#consistent safety

[turtleblogatlast]

Small but significant character moments that I actually really adore are from both the times we see the boys as tots. There is a reoccurrence that happens in both of them that I find so incredibly interesting.

For the turtle tot short, Splinter leaves the boys with weapons. In the short, Raph is the one who suggests they do “what Lou Jitsu would do” and Leo is the one who takes point when Splinter comes back to reprimand them. Leo, in taking point, is the one to defend them and get Splinter off their tails.

And then, in the flashback regarding the Kuroi Yōroi helmet, Raph is the one who grabs and throws “Skully” as a way to replace their missing ball which breaks it into pieces, but Leo is the one who speaks for the group and rushes into action to fix the teapot.

I love this for multiple reasons, but the biggest are how it shows that Raph has always been inclined toward the bold and fun and making the plans to include his brothers in what he loves and believes they’d love, whereas Leo has always been inclined to be the “Face” of the group and shoulder the attention even if it’s potentially negative all while coming up with on the spot attempts to fix the situation.

[prismabeth]

i wish i knew what to call the specific discrimination appalachians face

cuz like

it isnt racism, appalachians dont form a distinct racial category

but it isnt accurate to call it classism, the discrimination we face is influenced by, but distinct from the perception of appalachians as exclusively working class

and even in working class spaces i find my culture to be singled out, and that most non appalachians ive met consider the region an acceptable target of prejudice and ridicule, regardless of class background

nativism, nationalism, and xenophobia all dont really work in analysis

my girlfriend suggested the term "locational prejudice"

but that isnt a particularly useful term if your goal is to dismantle said prejudice, its clunky and an ineffective phrase for communication

[mushroomwriter]

THE UNTAMED episode 09

[thedreadvampy]

unwarranted Cis Opinion but I'm getting really uncomfortable w people responding to bathroom bills by posting pictures of trans men like DO YOU WANT THEM IN WOMEN'S BATHROOMS

bc like. no they're men. they should be in men's bathrooms unless that feels unsafe. but. it really feels like it's not helpful to lean into the idea that seeing someone presenting masc or being read as a man in a women's bathroom means You're In Danger.

like I know several butch women and NB ppl who are really scared around being on T or getting top surgery bc they're not men and they don't want to be in the men's bathroom, and in that circumstance stuff like growing facial hair or reading more androgynously can be really fucking scary when people are being primed by propaganda to be on edge and hyperreactive to anyone who doesn't look like their idea of a Cis Woman.

and I'm not laying that at the feet of the people saying "hey uhhhh trans men are men and don't belong in women's bathrooms" bc it is not their fault. it's the fault of a concerted effort to make it difficult and dangerous to be trans or substantively gender nonconforming in public.

but at the same time idk I guess it just worries me cause sometimes it feels like "you fools! you are worried about this group of trans people bc you think they're the Lurking Danger of Men In Bathrooms? WRONG! the Men Making You Feel Afraid In Bathrooms are actually THESE trans people!" when in fact neither of those groups using the fucking bathroom is a problem. just piss and mind your business. people need to go where they need to go.

anyway this country is a hot fucking trash fire that somehow accelerates its descent into open fascism more every day so it's all super good and normal. so don't take this too seriously tbh cause it's somewhere near #2535654476457899009765 on the list of priorities for Queer Discourse right now when the fucking human rights commission is actively rescinding protections from trans people. Please ignore my gibberish.

[theelkmaiden]

DON'T LEAVE HOT ASH IN YOUR HOUSE!!!

Okay. So. Story time about 15 minutes ago the carbon monoxide alarm went off right above my head. That's right. The thing that tells you that the air you are breathing is trying to kill you (still haven't processed it yet so bare with) and apparently hot ash gives off carbon monoxide. That's dangerous. Very dangerous. I didn't know this. Nobody in my house knew this. I had just cleared the fireplace and started a new fire like 6 hours ago. And this entire time its been slowly burning without combustion properly and has been eating up all the oxygen in the very cold English house (which we've just had to open all of the windows to).

We have a child and two cats living here. It's midnight. I was about to go to bed. If that alarm didn't go off, none of us would have woken up.

So please.

Do. Not. Have. Hot. Ash. In. The. House.

[shallowseeker]

Rowena & Crowley back the wrong horse, over and over and over...

Everyone remembers Rowena's tragic clinging to Lucifer in season 11, and how it ended up for her. Upon learning she's the only one that can put him back in the cage, Lucifer pragmatically snaps her neck--a form of cold, indifferent insurance:

Ah, the tragedy of Rowena's desire to have security. Rowena wanted to be loved and protected by Fergus's father. She wanted to be appreciated and protected by Lucifer.

Crowley remarks that she's always looking for the biggest, baddest beast in the room to hide behind.

