waves, cracking a smile, which makes Yabis feel even worse because they’re not even in the room and they’re still managing to steal the show from this poor luthier. They wave back anyway. “Bombing. Everybody hates it. He’s still playing.”

A chord is hit particularly violently, ringing throughout the air with a sickening twang, and that horrible voice drags itself lifelessly over a line that Yabis had always found to be notably meaningful, one about elders and their children and the tragedies inherent to existing as either. It’s such an offence to the ear that an entire table of disgruntled women with scars on their faces take final swigs from their cups before scraping their chairs back and making for the door. The whole thing is one of Yabis’s stress nightmares come to life.

When Yabis wrenches their eyes away, they find Shoki’s looking down at them again - differently this time. More of her black sclera is visible than normal, the white irises of them looking dimmer and yellowed under the tavern’s lamplight, even though her broad figure blocks most of it. Yabis is largely standing in her shadow right now, actually, which is a thought that they carefully avoid lingering on in the name of acting well-adjusted and normal.

Today’s events have been unusual for the two of them, and especially for Yabis. Shoki could be thinking anything about them right now. This is another thought that Yabis is carefully avoiding.

Recent developments aside, her single minded focus on Yabis is a lot. Yabis is no stranger to being studied like this, but it always feels strange coming from Shoki - maybe it’s knowing that she has more knowledge packed into her head than Yabis ever has or ever will, or maybe it’s the unfeeling mask that she sports the majority of the time, or maybe it’s the disarming sweetness Yabis feels from her at times like these. Shoki’s hard to read on a good day, and today has been far from a good day. 

It’s alright. Yabis thinks her stoic “I don’t care, ever, and I didn’t ask, please don’t talk to me,” thing is pretty cute, actually, most of the time. Like she’s a cat or something.

Instead of trying to decode the look, Yabis studies her right back. There are flecks of muddy, dried blood scattered throughout her hair, the days-old plait falling over her shoulder the way tree branches fall over a stone-brick wall in winter, all splintered and dry. She looks pale, being a shade of lilac as opposed to her usual purple, with a dark flush running over her cheeks and nose and ears through the combined efforts of the sharp winds outside and the well-fed hearth by the bar. A dark bruise is already turning a sickly yellow at the hinge of her jaw, and her breathing sounds vast, and she seems to be slightly favouring her left foot.

(Yabis knows they probably haven’t fared much better themself; the fight today had been tougher than they had prepared for, and they still feel the stinging of a fresh scar spanning across their thigh, even after all of the healing spells. There’s a dried trickle of blood running from one of their ears, hidden under their mass of hair; even here, holding onto the bannister, they feel themself swaying slightly in place. It’s a miracle they had the energy to entertain tonight, and even more of a miracle that Shoki waited for them downstairs instead of disappearing upstairs for a bath. They’re not sure if they would’ve done the same, were the situation reversed; a bath sounds really good right now.) 

As the mutual scrutiny continues, Shoki’s mouth twists uncomfortably, unsure of what it’s trying to express. She looks tired.

“We won’t be able to hear him by the time we’re up in our room,” Shoki says eventually, her tone measured but equally as inexplicable as her face. “If it matters that much to you. I also,” she says, and she looks away now, resuming her pilgrimage up the stairs, “have earplugs in my pack. Help yourself.”

Yabis smiles and follows close behind, taking two steps at a time, feeling like they’ve won something. That was probably the best response they could hope for right now - it repeats itself between their ears a few times, help yourself, help yourself, help yourself - and the slight relief is wonderful. They just about have the mental fortitude to resist pulling their hair over their face and chewing on it as they ascend to their room for the night, if only because they don’t want to end up spitting out mud.

[iamtheoneandonlyever]

my color theory on byler and mlvn

i made this color theory a couple months ago when i wasn't on tumblr so its been lying around. so imma share it

its kinda long so beware i guess?

i have two ways of imagining this theory so that it includes more possibilities. for reference i imagine the main trio's individual colors as

mike-blue (for obvious reasons) will-yellow (for obvious reasons) el-purple (bcoz purple flowers)

and just for understanding, max-red (i picture her as a flame and a flame for me is red)

according to this color scheme,

mike + el = just a bluer purple or navy blue

there is nothing new we get out of it. its repetitive and they dont mix together all that well. its JUST a mixture of them as people.

also, its interesting that el = mike + max according to the color scheme.

the only people el has interacted with (just not on a surface level interaction but actually made an impression on her) who also her age are: mike and max. this just shows she's still picking up on things around her and is still just trying to be her own person.

also note that the result is the same for both additive color mixing and subtractive color mixing.

