#Selection Sunday

[fruitbasketball]

who are we most likely to play? i don't fully get how this works or what the predictions are :)

hi baby no worries :)

i’m going off of bracketology rn, so take this with a grain of salt. they have us in portland 3, so from what i’m pulling from the current bracket, we’re going to go:

stony brook (W)

then it’s a toss up between arizona/duke (W)

then LSU Sweet 16 (… i’m not predicting this)

if we make it past LSU we’ll prolly meet stanny in the elite 8 (also not predicting this)

if we beat stanny we’re in the final 4, which i think will be:

UConn

UCLA

Texas

South Carolina

(yes i am taking texas over usc. no, i do not think iowa will make the final 4 this year)

my predictions and the road to cleveland are both going to change after selection sunday today but i hope that answers your question for now!

[piratedashmod]

Happy Selection Sunday everyone! May your brackets be bountiful.

[chimaerakitten]

So the Temeraire series doesn’t do the Pern-derived magic/telepathic bond thing, and it’s nice to have some variety on that count since the telepathy thing is pretty widespread. But there’s this passage in crucible of gold that’s like—

Wait, my thriftbooks order arrived, let me go grab the quote

Or, Temeraire thought, he might as easily have gone alone--more easily, in fact; he had to carry Forthing cupped in his talons, and it was not at all convenient to always be looking to make sure he had not dropped out; Temeraire was not aware of him in quite the same way as of Laurence.

(Emphasis mine)

And this combined with the number of times it’s mentioned that (Russians aside) aviators just don’t seem to be capable of fearing their own dragons (and not just aviators who raised the dragons from the egg—it’s the same with inherited dragons) indicates to me that there’s something really interesting psychologically/biologically going on “under the hood,” there, so to speak.

And maybe this is just me and all those anthropology classes I took in college but that actually makes a lot of sense?

The historical record in the series dates the intentional breeding of dragons to a couple thousand years in the past, in china, but there’s a lot of evidence that there’s been a looser symbiotic relationship between humans and dragons a lot longer than that. Namely the domesticated elephants and the dragons in the Americas being the same species and of the same attitudes towards humans as dragons in Eurasia. So that’s likely at least 20 thousand years of symbiosis/mutual domestication, (if we assume they migrated together, which I do because it’s the simplest explanation) and it could well be much longer than that. That’s a long ass time. Like. The spread of IRL lactase persistence took less time than this.

And much like the benefits of being able to drink milk as an adult, the benefits of mutualism with an intelligent dinosaur-sized flying predator would absolutely have selective pressure on human populations. That’s just a given. I would talk about early hominins being third-tier scavengers here and Pleistocene megafauna and the canonical prevention of malaria via dragon proximity as compared to sickle cell anemia, but nobody wants me to regurgitate my entire biological anthropology 215 class in a tumblr post. Just trust me on this one.

Basically, the entire human species in the Temeraire universe will have been under a lot of positive selective pressure to be good symbiosis buddies to the dragons, so it’s no wonder aviator attachment is so intense.

This is likewise true for the dragons. A lot can be put down to intentional breeding in the last couple thousand years, but the foundation of dragons being prosocial with humans would have to be laid before then. Humans have domesticated predators IRL, but dragons are like 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than wolves and it took a long time to get dogs. The romans wouldn’t have had any luck if the dragons weren’t already partially on board. My theory is that this would have started way back. Australopithecus times, way back, because— [Anth 215 sneaks up behind me whilst the jaws theme plays] ANYWAY there’s a few benefits I can guess at for dragons having assistance hunting from small bands of persistence predators on occasion. I also think this would have intensified post-Pleistocene as the megafauna that would have been the dragons’ main prey went extinct and eventually agriculture would be the only way to replace— [Jaws theme intensifies] JUST TRUST ME BRO.

All this to say that humans being able to very quickly lose all instinctive fear of the dinosaur-sized flying predators they spend their time around and said predators developing not only attachment to humans but particular awareness of their humans specifically so as to prevent any possible accidental harm makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary biology perspective. It’s evidence of the same mutualistic relationship biologically shaping both species across the broader time spans that the series hints at.

[solns]

he still has the :3 face when he smiles

[cementcornfield]

https://youtu.be/QVSYa4tel-E?si=tEJCyjksoTDpEVJm

Watch from 50:00 😭😭 this is everything

Joe WANTED Ja’Marr to be drafted by the bengals

Joe was like, "I'll take Ja'Marr every day and twice on Sunday."

[53v3nfrn5]

A Sunday of living my life in the sunshine and flower shopping with my momma 💗

[museenkuss]

loving and moving my body this week (08.04.-14.04.24)

Monday. full body, opening morning Yoga Flow for all levels [18 mins]

Tuesday. powerful and energising pilates flow [23 mins]

Wednesday. full body ballet cardio [15 mins]

Thursday. Bellydance belly-focused dance/workout [22 mins]

Friday. Full body pilates [27 mins]

Saturday. Alexa Chung tries Ballet Beautiful [25 mins, some talking]

Sunday. classical pilates workout (using Joseph Pilates' original moves) [21 mins]

Exhale to splits: Day 21 [16 min] // Day 22 [20 min] // Day 23 [20 min] // Day 24 [16 min] // Day 25 [19 min]

___

I'm so excited for this week's selection! It's such a fun mix of pilates, dance and even some yoga - which has intimidated me for years, but the Exhale to Splits series really encouraged me to try it. We're taking baby steps out of our comfort zone!!