///

In 11x23 Alpha and Omega, we see Rowena cozying up to her newest target, Chuck:

ROWENA: [Crowley mocks her as she speaks] Charles, I'll put the kettle on. My mom always said, there's nothing a nice wee cup of tea can't fix.

...

CROWLEY: It's what she does. Find someone with power...cozies up...digs the claws in. [As he’s talking, Crowley walks over to a cabinet, opens a door and takes out a bottle of Craig] CHUCK: Hmm. Yeah, well, I'm not helping anyone right now, obviously. She's been...nice. CROWLEY: For now.

Funny sidenote: As Rowena moves in on Chuck, getting sweet on him, she starts calling him "Charles," a little nugget for how she'll later call Sam "Samuel," and Cas, "Hello, Castiel."

///

Ahem. Anyway. The thing is, that yes, Rowena totally does this. We can't really blame her when we look at the tragic happenstances of her life. During the course of the series, we see her make numerous moves to gain favor will powerful beings:

SEASON 10

We see her volleying to make Crowley sit upon a stronger, more secure throne.

SEASON 11

We see her cozying up to Lucifer and getting killed for her trouble.

Next, we see her coming back from the dead to move in on Amara.

She's kind of playing both sides, but she gets sweet on Amara here: "Oh, I can be useful...And even if it is born out of my own self-interest, I-- I care about you. I'm someone you can talk with. Confide in. Have you... have you ever had that? Oh, you don't have to be (alone), darlin'!" 

Then, as I mentioned above, she cozies up to Chuck, and Crowley snarls many a nasty word about her.

SEASON 12

We find Rowena trying to date rich men and lying about her background, painting herself as a posh, well-to-do ballerina.

In an abrupt about-face to insulting Cas (she called him a fish in season 10), we see that Rowena has flipped on her appraisal of him.

Now, Castiel is super hot. He's "the handsome, strong angel," an ideal partner/protector. So, she hits on him. A lot.

Despite her memory of "Cas's face" as Lucifer snapped her neck, her dogged attraction to Cas blooms sometime in season 12.

Perhaps, it's when she and Cas and Fergus are hunting Lucifer together.

(In the same time frame, Crowley is also hanging off Cas's arm, keeping him company, trying to be oddly "cutesy," singing in the car, etc. It's...hilarious. You get the mental picture of them both trying their hardest to get his attention.)

SEASON 13

Season 13 brings us her library tryst with Gabriel.

She says she's motivated by trying to heal his wounded virility/grace/pride, but it's at least partially about his status as an archangel.

And of course, there's security in Sam(uel), but it's all twisted up with him being her executioner, not just her protector.

But in being her "destiny," he also functions as her security. It's very complex. (And kinda sexy.)

SEASON 14

Rowena will hit on Cas as later as season 14's Ouroboros, saying his full name in a similar coo to how she says, "Charles and Samuel." -> "Hello, Castiel."

Castiel, for his part, tends to be a little flustered by her, straightening up and saying, "Hello," back.

SEASON 15

Finally, in season 15, somewhat hilariously, Rowena moves in on Arthur Ketch.

But it's a little different this time, reflecting a more confident, in-control, and emotionally integrated Rowena.

She seems to be genuinely interested in him for his wry, science-loving personality. They banter.

She and Ketch mutually harass Dean for details about the other, like schoolyard crushes.

They had a battle connection in the past, have fought together and helped one another re: resurrection spells, but it is only now that they’re healthy and healed that they can actually see each other.

Rowena throws Dean a breathless, thankful look when he saves Ketch (for her).

She’s reformed, Ketch is reformed. It’s heartbreaking just how excited she is about him. He instills a her hope in her, for the future. (But he won’t sell out his friends. He dies. She won’t let the world die, so she dies, too.)

///

But Crowley does the same friggin' thing, doesn't he? He is so her child, a tragic mini-Rowena, despite his efforts to look like a big, bad Hell-king. 💔

SEASON 5

When we meet him, we see him backing the Winchesters re:the Colt.

In his early appearance, he does this because he thinks Lucifer is going to wipe out demon-kind.

That gamble goes okay for Crowley, mostly.

SEASON 6

Sometime in this timeframe, he is given the role of Hell-king as a consolation prize, by Ramiel, prince of Hell, who honestly doesn't give a fuck.

In season 6, Crowley backs Castiel. Cas's got magnetism and sex appeal.

As the original "angel's angel" in Heaven, he's a strong frontrunner in Heaven's Civil War simply by popularity alone. So, Cas is the horse Crowley decides to bet on.

Then, Cas turns out to be duplicitous, cunning, and too devoted to his human family to be controlled. He’s way more than Crowley can handle.

There are glimmers of this power imbalance, when Cas on occasion has had enough of Crowley's innuendo-laden threats, like when Cas snaps and crushes him into a wall, for example. But on the whole, Crowley ignores this. It's his tragic hubris.