symbolism of navy blue: trust, stability, reliability last season proved that el has been lying to mike and vice versa. they are both lying to each other even though it was introduced by mike(in the show) that friends dont lie. their relationship is not stable at this point. el is not happy that mike is unable to say ily to her and while that issue is solved at the end of the season, we are shown that el is still not talking to mike. that doesnt sound exactly stable and reliable even though that's what the symbolism tells us. you wanna know WHY?

because el and mike aren't showing their true colors! (sorry, not sorry lol) not to each other at least.

and onto byler:

subtractive color mixing: mike + will = green

as compared to mlvn, we see that mike and will together make something new, something fresh.

green symbolizes growth, new beginnings, safety mike and will confide in each other. they do that coz they are best friends. they feel safe with each other. it also accounts for character growth in both of them. will realizing that, yes, he can have good things, he does deserve what he wants and for mike, he deserves someone who loves him unconditionally, is at an equal level as him and that he too can actually have what he wants. it also give both the characters new beginnings. i could go on and on but for the sake of not extending this post longer than it has to be,

additive color mixing: mike + will = white

white symbolizes purity, innocence, loyalty purity directly counters the fact that lgbt people were said to be unpure and carriers of AIDS during the 80s. this shows how love cannot be impure. love is the best thing this world can offer. they are just innocent kids who have been through too much, just experiencing young love.

all of this is also applicable in the context of friendship as their deep friendship is the root of the romance.

and this next part is for the people who say they think of el as red instead of purple, making mike, will and el all primary colors as they are the primary components of the story.

as mike found el while trying to find will who went missing due to some events, which are byproducts of el's actions. it all comes full circle to the 3 of them. i am not saying will went missing because of el, but you've gotta admit that el does come into the loop a little.

so

subtractive color mixing: mike + el = purple

purple symbolizes royalty and luxury. most people want to be royals, but the dealbreaker is:

dun dun dun

conformity

people dont want to be restricted by always having to follow some restrictions all the time. mike also has to follow the restrictions from liking boys. he is forced to like el. forced by whom? himself. for him, it should be a luxury to be able to date el, a superhero, an amazing, kind-hearted girl, he has expressed this.

additive color mixing: mike + el = magenta (ignore the fact this is pink)

magenta symbolizes balance and harmony. there has been no evidence in the show itself that they balance each other out or are in harmony. it shows that mike sees el on a pedestal (you are a superhero) and they have not had more than two happy moments in one season alone when they started dating. you see, they were just fine when they were friends. the trouble started when they started dating.

also note the fact that byler works both for friends (as we have seen in the show) and romantic (as they probably will end) but mlvn as shown in the show for romance does not work out (s3 and s4), but as friends they can actually bond well and be friends (s1) as for s2, el probably finds the entire thing romantic but i dont think mike tries as much and just wants her back as he considered her as his friend (he does not move at all, either towards or away from el, when she tries to kiss him before going to close the gate with hopper).

also note that magenta and purple are both a bit similar to look at while there is obviously a huge difference between green and white.

to make it easy, i quote garnet from steven universe: i am more than the two of them together or something. i dont remember it exactly but this is the general idea.

if you made it this far, i am sorry. if i hurt your brain, i am sorry. if what i wrote is gibberish and makes no sense, i am sorry. *cries*

this is literally my third post ever on tumblr so i dont how to tag. i am not a native english speaker. Thank you for reading. i appreciate it.

[fangirlstorycreator]

Terry CK X Reader

Context: Terry gives you a much needed and very sweet suprise 💚

You and Terry were enjoying being new parents. About a month and a half ago, you had given birth to your first baby, you and Terry had become a family with a tiny little, and very precious daughter. Her hair was black when she was born, and the first thing she did when she was handed to me was grab hold of Terry's finger as tightly as she could when he rested his hand on her. It made him cry, you had only seen Terry cry once before, at your wedding when you walked down the isle. You both were now a real family, and it was wonderful. However, being new parents isnt always a walk in the park, there were the late night, early mornings, crying, nappy changes etc. But through out all of this, Terry enjoyed every moment, it could be 3 in the morning when he had to go to work in a couple of hours, and he would do nothing but smile when he picked up our little girl when she would cry.

He would change her, feed her, wind her and anything else she needed at the time, and all he would do is look upon his beautiful baby with a smile. After feeling so alone for so many years, he finaly had what he's always wanted, and being a dad was everything to him. He would want to do everything that made his daughter smile, because then he would know that he's finaly doing things right. You were the same when it came to your baby, however, it wasnt always easy. You struggled a lot more than Terry, but that's because she wanted to be attached to you just as much as she wanted to be around Terry, but sometimes it was too much. There would be days you wish you could sit in the house with noone else, just silence and a nice glass of wine, but once you become a mum, you can kiss that kind of luxury goodbye for the next few years.