In case the suggestion doesn't feel right for that day, here are some alternatives (12 minutes or less, can also be used as add-ons). No shame in taking it slow! Let's move according to our needs! :) nightime flexibility stretches // bedtime yoga stretch to release stress & tension // 8 min beginner's ballet flexibility. // 10 min | Beginner Belly Dance Workout | Slow & Smooth Tutorial // 15 min Gentle Pilates Workout For Beginners

[virtuouslibertines69]

"There’s so much I haven’t told her lately, about how quickly my soul is aging, how it feels like a basement I keep filling with everything I’m tired of surviving." - Philip Schultz, from The God of Loneliness: Selected and New Poems; “It’s Sunday Morning in Early November,” Art by Jorge Mascarenhas

[batshieroglyphics]

FIC: We're Not Gonna Fall ~ Star Wars ~ Your Hands Protect the Flame 'Verse ~ Fox/Obi-Wan ~ Mature

Title: We're Not Gonna Fall Fandom: Star Wars Prequel Era Series: Your Hands Protect the Flame Author: Batsutousai Rating: Mature Pairing: Commander Fox/Obi-Wan Kenobi Warnings: Alternate Universe, Jedi Shadow!Obi-Wan, Jedi culture, non-binary clone troopers, trans clone troopers, clones and Jedi as found family, injury & gore, violence, slavery rings, enslavement, minor character death, torture (emotional, physical, and sexual, mostly off-screen), dead dove: do not eat, switching point of views, happy ending Summary: Ahsoka Tano gets separated from her master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and other senior Jedi during a mission that turned out to be far more dangerous than any of them had expected. Is an unexpected alliance the key to getting them all home safely? Sequel to To Be Free Once More (That's Worth Fighting For).

When throwing up hadn't helped, Hondo found himself some alcohol. And, by 'some', he meant a lot. That said, he didn't even make it through his second glass, before it occurred to him that Ashla hadn't been with Ben. Neither had the oversized, medically-inclined clone, Baar. There was a widely-known caution, in the criminal world, that, if you want to take off with a young Jedi, you had best make very kriffing certain that any adult Jedi who might come looking for them were very dead, or you were going to be the one very dead. Hondo wasn't about to contest that warning. However, he'd started noticing—since he'd begun paying a bit more attention to the stories of Jedi that reached his corner of the galaxy—that the reverse also seemed to be true, especially since the war's end, and the wide-spread rumours that Jedi no longer left Coruscant without at least one clone at their back. The only Jedi contact that Hondo had—to his knowledge; he honestly wouldn't put it past the sneaky bastards to find another couple on the list of smugglers, pirates, and bounty hunters he was on something approaching friendly terms with—was Ben. He didn't have any way to call for help, when Ben was the one in deep shit, and the Ohnaka Gang were pirates, not fighters; they couldn't stand against the creepy umbaran and her lightning fingers, not with the number of beings who answered to her. But. Hondo did have the frequency for Ben's ship. If Ashla and Baar were aboard it, he could get them word, and they could handle calling down a Jedi or clone strike force. If they weren't on that ship... Hondo would betray a lot of his very flexible morals for the right price, but leaving someone he honestly liked and considered a friend to be tortured and enslaved was not something he could stomach. Even if staying would mean he would end up tortured or killed himself. Well, if he was lucky, Barb wouldn't decide that he much preferred holding on to his new position as leader of the Ohnaka Gang, over endangering all of them in some suicide run to rescue Hondo and Ben. Or, if he did decide to betray Hondo, he would at least do the bare minimum of getting the word out that there were Jedi captured and being held to torture on the planet Korriban. He sighed and knocked back the last of his second glass, then got up to find a comm or three to steal.

You can read it here, on Archive of Our Own!

Please have kindness for your writer on this lovely Star Wars Day and reblog this post to share this shitshow fic with others!

[jichanxo]

how different is your creative process between writing and drawing (and in which areas)? do you have a different approach in each artform? if you have an idea, you first think how you'd write it or draw it?

This is definitely going to be long so. Cut.

Just to preface, obviously both writing and drawing are a form of art, but I tend to use the word “art” when I mean illustration or drawing, so that’s what I’m going to do here. And of course a disclaimer that I’m only speaking to my subjective experience.