Eventually, Cas overwhelms him and seizes power, and the whole thing turns out to be a frightening blow to his position.

So, Crowley goes running to the brother Raphael, which is another bad gamble. Castiel straight-up kills him, and Crowley is forced to flee and go into hiding.

SEASON 7-8

In seasons 7-8, Crowley vies for control of the prophet Kevin, torturing and killing those around him.

He makes sure to kill Meg, who is in his mind a Lucifer loyalist (she's actually a Castiel loyalist at this point, but the Lucifer label sticks).

SEASON 9

In season 9, Crowley manipulates a series of events to allow him to dangle Dean to Cain in a bid to transform Dean and destroy Abbadon, the newest threat to his position.

(Crowley won't suggest taking the mark on his own; he won't risk his own neck.) Afterwards, he scoops “demon” roofied Dean up, like spoils of war, a dark parallel to the pimp-demon in Girls, Girls, Girls (and Randy).

SEASON 10

In season 10, this bites him in the ass, too.

Demon Dean proves too much to handle, a liability on the job, as he refuses to perform the cold, capitalistic mercenary duties of Hell.

"The little prat’s bad for business. He’s uncontrollable. Must be the Mark."

In a scene similar to Cas crunching Crowley into a wall, Dean too throws Crowley down. Demon Dean will not be cowed by Crowley, and he will not be a sidekick, little bitch, or Queen to be "controlled."

So, Crowley goes running to the brother, Sam. He “sells him out" to Sam.

And then Crowley goes running to revive Castiel again, to deal Dean. Dean is now a problem (the problem-that-solved-his-original-Abbadon-problem).

And around and around Crowley goes.

Despite everything, Crowley softens to Dean. Crowley's a little bit human now, and it shows. As he softens, his mother appears, making things much more complicated.

SEASON 11

Crowley tries to muster up the glory of his former evil self--he kills a bunch of poly/queer swingers for no real reason.

Then, Crowley sees a new opportunity to sway a powerful being, and we get Crowley unsuccessfully trying to mold Amara as his newest weapon of mass destruction.

Like with Demon Dean, he strikes fast to scoop her up when she's “vulnerable” and "new,” to get her under his sphere of influence.

Then, it goes badly, as this always does for Crowley. Amara breaks “Uncle Crowley's”arm and runs away.

In this season, Crowley goes to bat for Cas again, trying to detach him from Lucifer and screeching angrily at Cas as Lucifer beats Crowley up.

In fact, in that brief moment before Crowley even goes to bat, he's actually smiling at Dean and Cas as they reunite, as Dean says, “Cas, we don't have a whole lot of time, okay?"

Crowley is a softie. Cas is his kinda-friend, and Crowley wants Dean to be happy. Crowley's changed.

At the end of the season, we briefly see Crowley complaining about Rowena cozying up to Chuck, while he moves to cozy up to Billie. (Really, Crowley? Stop doing the thing that gets you burned, man.)

SEASON 12

Enter season 12, and Crowley works with his mom again. He and Rowena form an uneasy alliance, and both begin to see family in a slightly new light.

They trust each other a little more, and they hurt each other to try and solve their mutual pain re: Oskar and Gavin.

Hilariously, they both start seeing Castiel in a fresh light this season. It's like, in watching his devotion and chivalry to his family, and as their understanding of family shifts, they've mutually decided that he's dependable and thus desireable. (The "blue-collar, family-oriented soldier.")

So yeah, season 12 finds Crowley cozying up to Castiel again in order to lock away Lucfier--with Crowley being overly friendly and flirty and sing-songy to the point that Cas just might bash his own head in.

(In this same timeframe, Rowena warms to Cas, so you have this implication that they're both hanging off his arms adoringly, and he is tired as fuck of dealing with them. I'm sure Cas's tendency to get a little flustered and sweet with Rowena is something that would drive Crowley insane on multiple levels.)

Crowley even risks his life for Cas against Vince!Lucifer. (He wants Cas to be his friend so badly in this era, oof.)

Then, he saves Cas against Ramiel, thanks in large part to his bond with Dean, and Dean thanks him for it.

Crowley, like Rowena, will take any form love. Any friendship. Any comradery. Even scraps. They've got the same neurosis.

Anyway, in season 12 we also have the team-up of the century, where Crowley works with Rowena to send Lucifer back to the cage. Victory!

And Crowley has another fatal misstep. His last one ever, perhaps. He thinks, yet again, that he can outsmart another overpowered beast in order to buy his own security.

And so, he locks Lucifer in Nick's body, Ma'lak box-like, and tries to out-bark and out-dominate him.

Horribly, Lucifer doesn't even appear that threatened or upset. Even when he's being humiliated, the demons under Crowley flock to Lucifer. (It's not fair!)