One evening, your just finishing feeding your daughter. As you were still breast feeding, she had to be with you when ever she was hungry. When you put her over your shoulder to burp her, Terry walks in and sits next to you on the sofa. "Hey there sweetheart" he says before planing a sweet kiss upon your lips. "Hey Terry" "Hows our little princess doing?" he asks as he strokes at his daughters wavy black hair. "Yeh she's ok, I've just fed her, so it will be time to put her to sleep soon" "Well, dont worry about putting her to sleep tonight sweetheart, because I'm going to" Confusion sets into your mind when he says that. "I dont understand? Why do you want to put her to bed? This time is normally the only time you get to respond to emails on your office computer?"

He stands up and holds his hand out to you "Take my hand sweetheart, I have something to show you" smiling warmly up at him, you take his hand and he guides you and your baby in your arm upstairs and towards to bathroom. When you walk inside with Terry, its then that you see the main light is turned off, and the only light in there is coming from vanilla scented candles that are placed around the bath. Along with red rose pettles that have been scattered in and amongst the bath water, that by the smell of it has coconut scented oils.

"Oh Terry, this is gorgeous. Why did you do this?" "Why wouldn't I? You've been working so hard with our little princess lately sweetheart, and you deserve some time to yourself, some time to relax" The warmth of the bathroom, the smells filling the air and the true kindness of Terry's actions make you feel so loved inside. "Oh Terry, how can I thank you?" He just smiles before taking the baby carefully off of your shoulder and cradling her in his large, strong arm, resting the palm of his other hand against her little head. "You have thanked me already, more than you realise. You loved me for who I am, and made this house a home when you moved in. When you became my wife, it was the most amazing day of my life, but not as amazing as when you gave me her. Shes so perfect, so beautiful, just like you. You brought our daughter into the world and made me a father, and I will spend the rest of my life thanking you for that. And one of the ways I do that, is by doing little things for you. Like this bath, plus, I get to spend more time with my little princess as I put her to bed"

You cant help the waves of love flowing through you, you pull his face in and kiss him with a caring tenderness. "Enjoy sweetheart, I'll see you when your all finished, take your time. I love you" "I love you too Terry" He walks out of the bathroom holding your baby girl, and you turn back to face the bath. "Oh this is soooooo needed" Once you get undressed, you immerse yourself in the hot and sweet smelling water, it is absolutely gorgeous. You spend about an hour and a half in the bath, reading your book and just taking some quality time for yourself. When the water started to get cold, you decided to get out, still smelling of the coconut oil as you get dressed into your pyjamas. When you were in your bedroom putting on your moisturiser, you noticed Terry hadn't come to bed yet.

Where was he? Was he struggling to get the baby to sleep? You walked over to her bedroom, and that's where you see one of the sweetest sights you had even witnessed. Terry was fast asleep on the comfy corner chair in her bedroom, with the baby sound asleep in his arms. You couldn't help yourself, you pulled out your phone and took a picture of them both, how could you not? Once you took the picture, you picked up your baby girl and put her in her cot, then gently stroked Terry's face to wake him up. "Terry? Babe? Come on, its time to get some sleep" his eyes are still closed when he nods at you, wiping at his eyes, he stands up and you take his hand, leading him out of the room. He was already in his pyjamas thankfully, but when he got into your bedroom, he took his shirt off, he never liked sleeping with a shirt on, it was more comfortable for him this way. You snuggled down into bed with Terry following closely behind.

"Are you ok babe?" "Yeh I'm alright, just tired that's all. Our little princess made me read her 4 stories before she started getting sleepy, but it was all worth it. How was your bath?" "Perfect thank you Terry, just what I needed. Speaking of needing things, come hear and lie your head on my chest, you need to get your sleep" through his tired eyes, he still looks at you with a loving gaze before he snuggles in close and wraps his arm around you, lying his head on your chest. You put your arms around him, running your fingers through his bouncy curly silver curls, gently running your nails over his scalp and giving his a kiss on his forehead. Before you know it, you can hear sweet little quite snors coming from Terry, he's always so peaceful when he's asleep. Turning off the bedside lamp and holding him close, you whisper "Goodnight babe" before slowly, drifting off to sleep yourself.

[okthatsgreat]

🌼💎??

WAHOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! im gonna use naomi for this one just because i reckon she's got some interesting answers ..... >:)

ALSO I WILL BE DISCUSSING SUICIDE HERE BRIEFLY BC ITS NAOMI AND ITS GOTTA COME UP IN A CONVO ABOUT DEATH SO BE WARNED!!

OC ASK GAME!!