Tbh I don’t think my approach to both is that different from each other, which is odd, because I’m used to thinking of them as very different processes. Probably because the mediums themselves are so different. But like with my writing, I tend to improvise. Feel it out, see how things go, throw ideas at the wall. I would probably say that I’m more willing to experiment with/scrap my art than my writing. Probably because I’m more confident with my art than my writing, so I find it easier to make judgments like that, or because I’ve made so much that throwing stuff away when it isn’t working is very easy. I get a bit more precious about my writing. I always want to keep it or at least try to adapt it into something less bad, lmao. I’m also just not as confident in my ability to judge what writing is worth keeping or worth permanently deleting. I just haven’t polished that skill for writing as much as I have for art.

With regards to planning my art – I definitely do sometimes, because I consider art my Serious Hobby, which means I do like to have a go at more serious projects as opposed to just improvising all the time (a contrast to my writing where my only “serious project” is senseific, and I fell into that by accident). The things I plan out are the idea/s I want to convey, and what imagery would express that. (like this IW art, and the second one in this umineko post) Or sometimes the imagery gets stuck in my head and I work from that. (yagami’s hair clinging to his neck here)

I actually find that planning too much can be detrimental to my art process. That is to say, not in terms of figuring out ideas/themes, but doing too much drafting. I find it very difficult to do things like clean lineart unless I’m having a Weirdly Good Art Moment, so I just don’t. Hence a lot of my art is very sketchy. I’m just not good at capturing the same looseness with “proper” lineart than with my sketches, so I keep them. Not worth fussing over. This is what works for me.

(even in this, and the first image here, you can see a lot of breaks and incomplete looking lines. not to say necessarily that this is a bad thing of course, but you can see that even in what I consider my “polished” work, I won’t use “proper” linework, but instead a high quality/detailed sketch. I imagine some other artists would have their proper linework stage after these sketches, but i choose to stop here)

this probably reads like I’m talking myself down, but that’s not really what I’m meaning to say – my point is that I don’t figure out details even for my bigger pieces, and that with drawn art I have a better time judging where my time is best spent. I don’t think I have a strong understanding of my writing by comparison, so I can’t decide how to play to my strengths or anything like that, I just have to see how i go.

For writing, either it’s “i’m in the mood for it” or “i’m not in the mood for it”. For art, it’s “today is a good day/bad day”, “today’s a painting day”, “today feels like masking”, “today I just want to sketch”, “today I’m too loose for what I want to work on”, “today I’m too stiff”. You can see the difference in my ability to judge, yeah? So a big difference is to do with just my own (relative) inexperience with writing as opposed to drawing.

I think the other major factor is the differences in the mediums themselves. A fanfic is sequential. There’s a change in time. Illustrations are by nature a single moment in time. Big difference there. Of course, there are comics and animatics and other art that’s both drawn and sequential, but since I don’t do a lot of that, just count that as exceptions for now (and in a way, those are kind of like a combination of writing and illustration, aren’t they?) I find there are some ideas that are conveyed easier or better through writing, and others where the better option is art.

So to answer your last question, often ideas come to me pre-packaged as a “writing idea” or an “art idea”, rather than having to decide that separately. In the case that a sequence is better conveyed with a visual element, that’s when it’s comic time. The gorillashipping comic is a great example of this. The punchline is at its best when it’s not explained in words, and the expression of the final panel does all the heavy lifting. I pitched this idea initially in words (as a joke on discord), but the comic version has more punch.

Comics are also great for when you want to avoid explaining context, and for when you want to force the reader to take a specific pace. Here’s the example I’m thinking of.

The visual space dedicated to the fighting forces you to take time to process, and that time is important for the buildup to the punchline. This wouldn’t work as well if we cut this down to, say, the four panels of the last example. So yeah, timing. And then my other point – context – why are these two fighting? I don’t know. Where are they? I don’t know. It’s not necessary for the joke. The same is true of the gorillashipping joke. How did the relationship between kiryu and kaito happen to make this even remotely possible? I don’t know. But I don’t need to explain it in a joke comic. With writing I find that it feels more necessary to make context clear to the reader so they understand what’s happening, but with illustrations, it’s a lot easier to skip over that. Obviously this isn’t impossible in a written format, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Admittedly I think this second example is doable with just pure writing (replace all the panels with descriptions of the fight that take long enough to simulate the time it takes for the reader to digest the build up, then make the punchline a wham line, yknow), but it varies on a case to case basis. Also I would not want to write fighting. Lmao. I’m not… any good at that. So I guess it is also just in part about playing to strengths.

Anyway, enough comic side tangent. I’ve already started talking about it there, but was going to do a comparison between writing and art as mediums. The main thing, I find, is that they have different strengths. More than strengths/weaknesses though, the mediums themselves convey some things with ambiguity, and other things with detail.

Like I first mentioned, time: it’s easier to convey the passage of time with writing than with illustration. And like I said before with comics – conveying context – because an illustration captures a single moment in time, it’s a lot easier to avoid context entirely, while it’s harder to avoid in writing. I’ve drawn kuwagami cuddles before, and there’s no background, nothing discernable as to the lead up or any other detail. And that’s great! I don’t want to have to invent a plausible reason for them to end up hugging. I can just do it, right? But sometimes it’s the context that makes things significant, so you do want it there. A better job for writing. Writing allows you to be detailed with your context, while illustration leaves it ambiguous. Different strengths. You just pick which best fits the situation.