Lucifer seems quietly amused, like he's waiting for his moment to strike, just as Cas behaved in season 6, quietly tolerating Crowley's goading because he was not actually threatened by him.

(Crowley is no Azazel or Dagon or Ramiel or even Asmodeus.)

And it's fatal. It goes badly. Crowley's gleeful crowing of brains-versus-brawn blows up in his face.

He escapes by the skin of his teeth, and goes running, tail tucked, to tell the Winchesters what he's wrought.

Sam and Dean are horrified, realizing that Jack, Kelly, and Cas are in danger, and so they speed towards them in hopes of warning them in time.

Crowley seems a little hysterical and fatalistic, deciding to back the Winchesters one last time, because, "life is meaningless," and "what's the point of it all."

Crowley lost everything for a job he hated, so he commits suicide, because he's tired and worn down.

He has become like Raphael, "we just want it to be over."

Crowley falls to nihilism.

And Rowena despairs. 💔💔💔

/////////////////////////////////

(Text Attributions// Supernatural scripts here via @spnscripthunt. Transcripts are located here via SPNWiki. Visit their Tumblr to donate.)

[mauxanhduong]

Y’ALL I’M GOING TO COLLEGE ‼️‼️

[eternallovers65]

I genuinely don't care what you say but ever since 2020 the fia has been so inconsistent and it's killing this sport

[louisapennyfeather2021]

I would rather a solar storm knock out all of Earth's satellites and technology and be the reason why we lose Ao3 than lose it to the U.S. government.

***Edit: this isn't talking specifically about Ao3 being down on 7/10. I'm referencing all of the proposed bills in the U.S. government which threaten what little privacy we still have on the internet, threaten to censor sites predominantly populated by minority groups(POC, LGBTQIA+, disabled, non-Christian, etc), and threaten to take away the way kids/teens/young adults express themselves on the internet. For more information, research the Kids Online Safety Act(KOSA), the Restrict Act, and the Earn It Act. There are petitions you can sign, letters/email templates you can send to your Representatives and Senators, and scripts you can use to call your Representatives and Senators :)

[phregnancy]

Thank you so much for your depression post. Also the vegetables stuff is too real I feel so much guilt over having to buy precut vegetables.

listen. you and me? you and i and whomever else? same. we deserve vegetables. it is so great that some people are able to buy vegetables from farmers markets or buy vegetables in whole no plastic without a second thought bc cutting veggies is so easy for them! but it’s not for us. if precut vegetables is the difference between you eating vegetables at all vs not, get your precut veg. you deserve food that makes you feel good, who cares who cut it. you deserve it nonetheless.

[johnmoore122345]

[rivilu]

disjointed fandom posting sorry but it just hit me that pwotr is like. the only rpg where a companion never once left my team

[kr33perklown]

is this a rarepair. I think so.

[ryuutchi]

Twitter discourse on DIY testosterone-based HRT is killing me.

There's the refusal to acknowledge that estrogen-based HRT is honestly easier to get and take-- non-scheduled pills are different from a schedule III injected drug, even if you're buying both on the grey market.

That just because no trans masc has been arrested for taking DIY testosterone yet, doesn't mean there's no risk of possession being used as a weapon against trans mascs or used to track us.

That being forced off a doctor/pharmacy regimen and onto an unregulated grey market due to your existence being criminalized is intimidating, fraught, and unsafe, especially for younger and isolated guys.

That DIY for a scheduled substance means your supply is even more precarious than it might otherwise be and going on and off, and that precarity is chilling in itself.

And finally that making these statements doesn't mean I think people supporting DIY or doing DIY hormones are bad and should stop. If you want to find a way to help trans mascs with their medical needs, you have to have to be aware of how testosterone regimens are different medically and legally from estrogen regimens, and the multiple risks involved and how to mediate them.

And if you think I'm walking on the wrong side of the "safety vs needs" tightrope, that's fine. But it's killing me how much of the arguments just dismiss outright trans masc concerns about testosterone-specific worries.

[betty-bourgeoisie]

I think more college students should try doing essays and projects on blue collar labor issues, if for no other reason than to highlight just how under represented blue collar issues are in the academic spaces

[fightaers]

sleepy thoughts rn but people tend to overlook iruka so much because he’s incredibly ordinary and in a world filled with characters who have enhanced ability, iruka is clearly mediocre and average at best and yet people better not be forgetting that my man CONSISTENTLY was voted top 10 each time they had a pole bc iruka is THE HEART of the story. specially because he is naruto’s HEART. every condition that the shinobi world rejected, he embodied so openly and thoroughly: he is compassionate, he is caring, he’s not without flaws as we see him angry and easily snapping at people even @ jōnins above his level, and yet there is care and an inherent kindness driving the act. he was never malicious, and while many in their world would consider it a huge flaw: iruka wore his heart on his sleeve, consistently. proudly.