🌼 - how old are they? (or approximate age range)

depends on the context!!!!! during her killing game she is either 16 or 17, as this is season 50 and i imagine team dr has just gone "Yknow What. What ever" about killing off a bunch of minors lmaoooooo. haven't yet decided if i see her as one of the younger contestants or one of the olders ones like ryobe ............. both have tragic implications ............ and also i dont know if im being swayed towards making her older just because shes the tallest girl there LMAO

in the askdr50 universe she is either 18-20!! timeline is sort of foggy, but its been a few years since her game has ended and they are currently on season 53 :] i imagine team dr has to be given enough time for pre-production/a bit to actually run the game/post-production media hell, but alsooooooo they are very quick to keep producing more seasons. so the amount of time between naomis killing game and her currently fluctuates hgdfksg

💎 - do you ever see yourself killing off the oc?

teehee teehee soooo first things first naomi is a danganronpa character which means the threat of death is literally always around the corner even AFTER her fucking game LMFAO. but what is super important about naomi in the context of her universe is that she is SURVIVOR.... like even before her game. naomi has always been somebody that survives and is terrified of dying. and quite honestly it is a fate worse than death a lot of the time. like she doesnt GET to die

something i love examining with post-game dr characters in this "everything is a reality show and team dr are corporate dirtbags" au is the idea that they actually for real will not let you die--- i know i touched on it extremely briefly in lgowab with junko. like that girl had tried to take herself out on multiple occasions but danganronpa would frequently nurse her back to health only to go Hey Btw you Can Not die while you are contracted with us and we will Ruin every single living thing you might possibly feel connected to if you try that shit again. you are a commodity first and foremost and we could care less about your mental health we just need you alive so we can keep commercialising you. and also if we have another suicide scandal that could TANK us. so you can not kill yourself ok <3 for us <3

ive got zero doubt in my mind they did that same shit with naomi as well lol. this is a girl whose entire life has been rooted in survival and frankly not much else, who now DOES NOT GET to die and has to live on with the fact that her survival has caused her and many others irreparable pain and damage. death is a luxury she WILL NOT be afforded. awesome sauce!

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUU <33

[merchantarthurn]

hey, kind note re the strike tomorrow it was called for by bisan and motaz and other palestinians on the ground. they are asking us to quickly mobilize because they are running out of time. it is impromptu but in the midst of this genocide they dont have the ability to wait, and as the us just vetoed a cease fire, i dont think they deserve us asking them to plan better

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the people asking for it, but there's nothing added to it by those with the luxury of time and resources - I think anyone who can do so should do it, but there's also the practical reality that 1) if you don't state why you're doing so, then there's no call for a ceasefire 2) if that call isn't organised, that inherently limits who can do it due to the ease of rebuttal (not only because of individual vulnerability but because currently speaking up for Palestine can get you fired even without striking, which doubles the risk).

It needs to be fast, I do understand that. But I also think rushed and disorganised striking is likely to make little difference that isn't negative - or it could, if people don't at least have an understanding of the context. Any impact the strike has should be considered as more impressive than comparative strikes given the short term organisation etc. I don't mean to inspire apathy or anything like that, but I'm wary of how many people are sharing this without very basic questions you should have of any strike

(like is it so much to ask "what do you want people striking to say? What are we NOT saying" To present an actual united front?)

[spiders-notagain]

Vulcans dont have novels; a headcanon

As a planet with few trees, Vulcans had less paper. (Also many of the techniques humans use to make paper use water and Vulcans had less of that too) That doesnt mean they had NO paper. After all they did have some small forests. Aside from writing things on clay and sand tablets, ancient vulcans experimented with several different materials for paper. But eventually settled on two main products. A kind of regional variant of cotton and a type of relatively common brittle rock.

Thus Vulcans didnt really have alot of books and relied primarily on paintings and tablets to store information for future use or even future generations. Paper (and especially books) were seen as a certain sign of luxury and only used for important documents. The common people passed down memories and fictional stories by word of mouth/mind melds through generational lines. And it was very common for clans/families to have important traditional stories. In some families, being given the story was an important rite of passage.

There was alot of poetry though as it could be stored on single sheets of paper or immortalized in tablets. Even for the common people, learning about different types of poetry was a sign you were well educated. As well as other types of art forms but especially the rare written word.

Sometime before the nuclear wars they developed technology that allowed them to store large amounts of information digitally. All but removing the reliance on books to store important data. With that freed up, books were more accesible to the common people. Or rather what we would call middle class. Poor people could still not afford books.

And thus the return of the short story and the long short story/novelette. They were about the same product in thickness, except the short story is usually cut in half lengthwise. While there was a standard size, some bookmakers elected to use custom cuts.

A bookmaker did two things, binding and printing. First by hand, later when a simplified font was created, with letterpressing. Except when they were making journals in which case they would leave it blank.