It’s a similar case for a lot of different factors – they're conveyed differently through both mediums, and depending on your idea, some results are more desirable than others. Rather than explaining, it’s probably better to do a direct comparison. (If it makes any difference to your curiosity, I did the drawing first then the writing. You’ve caught me on a good art day, what a nice sketch…)

I’ll try not to talk too much because I think the comparison and table say enough, but you can see how, despite depicting basically the same thing, these two things feel pretty different from each other. The mediums do different things. The mood of both is similar, but not quite the same. It’s these differences that inform the choice of mediums instinctually. (but again. points at disclaimer. as is true with all “rules” about art, none of these are absolute. you can make an illustration that conveys a strong context. you can write fic that favours describing facial expressions and leaves the intended emotion ambiguous. i’m generalising to make a point here.)

I guess the other thing is that it’s pretty easy to do writing in bed on my phone compared to my art setup, lmao. Convenience and timing also play into it probably.

[fruitbasketball]

What does selection sunday mean? It is televised?

selection sunday is essentially when the march madness bracket is released! we find out who the teams in the tournament are, as well as seeding and who is going to be hosting the first couple rounds :)

the men’s is televised on cbs at 5 CST (i think) and the women’s is on ESPN at 7 CST (but check me on those times)

[shallowseeker]

Today, am a little obsessed with the concept of Cas + cars

The "pimpmobile" as the mark of immaturity & unsettled identity:

Ah, yes. THE Lincoln V. Very "Tom Selleck." (Magnum PI)

When he steals the Continental "pimpmobile," Cas is symbolically the young buck who hasn't settled down. Indeed, in seasons 9 & 10, Cas is wandering the world in search of penance, inevitably finding himself drawn into another guerilla-angel war. (The new flock with Hannah has all the markings of modern warfare, from the tracking to the maps on the wall. They're just trying to get home, but it's still war.)

In groups, Cas does not drive the car. (Driving is still pretty boring thing to him, and he misses his wings.) So, then, the Continental isn't perfect fit...he just likes it. It's a "searching" car. Cas is trying to find his preferred path.

1978 Lincoln Continental Mark V. (Image by Mikael.)

///

But perhaps Cas grows into the retro meaning of the Continental

The 1978 Lincoln Continental V was modeled after the Thunderbird and sold as a luxury item. Popular in its own right, colors like the one Cas drive were referred to as "understated like a diamond solitaire." It's aimed at the idea that "'real' men command quiet power and don't need to throw it around for show."

(Images by Mikael.)

When Cas is with Hannah, he starts embodying the retro meaning of the car: "Good guy you got there," says the trucker after seeing him interact with her child. Slowly, throughout season 10, the idea of Cas + parenthood is being planted and watered.

At this junction, Cas makes a bold switch to try to appear more human than angel, and among this is doing penance to Claire Novak. Cas learns that being a father fills him with...something. It's a feeling that appeals to him and gives his life a new kind of meaning. He's starting to create a life-framework he prefers.

Yes, the Continental is a "searching" kind of car. Cas drives it primarily when he's without his own grace. (Who ARE you now? Who are you, without "all the bells and whistles?")

When Metatron steals the Continental, thus begins his own dark night of the soul, and we see him struggling with soul-searching up until season 11. Indeed, Metatron has also lost his grace, and he loses his faith in everything, from his father to the very idea of the novel and stories.

When Cas gets the car back, something has changed in him, and it no longer fits. He's got his own grace back, for starters. He also starts staying in the bunker more permanently, the choosing of the human struggle over heaven's war. He's feeling out his human family and finding where he wants to fit within it. ///

The brown truck as mark of family!protectorhood

And post-Continental, it turns out Cas is toootally a truck guy. A few things about trucks:

they sit higher on the road, so the driving experience is totally different than a sedan, or even a muscle car

in terms of handling, you can generally be much rougher with them

that is, they're less responsive to steering, so you can grip and turn considerably less delicately, which might be really nice for someone like Cas

they're less responsive to braking inputs due to their suspension and weight, so if Cas is a lead-foot, this would also be very nice for him

they can carry heavier loads than cars and for greater distances

they're also very reliable and they're less likely to break down

when they do break down, they're easier to work on

Cas's 1987 Ford F-Series from season 12

In season 12, when Cas steals the workerman's truck, he takes on family protector more overtly (or the "father" role, as Cas conceptualizes it in season 15's Gimme Shelter). The protector!truck is a SPN mode reflected all the way from John's truckzilla to the tan Ford truck (same model, nearly same year) that Dean drives when he's "dad" to Lisa & Ben's family unit. Though perhaps unlike Dean, Cas thrives in this role. It's comfortable to him.

From SPN 1x21, John's black 1981 GMC Sierra Grande truckzilla, and from SPN 6x21, Dean's tan 1988 Ford F250. Far right is the The Ford of the kind man who offered him water and a sandwich after The Great Fall in SPN 9x01.