Empowered by their new avenue for creativity, many simply wrote down the stories that had been passed down to them, some wrote fanfiction of their generational stories that nobody in their family wanted to pass down, some wrote brand new stories, some wrote journal entries about their own life or just detailed their family tree, and some wrote fanfiction of their favorite plays.

Most of the stories written in these formats did not have the 3 act story structure and since they had no audience to pander to, personal stories were self indulgent. They were often left open ended or devoid of context. (And some of it was literally just smut with plot)

Really savvy authors would use this gap of information to their advantage the way some human authors do. Others would make historians cry because for example their story is about this guy being enemies with this other guy because he stole his sister from a respectable family so the girls brother is trying to hunt them down and try and figure out some things about the guy but the author never mentions any of that in the story so you dont find out her name till halfway through, theyre running from an unseen enemy, and you dont even get to find out what happens after the brother finally catches them because the story was about the culture clash they experience being on different social statuses and also the weighing of love vs responsibility, and also kind of a rebuttal to a play the author saw 4 years ago that included a subplot that romanticized young love and they thought the premise was stupid. So they imagine both characters dying at the end at the hands of the brother and none of the aforementioned themes are immediately obvious anyway because their writing style was super poetic and flowy and they handled all their mature themes very subtly.

There wasnt really a book industry for published literature nor libraries as we think of our local ones. That did not mean they didnt have long stories. The closest equivalent were plays or interpretive dance which were around for millions of years, even beyond the earliest days of paper. (A handful of classic dance styles were preserved to modern day, not quite as fervently as martial art styles but respected for the cultural value they possess) They were revered as one of the most popular forms of entertainment and since many saw them as a kind of treat, they were drawn out to increase enjoyment with some of the better ones being 4-5 hours long.

They did eventually start adopting a sort of publishing industry. The earliest version of it was during post-reformation when they improved society as a whole. And the technology they used to store information digitally was more readily available than books. (Partially because pre-reformation it was considered a war technology) So the first industry was scientific articles. Particularly after they started going to space and really started learning things.

Although a few vulcan writers had experimented with common fantastical (re: genres that feature impossibilities) human book genres like sci fi and fantasy and to some extent horror, they didn't actually really delve into it till they met humans and those kinds of book genres became normalized throughout the federation.

Well thats not entirely true. Vulcans did have horror in the form of ghost stories. Not that they always included ghosts but urban legends, scary campfire stories and the kind of stories you tell your kids to scare them into behaving. Those had all been around for centuries but no one really wrote them down before the popularity of books so theres a lot of missing context from the various stories that just mutated or merged with other stories over time. Urban legend history is a category almost no vulcan wants to get into. Not necessarily because its full of the distasteful fantastical but because of how 'pointless' and low-payoff it is to comb through artifacts and old texts for hints about what might be relevant to that one story about the mystery le'matya where some texts only describe it as a shadowy unerving figure that doesnt do anything but seriously freak you out. But some texts describe it as three times the size of a normal le'matya and having knife sharp claws and pure white eyes and can kill a grown man with two slashes. One for the neck and one for the poison. And then while youre paralyzed it eats your guts out. If you hear it coming, it means youre already a goner.

But like, that shares a bunch of characteristics with this other nightmare creature so they think at some point someone merged the two stories to make it scarier. But they're not sure because most of the texts they have concerning the terrifying deadly le'matya were written before the ones they have about the mysterious unnerving le'matya. Except there's also this one poem that could be about the other nightmare creature or it could be about the deadly le'matya because the contents sorta fit both. But it does have an extra detail that they used to time date it so if they could figure out which one the poem is about then it would solve that earlier question.

[charlottexscars]

to a degree there are a lack of skill literacy that can be blamed on the american school structure. schools are highly collectivist where most will cater to a given "lowest common denominator" of a student (and i put that in quotes because what defines said denominator is often not accurate, and lots of kids who need more attention fall thru the cracks). schools are built to intake as many kids as possible and spit out as many kids as possible without a lot of individualized care. there are many, many, many skills that are overlooked and poorly covered, because its a system built to churn out as many little workers as possible.

in addition, the primary focus of schools is based on science, math, history, language (english), and literature. other areas like the arts and technology are often second or third priorities. there are skills that are exercised when evaluating these subjects, but said skills are often not given a name and are not immediately obvious, especially to children. math, for example, is not just a memorization of formulas and ratios and concepts (but most of the time thats how kids succeed in school is by simple memorization), it also strengthens your critical thinking. we do gather a lot of skills beyond the plain basics of math, history, etc, and sometimes we dont even realize that we have these skills because they are blended into the intricacies of our daily living, and they are fundamental to our functioning as human beings.

the caveat to multidisciplinary education is that curriculums are often structured with one correct answer. so children learn to find the one answer that gives them a good grade, and then you move on. nuance is frankly a luxury. even in your english classes, where you break down a book's context and meaning, there is one answer. maybe there is an acknowledgement of other answers, but will those answers get you an A? more often than not, no.

you can try to teach a child the value of schooling, of the skills they pick up in their classes, but when you're forced to give up a third of your day learning things that you just. dont. care about, about things that...ima be real, have very little practical application to our daily lives, where real world applications seem outlandish and impractical, the understanding of why some of these skills are necessary is just swamped with all these other annoyances.

i can see both perspectives. i can see how to one student, they understand that they have media literacy skills and exercise them regularly, and i can see how to another student, they have no idea what that is. and these differences can be caused by a variety of factors. not paying attention in school can be one of them, but it could also be a lack of flexibility in the subject matter, a lack of understanding of what media literacy is, missing out on electives that may have strengthened media literacy, a lack of application of that skill, and many many other factors. all of these are a result of a poor quality of education.

our school system fails in so many ways. and i think its gonna be a long ass time before the system changes in a more meaningful way to be better at educating children on how to successfully navigate the world. and that includes creating a system that fosters diverse perspectives/interpretations, not relying on memorization to succeed, teaching subject matter in an interesting way, being better at applying learned skills to real life scenarios and sharing their significance.

but until that point, until that day in the far future, if we dont die before then, as adults who survived a piss poor education system, we must find our own way to develop the skills that we may lack.

im not a educator by any means, and unfortunately i cant give you that many resources on how to strengthen your media literacy skills, but if i can give you anything, at the very basic level: question everything. its cliche but theres a reason this phrase exists. question the media, question authority, question the posts you see on your feed. be curious. be critical. be creative.

is this statement true? does it have a bias? what do i understand about this statement? would i be able to google more information about this statement? is this being spoken from a place of anger, sadness, or some other emotion? is there an "enemy" or some kind of antagonist? is there more nuance to this statement that is being excluded? questions questions questions. you know how adults got pissed off at you for asking "why?" to every statement? be that child again. ask why. and keep asking.

“we need to teach media literacy in schools” guys was i really the only person paying attention in english class bffr

[fenderjess]

last night a cis woman asked me if I liked her top and it ended up making me cry

oh, it looks great, i said, but what's 'kors'?

"WHAAAT? Don't pretend you don't know who that is, EVERYONE knows michael kors! You know, the fashion designer?"

can't say i do, i respond

"Wow, that's surprising! well, what's your favorite brand?"

favorite brand. what an odd concept.

how do i tell her ive never been interested in flashy expensive things. that even in a magical world where price is no object, i dont have the luxury of being choosy about where my clothes come from, that i dont get to have a wide selection of clothes because the powers that be running the clothing lines have deemed my body Too Big to be worthy of flattering or fun outifts, that i have to get whatever fits me from whoever sells it, that fat women are only accommodated if they're curvy in the Right Way, that tall women must be supermodel-thin?

how do i tell her that no, i don't know all the labels, because when i was growing up the clothes i wore were often whatever bland stuff i got at christmas, or dumb edgy hot topic graphic tees and jnco jeans and tripp pants, or polos and cargo shorts, or mechanic coveralls? that if i'd ever shown any interest in fashion, the boys at school would have beaten my ass, and called me a faggot even more than they already did; hell, maybe my dad would have, too

how do i tell her that where she and my mom and all the other cis women in my life have decades of cultural context and marketing and rebellion against the marketing and cultural discourse and whatever the complete gestalt of GIRLHOOD is and its effect on tastes informing their response to such a question, i just have a gaping thirty-year void of twisted feelings and avoiding things like "my appearance" as much as possible and painful memories and dissociation and trauma and enforced male gender roles and interests that rolled off my mind like a duck's back leaving me a shell of a young adult?

how do i tell her that my sole desire is to tear down the entire edifice of the Fashion Industry and the capitalist system that runs it and the class that benefits from my suffering and my insecurity and my desperation that drives me to buy clothes that fit at a 50% markup if they're available in my size at all, and replace it with a world where clothes just Last and you don't have to keep up with trends and every single person can get comfortable, beautiful clothes tailored to them without having to fork over money to a company that employs slave labor?

how do i tell her that even in asking the question, i'm reminded of the yawning chasm between their upbringings and mine, that i never had a pretty senior portrait or a tacky prom dress or goofy rebelliously short-skirted outfits that i can look back on and shake my head with a smile, that i would need another thirty years of immersion in that world to even have a prayer of answering that, that i'm too busy stressing over whether next month there'll be new laws that kick me off my hrt again, that it's yet another gut-punch of an interaction reminding me that in some people's eyes I'll be forever marked out as a Different Kind of woman?

well, i mean, i say, hugging myself and averting my gaze, i'm so big that finding things in my size is amlost impossible, and honestly the whole experience is so stressful i just don't bother most of the time.