The tan truck is a positive sign of a healthy father!protector, whereas John's truck represents a crumbling of strength and brokenness, with only the outward signs of being a stable father. The tan truck also has a positive motif of kindness, since it bears a striking resemblance to the truck of the guy who showed Cas compassion when he fell (offering him food and drink).

Cas's taking of this vehicle as he rushes to rescue a kidnapped Sam represents a resolution to offer support as a father figure to Sam, post-Dean's "death." Certainly, Cas is Sam's friend; it's not as simple as Cas being solely his angelic protector figure. But there is an element of "parental" support in how he interacts with Sam, especially in later seasons (Gadreel + grace extraction, loss of the AU hunters + subsequent mentorship).

///

Stealing the vehicles, though!

Nevertheless, there's something a little dark in Cas stealing the vehicles, subtly reflecting the horror of the taking of Jimmy's vessel in season 4.

However, since his body was restored to Cas directly a la "organ donation" from God, this late-seasons vehicle choice can also reflect a choosing of roles and identity.

Of note, in his later vehicles, Cas usually drives them, even in groups. They are more fully his.

///

The tan truck + Jack n' Kelly

But oh, back to the tan Ford truck. This little farm truck is cute. It is probably in this truck that Cas first listens to the mixtape.

Cas continues his parenthood journey in it when he spirits Kelly n' Jack away. When Cas is agonizing over whether or not to kill Kelly, his little tan truck breaks down. It reflects his uncertainty to take on this new mantle of mature fatherhood, almost like Jack is pausing the narrative as he considers if Cas will be a good choice of Father. And after this, in the hotel room, Jack indeed chooses Cas.

In doing so, Jack's also choosing the Winchester human family of which Cas is a part. We see this when Jack literally steals Baby, and Kelly waxes poetic about how Cas has been chosen as she drives it. (And Baby does NOT break down. She complies, like she's agreeing that Jack should be born and Cas is indeed the Father.)

(Images WinchesterFamilyBusiness)

Alas, it ends in tragedy. There's something so achingly sad when we see the abandoned truck in front of this dilapidated lakehouse in the valley. It's a desolate image next to the dusty, dull impala. And unlike with the Continental, which represented a Cas trying to fill a graceless, human role by reflecting Dean, the truck showcases a more integrated Cas with new familial role: spouse. Which is why the widower arc feels like that.

Visually, Cas (the truck) and the house (the family unit) are dead. The war has killed them and left only an orphaned child in its wake. And Dean and Sam are in the valley. (Indeed, when Cas returns, in the script, he's described as long-lost father, returning home from War.)

(Lakehouses have so much spooky symbolism with regards to the interconnectivity of space and time, but that's another tale for another day.)

///

The Dodge SRT-10, AKA The Family Truck: renewed faith + fatherhood + retaking of Angelicity

Ah, the Dodge.

So, I love that Cas has this truck in particular. This truck is legendary, kinda controversial and it's just SO ridiculously overpowered and goes SO fast for a truck, hahaha. It's definitely a family support vehicle.

Originally, it is ALSO the vehicle, throughout multiple versions of the script, that was supposed to have the broken tapedeck. (Which means, since it's a 2000s-era truck, that someone probably had to put in a CD-tape combo. Ahem. Anyway, I prefer these original scripts, because this broken tapedeck mirrors Cas's empty deal wonderfully.)

So, the Dodge. With 500 horsepower and 525 lb-ft of torque, it is the fastest truck available, doing 0-60 in a reported 5.2 seconds. It's just so overkill for a quad family truck. ("Nobody else was making a four-door truck with 510 horsepower, so the Dodge people took it upon themselves to fill the void.")

This looks like a shopped-for truck. You're not just gonna happen across a truck like this. "Less than 10,000 of these were ever produced and with a fire breathing V10 under the hood, they were quite possibly one of the coolest trucks ever made." So, we can guess that yes, Cas does appear to genuinely like trucks, and he definitely seems to have chosen this sledgehammer of a vehicle.

The Dodge Ram 1500 SRT-10 pickup truck (specifically for work/hunting and family support). It's a stupid lot of power stuffed into a truck, like how Cas is an angel is stuffed into a human.

Also, this hints that Cas likes rapid acceleration and driving fast. This makes sense to me, as he complained about the Impala being slow, and he told Hannah in season 10 that he would take the curves FASTER "to help her nausea." (Oh, Cas...)

For the later seasons, this truck is visually very "Cas," and in scenes and drafts, he's exclusively the one driving it, and he's usually driving it when other family members are feeling vulnerable; ergo, support. (See original draft versions of The Spear.) Like the specter of the double diamonds in 15x09, The Trap, Cas is utilitarian and pragmatic, a divergent-convergent thinker.