"Ooooh you sohuld start your own clothing line tailored to girls like you! That'd be fun, right?"

[marigoldenchrys]

Gay... Spy Agent?

hey guys, it's my dream again! Without further ado, here's my dream last night~

my goddamn dream was both so cool and strange. first was, I'm with my little sister and older brother (idont have a sister irl) i dont remember which brother i was with but yeah. the context was, we were travelling as children who lost their home and parents. we stopped at one place and found a cheap little eatery (idk where we got the money) then we ate there for a long amount of time. during that, there's this one little boy who seemed like a spoiled one. he kept bothering both my sister and brother, I was already getting annoyed by him, he also kept bullying them. so by the time he went for me, to try to bully and bother, I didn't hold back. I stood up and yelled at him, telling him that I've been holding back my anger since he started to bother my siblings and I couldn't take his shit anymore (in this dream, i was like 8-9 years old) i told him no one can bully my siblings except me, and that they don't deserve to be treated this way by a little spoiled brat kid. The crazy part is this, "Do you know why it's me defending them right now? Huh? Do you know why they couldn't stand for themselves? Because I'm both them! I'm gay!" This dream was absolutely crazy.

And then it switched to me being an adult and context was, I'm a special agent, like a spy or something like that. My mission was to execute this bad guy (don't know exactly why he was bad but yeah) so.. even though it was just a dream, man it was exhausting getting this man be executed. The fight happened on a big apartment inside a very very big, luxurious building. Although I had a hard time with that mission, the ending gave me mixed emotions. The ending was, when this bad guy had a gun, it doesn't shoot bullets but it does— okay I searched it up and it's called Flamethrower— I managed to steal it from him, but he was already about to escape. So when he was closed to the kitchen stove, I throw the Flamethrower there and it exploded. SO MUCH EXPLOSIONS. He died. But, the neighbors apartment got included in the explosions so that made me worried SO BAD. I asked the lieutenant, "Were they included? Are the people fine? Oh my god... this is my fault" And when the police were cuffing the bad guys (the main bad guy died) I also raised both my hands so they could cuff me, but the lieutenant held my hands and shove it down and said, "You didn't mean it and you did a great job. That man could've done a lot worse of damage than you. Pull yourself together." AAAAAND MY DREAM ENDED.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~

I seriously don't know how that dream happened and why. They said dreams have meanings, so.. does that mean I'm gonna be a spy agent? I'm already gay so... ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

jfc i just had to read the most piss poor thing in the world

so a post was talkin bout mental health struggles in regards to all the horrific things happening in the world atm & one person had reblogged it essentially saying that struggling mentally isnt an excuse not to take a stand against atrocities being committed which like yeh i agree with...

where this person lost me was this part:

like... how can i make it clear that how you are remembered should not factor into whether or not you do activism...

that is literally just performative activism my guy wtf???

it's also guilt trippy as fuck which feels like completely undermines the point they were making about forcing yourself to stand up for the rights of others despite the mental and emotional toll it takes on you (in a big way because those actually affected by the conflict dont have the luxury of being able to distract themselves from it), except now they've made it about how you're remembered? or whether you've been a brave good lil boy like you're some fucking dog i just... what?????

i think it also leads to people feeling like the only way they can get a Good Grade in Activism(tm) is by immediately sharing all the popular posts about an issue without actually taking the time to look into things and discover any misinformation potentially being spread (and like look i'm guilty of this too, it's why i now actively try and avoid spreading anything political on here without knowing the full context because i've been caught out before in a web of lies that doesnt fucking help anyone...)

idk... it just fucking bothered me...

(not referring to the conflicts specifically cos i dont wanna clog up the tags cos tumblr rly likes putting ur posts in tags of things even if u dont fucking tag the thing uhhhh)

[sanstropfremir]

I'm curious for your take on a fashion trend that always has been hanging out in the wings, but seems to have really taken off in K-Pop in particular the last few years.

It seems like every way I look these days, we're getting hit with luxury "looks" that are legit just the luxury brand printed all over a bland or non-innovative item. This definitely isn't new (it makes me think of the prevalence of those stupid - and stupidly expensive - Abercrombie & Fitch t-shirts in the US back in the 2000s), but I feel like it's now seeping into K-Pop album concept photos and stage outfits in addition to just their every day fashion/sponsored photo shoots. In some cases it doesn't bother me as much because its a small addition (like Sunmi's triangle Prada barrettes in some of her latest comeback photos - I don't like the barrettes, but they work because the wider concept is great) or its used unconventionally (like TxT's latest concept photos, where you can see some of the usual brands but thrown together with unconventional pieces so they feel fresh).

But in other cases, it feels like they're just phoning it in by picking luxury clothing so they can say "look, we're expensive" and calling it a day. I'd submit the examples of The Boyz in some of their latest teasers, the latest Stray Kids concept photos, and quite a few of Blackpink's albums/promotions since they all have their own brand sponsors that they stick to these days. A lot of American celebrities are guilty of this as well so its not just K-Pop, but I honestly just don't expect more from Hollywood like I do from K-Pop.

It's clear that you can have effective styling without defaulting to the luxury branding (A.C.E comes to mind immediately), and there are plenty of luxury pieces that don't have their branding all over it that often allow the same luxury feel without shoving the brand in your face. So this branded merchandise trend really ends up rubbing me the wrong way.

What are your thoughts? I think my stance is clear, but I'd love a different perspective from someone that has a lot more background in fashion, particularly stage fashion, than myself.

anon ilu i have many thoughts on this topic but i don't think i've ever mentioned it before so thank you thank you for somehow reading my single braincell and asking about it!

basically for anyone who doesn't want to read me going off about luxury branding the tldr is yes i agree, i personally don't like branding in general and luxury branding especially. i don't own a single item of clothing or accessory with an obvious/recognizable brand logo and i haven't for probably over a decade now. now let's get into some nitty gritty.

in the current fashion climate i think most of the time it's tacky to display wealth so openly and obviously and it is one of the main factors in driving the machine of fashion consumerist culture. i also think it's a weak styling choice because it only has one association: money. 99% of the time it does not contribute anything meaningful to the artistic vision of the work and it's just to brag. sm stylists pull off luxury branding better than most other groups because they tend to integrate it well into the overall aesthetics of the specific mvs, and it's usually pretty sparing. with sm they use it more as a confirmation of the quality of the sm brand than just boasting about money in general. notable examples where i think visible branding works are kun's supreme jacket in kick back, and taemin's balenciaga 2017 in day and night, because both well integrated into the aesthetics of the videos and they're also offset by other looks. i also like the styling in bambam's ribbon, because although the whole mv is designer looks, he only uses one actually logo-ed one (louis vuitton escale summer 2020), which gives a visual indication of expense to anyone who isn't familiar with fashion. the only time i can think of an idol using a brand ironically is taemin's supreme instagram bad bitch outfit in advice, because he's parodying a specific look.

most of the clothing from designer houses is absent of logos, with the exception of a few (lv, gucci are the main offenders). but, there is the caveat that it does tend to be the ready to wear collections that have that kind of design. (ready to wear is the stuff that is available for off the rack purchase). here's a few examples:

taemin and key in balenciaga menswear ss2018 for story of light, taemin and ten in louis vuitton menswear ss2021 for advice and paint me naked.

in my opinion there's only one house that can get away with the irony of its own branding and that's balenciaga, because they consistently do the weirdest shit you could possibly think of. they have a collaboration with crocs. no i am not joking. the shoes for their fall 2021 collection are platemail stilettos. yes like the medieval armour. they launched that collection as a video game. they recently cleared their entire instagram but prior to that they were just letting models post cryptid blurry shots with no captions. there are designers that are doing interesting things, but very rarely is it with the physical branding itself. it's difficult because like i said before, it locks the audience into an extremely specific connotation and honestly most kpop stylists are not deft enough to work around that in a truly meaningful way.

the important things to hit in any styling are colour, harmony, and silhouette. thank you for bringing up a.c.e because i would have done it anyways, because their stylist is probably the best in the business right now. i talk about the basics here (of styling and of a.c.e in particular), but anon you are correct, a.c.e uses very very little branded styling and they look great. good styling is not about looking expensive, it's about looking the best as befitting of the concept.

but here's where we come to an important point. like with most things about kpop and western pop culture as a whole, luxury branding and streetwear as a trend has been appropriated from black hiphop artists and black streetwear fashion in the 90s and 00s. it started in the hood as a reclamation of items that were meant to be 'outside their station' (luxury) and an elevation of plainclothes that were available to them. sportswear by and large was always cheaper and mass produced, in comparision to day to day wear, which used more expensive materials and had more complicated construction. and was activities based only. it wasn't until around the 1860s that sportwear even existed at all, and even then it was not what you would think of as sportwear by modern standards. there was, up until the 1980s, a pretty strict unspoken dress code that if you wanted to be taken seriously in polite (white) society, you had to dress according to the class standards at the time. (this still exists by the way, it hasn't gone away at all, especially in relation to workplaces and black/natural hair). streetwear at the time was a form of celebration of black excellence and a subversion of white society. but like all innovations by black people, it got jacked by white america and now it's lost the meaning behind its context. on black bodies and paired with black achievements, branding is an important and relevant styling choice. on kpop boys? they're already lifting second hand at this point. do better.