In season 14, Cas also drives:

The blue Ford Fiesta

But I'm 99% confident this is Sam's car

Because vintage SPN underlines that blue, nondescript cars are actually Sam's preferred car make and look

It's fuel efficient, so Cas takes it to the shaman

Also, Cas's acting on behalf of Sam's wishes when he goes to see Sergei

Ford LTD Crown Victoria (the bird poop car)

Presumably, he drives the bird poop car in Peace of Mind to be a little more incognito than the big, imposing truck

It also reflects Sam's low state of mind

Sam drives it in Moriah, too, a direct parallel to Sam versus Chuck and Sam versus Mayor Harrington from Charming Acres

The super sexy 1968 Mercury M100

Another truck Cas drives in late season 15 with Jack is this open-bed teal classic. The incredibly collectible 1968 Mercury M100.

And this M100 is delicious.

It's also, like the SRT-10, highly sought after and not a truck you're going to just happen across. It's another shopped-for truck. (I find it unlikely that it was one of the classics sitting in the MoL bunker, since they were slaughtered by Abaddon in 1958 and this one's make is 1968.)

So, either Cas has gotten into rare trucks (a real possibility since this one is even more challenging to drive), or Dean shopped this one with him, too. It's probably a mix of both, considering that in 13x22's Exodus script, Cas is shown helping with basic mechanics and repair. It's very possible that Cas has developed an interest alongside his newfound interest in human language and metaphors.

ANYWAY, these M100's are as classy as fuck and are actually workhorse trucks, too.

It's got a legendary straight six engine, and again, there weren't many of these vehicles built or sold. (Straight six is a trusty little pump of power, especially for the time. It's also easier to work on than most; would be great for someone who's only so-so at maintenance.)

This truck, unless it's been upgraded, is a little bit hard to handle, too. It takes a firm grip and a heavy foot, because it's a manual through and through. Manual gear shifting and no power steering. It's a two-hander just to go around curves.

In terms of its style, it's a little more laidback than the Dodge, which is probably why Cas is taking it on the murder investigation (i.e. not hunting). It's got an open bed, which means it's probably a little more fun for Jack, too. (Indeed we see Jack enjoying sitting in the truck bed. The green/teal is a symbol of renewal & growth, visually keying into Jack's return and the slow healing of the family unit.)

CASTIEL: My name is, um well, my name's not important. I do know what blind faith is. I used to just follow orders without question, and I did some pretty terrible things. I would never look beyond the plan. And then, of course, when it all came crashing down, I found myself lost. I didn't know what my purpose was anymore. And then one day, something changed, something amazing. I... I guess I found a family, and I became a father. And in that, I rediscovered my faith. I rediscovered who I am.

This is Castiel's preferred answer to season 15's question of nihilism.

This is what Castiel has chosen, and his later-seasons vehicles reflect this desire and this chosen identity. He even walks away from it in 15x06 to meditate on his path, and when he steps away, he sees Chuck for what he is. He chooses to come back specifically to fight Chuck's machinations and protect his family from them. To help them find their way post-existential crises, the way they helped him find his way re:Heaven. For better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish...till death do us part.

//

Some other Cas + cars fun stuff

The broken tapedeck in the script

The Fiesta is totally Sam's car

[caffeiiine]

it’s 2:30 am and i’m working on a fucking cosplay and it’s the most productive i’ve been tbh

[autisticrosewilson]

hey dude, i was wondering if you had any specific headcanons for the styles or types of clothes that anyone in wilson family likes to wear? really interested in your input for this

*heavy breathing* boy do I!!! I already know I won't be able to fit everyone in one part so we're doing the girls first

Tara:

There are layers, her fashion has evolved over time and I've separated it into three tiers.

Starting at the bottom, tier one was when Slade first took her in. She got most of her clothes from thrift stores and bargain bins, and she kept many of the clothes she collected while homeless. She had a kind of skater girl style when she did let Slade buy her new clothes because she strayed towards second hand stores and hand-me-downs. Often wore several layers regardless of temperature because of her chronic fear of the cold. Rarely do her clothes fit, every shirt she wears is for a band she's never heard of or the world's stupidest slogan that she could barely read, and her sneakers are basically falling apart but she gets really good at sewing to patch the holes.

Tier two is maybe a couple years into her stay with Slade, she's settled in a little and she's more secure with herself. I think she starts finding her style by borrowing clothes from the other girls, particularly Rose and Sunny, and when she gets a good grasp of what she's looking for Slade is maybe too willing to let her pick out whatever she wants (He just wants her to stop wearing 6 layers in 70 degree heat). She still wears jeans no matter the weather, but they're customized and they actually fit her! No more belts on the very last loop to keep her pants up. Her tops are usually colorful, light weight, and flowy. She starts getting really big on star motifs (fun fact Tara means star in some languages!) but because she shares clothes with Rose many of her outfits also have floral designs. Poppy likes putting bits and bobs on her laces too!

Tier three is where I see her now that she's older and she's been with the Wilson's for years. She's grown closer to the other girls and she's figured herself out. I imagine that she's 20 or so by now, just starting college. By now the line between her closet and her sister's is very fine, but she still has her own style. She's become more fond of skirts and dresses over the years, always with tights and flowy sleeves, and she's gone all in on the celestial and flower themes. Unfortunately for Sunny, her and Tara have the same shoe size, which means Tara is almost always in a pair of heeled boots these days. Not pictured are the statement earrings and rings she's grown fond of, often borrowed from Tanya since she still can't justify getting them for herself. I feel like all the girls have a charm bracelet and every charm represents one of them, Tara's charm is a chess piece!

Rose:

Unlike Tara, I don't think she ever ends up packing her old clothes away, I think she just stops wearing them to go out. As she grows up she has a reputation to maintain and so much of her early style (14-16) comes from her mom that it feels too private.

Tier one is a lot of florals and pale colors, and because Cambodia is so hot most of her wardrobe was shorts, skirts, dresses, and tank tops so a shopping trip was needed immediately. She also had mainly sandals, both because they went well with her clothes and because she hated socks as a kid. Look at my username I don't have to explain myself. She took to wearing a lot of her mom's old jewelry when Lili died, which is really sad but also she was dripped out. Pink and purple were her favorite colors and she definitely had an absurd amount of rose print. Not pictured for the sake of not bringing up bad memories is her pink cheetah print era 😔 she was a victim of the early 2000's, and she will not be the only one in this post.

Tier two, I'll say she's about 15-17. I don't know if grunge academia is a thing but Rose actually invented it. She was mostly away from Slade for this, on account of him being a constant reminder of her mom's death, so this was when she was staying with Joey and going to school. This is also around the time she would've met Eddie so he probably introduced her to a lot of new music and movies, and half of her closet was graphic T-shirts she stole from him. Still preferred skirts and shorts but could occasionally be coerced into a pair of jeans, usually the compromise was tights or leggings though. This is also about the time she started really doing stuff as Ravager so I think it was the start of her straying towards more alternative aesthetics to shape peoples perception of her, especially being around the mostly older Titans who she wanted to take her seriously. Started playing around with hairstyles but was too scared to cut her hair because it was another thing that reminded her of time spent with her mom and she didn't want to mess it up. Put away most of her mom's jewelry to keep it safe, but keeps one of Lili's necklaces.

Tier three is where I see her now, 18-20 and not exactly on good terms with Slade, but she doesn't want to hunt him for sport either. She's got a support system both in and out of the family and she's made a reputation for herself both as Rose and as Ravager. She has begrudgingly started wearing jeans, but they have to be baggy and ridiculously soft or she'll want to bite someone the whole time she's wearing them. She's grown a fondness for chunky belts and stupid custom tshirts that make middle aged women on public transport uncomfortable. Honestly wears a lot of men's clothes because her shoulders are buff and she needs pockets on her pants. She's slowly been snipping away at her hair, and the guilt is lessening every time. Not pictured are the decorative eye patches she has, as if Lilian Worth's daughter is walking out of the house with accessories that don't match her outfit. Her charm is a sword <3

Sunny:

I literally made all of this up we literally only know A Name.

So like Tanya, Sunny was already an adult when she joined Slade. And in my version of her story she comes from an affluent family, so she has both the means and the desire to follow all the trends. Considering my very vague timeline, this means she'd be deeply entrenched in the fashion of the early 2000's. Tier one is a very tame showcase of this. Sunny was the cool older sister in all the movies, she wore velvet track suits with uggs and she wore almost exclusively Chelsea boots. Tank tops and bell bottom jeans and baby tees made up a lot of her wardrobe, but she's still Sunny so her style was a lot darker and desaturated than what was popular for the time. Not pictured are the chunky belts and sunglasses worth more than your car. While she didn't grow up in America, she's well traveled and she likes to keep up to date on the cultural climate of places she visits.

Tier two is her really going in on her edgier aesthetic, after growing up in a strict Catholic household - and a famous one where every move she makes is scrutinized - I think this was her attempt at rebelling. It wouldn't be Sunny if it wasn't dramatic and more opulent than needed, but it was a valid attempt at appropriating alternative culture before it was cool! Definitely got called a poser a lot, on account of being rich. Believe it or not this is her definition of "Mall Goth". She got flamed on Myspace for it. Nonetheless she is still serving cunt I fear. Not pictured is the makeup she slept in the night before and the glitter in her hair from a house party she doesn't remember.

Tier three is not quite "Mob wife" but it is something adjacent. I think whether she likes it or not she always ends up dragged back into her family affairs, it was only a matter of time before she had to start playing the game again. I think she dresses more feminine out of spite for all the wealthy old men she has to deal with now, who look down on her for being anything other than a wife and mother. But she's also opted for showing her wealth more plainly with vintage jewelry and real fur coats, she makes a point to only wear things she bought with money she earned herself instead of taking anything from her family. The great thing about running away to be a mercenary is that even in platform heels and leather skirts she's still the most dangerous person in the room, with an easily confirmed higher kill count and skills none of the old gangsters could dream of matching. Her charm is a bow and arrow!

Tanya:

Not sure how I feel about this one compared to the others, I had specific criteria for the boards that due to my very specific vision I couldn't meet but it gets the point across well enough.

Tier one, Tanya was already an adult with a degree and a job when she joined Slade but she was still pretty young. The thing about being a prodigy to the extent she was is that you tend to mingle with people older than you as a rule. I think she was pretty new to her position at this point, still figuring out how to handle things in her mother's absence. Tanya is someone whose been living as a black woman in these socialite, academic spaces since she was born, she's more than used to people talking down to her and she was operating on a sort of "they won't like you anyway, might as well be yourself because you're still smarter than all of them" mentality. All this is to say that her last name was Spears and it was the early 2000's, she was wearing chunky belts, LOW waisted jeans, baby tees, and neon track suits under her lab coats. Not pictured are the big ass hoop earnings and foundation a few shades too orange for her, serving cunt most of the time does not exempt you from a few flops.

Tier two, she actually invented the office siren trend so everyone say thank you miss Spears. For meta reasons this was me trying to figure out how to get her to tier three, but for character reasons this is like her mid twenties, she's cutting back on mask stuff to focus on her job because Starr labs is struggling to compete with bigger companies like Wayne Tech or Lexcorp and some people in this family have real jobs, Slade. Also she wanted to distance herself from...past mistakes (like wearing skirts over jeans). Monochrome colors, kitten heels, and a button up with just a few too many buttons undone to be business casual is what she was wearing at this point.

Tier three, she's inching towards her thirties and a lot of her time is spent helping people in more civilian ways. While she still talks to her old friends and family in the mask game she's mostly hung up the cape aside from all hands on deck situations. Which isn't to say that she's compromised her own style, just that she's prioritizing comfort, since she spends most days either on her feet in the lab itself or working late in her office for hours, no more heels or push-up bras around here. Corduroy pants, flat shoes, and long fur or leather coats is what's characterizing her fashion these days. Also her and Karen Beecher having the exact same hairstyle is,,,,something so I think when she's older she gets goddess braids. Her charm is a star!

Poppy:

If you're getting war flashbacks to 2010 you can't imagine what I went through to find these

So Poppy was homeless for a while, and before that she was in the Dark Side Club, which didn't treat their prisoners especially well. Most of her clothes came from thrift shops and lost and found bins. The pictures I found are definitely in better shape than Poppy would have been, but I was working with Pinterest. She still tried to keep her own sense of style, like her love for pink but often it was just a matter of what she could reliably steal. Her jeans were about four sizes too big and her shoes were practically disintegrating, many of her clothes were often singed as well due using her powers. She typically kept her hair short too, in order to avoid her hair getting anymore singed. Dyeing her hair pink was an impulsive decision she made while watching Tara bleach her hair in the bathroom of a public gym, she'd snuck off to go steal a box of cheap dye from the drug store across the Street and Tara sighed, but helped her do it anyway.

Tier two sees her a little more settled into her new life, and while Tara strayed away from the new excess of wealth, Poppy had NO such reservations. She did take this time to start indulging in more of the hobbies she'd always wanted but couldn't afford, things like making beaded bracelets, and owning a bedazzler. While many of those beads ended up lost in the carpet and between couch cushions, and the bedazzling caused headaches for just about everyone, Slade was mostly just happy she was settling in. A lot of her shoelaces ended up covered in beads and she became very interested in making Kandi, although she didn't have many people to trade it with. This was about the time that Tara became more fond of embroidery and stylized patchwork, which showed in a lot of Poppy's clothes. She also liked customizing her hoodies herself, which often meant vandalizing them with bleach and/or acrylics. She starts growing out her hair too! It's still choppy from all the times it's caught fire but the rich people hair products are helping to the best of their ability.

Tier three is the only possible outcome for a girl introduced to us in pink and black stripes with spikey pink hair. Obviously she's a scene icon. The top left is basically her regular outfit anyway. The fact that her new huge pink and black striped hair is highly flammable is irrelevant, particular since she almost never uses her powers now anyway. She's mainly focused on school and has opted out of mercenary work because she's always been squeamish and fighting with other metas brings up too many bad memories. She still trains though, Slade is very adamant she be able to protect herself. Not pictured is the many layers of unnecessary belts and the pink galaxy pink leggings she wears under at least one other layer. The fact that she is not allowed to wear anything resembling a crop top has yet to stop her, and she is a regular fixture of the principal's office. Her real nemesis isn't even one of the many people she's fought it's the security guard that always makes her take off her 50 pieces of jewelry before going through the metal detector, second only to the administrator who always dress codes her. Honorable mention to the gym teacher who routinely hunts her down while she's trying to vape and watch anime with her friends in the bathroom. The unfortunate downside of being athletically gifted. Her charm is a cat!

[yellowymellon]

So I did 10 pulls and Gallagher didn't come home so now my last theory is sadly incorrect 😔🥀 💔

[the-pirate-captain]

Choir director: it's Advent, and you know what *that* means!

*pulls out the most obscure and random mass setting this side of 2010*

Me, crying: it doesn't have to be this way