#rural woman

[presidentcircles-assistant]

uhh yeah your girlfriend experienced inter-dimensional horrors beyond her comprehension and in her own ignorance incited the anger of a higher dimensional being. yeah she got banished back down to her own inferior world. she’s depressed now sorry about that

[ladychlo]

They saw a gorgeous masc cis algerian woman and they couldn't handle the swag and the talent, so they decided to be transphobic in the most colonial way

[stanford-photography]

Portrait of Leah, Lancaster, Pennsylvania By Jeff Stanford, 2024 Buy prints at: https://jeff-stanford.pixels.com/

[trracstudy]

Mental Health Research Study for LGBTQIA+ Teens (Ages 15-18; Enter to win $25)!

Hi there! We're a queer research team based out of University of Maine's Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Lab and Fordham University’s Mood & Behaviors Lab conducting a study on risk & resilience related to mental health in LGBTQIA+ and straight, cis-gender adolescents across rural and urban USA.

In order to participate in this study you must: Be 15-18 years old, be comfortable reading and speaking English, and live in a rural community OR an urban community in the United States. We're particularly in need of LGBTQIA+ teens to complete our study!

If you are interested in participating in the study, please click on the link below. Participants who complete the study will be entered into a raffle to win one of 20, $25 Amazon gift cards.

Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can end the study at any time. All data collected in this study is confidential, we will not ask for any of your identifying information. You will need to submit an email to be entered into the raffle, this will be kept separately from your survey responses. Your parents do not need to be involved in your participation in this study. This study is approved by the Fordham University Institutional Review Board, please email us for more questions about ethics board approval.

We hope that this research helps us better understand online experiences for adolescents across the United States. Please reach out to us at TRRACstudy@gmail.com with any questions.

[alrauna]

Elle-May (@ellemaywatson)

[soisaidfine]

Ethel Cain: a mother is a very special thing: my great-grandmother’s funeral back in 1995 ♡

magnolia-grove asked: where do the sermon samples on Strangers come from?

mothercain answered (Feb 3, 2023): my great-grandmother’s funeral back in 1995, same as family tree intro ♡

Ethel Cain: Family Tree (Intro), Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Outside Lands Music Festival (August 2023)

sermon: “a woman, a mother, a mother is a very special thing. other than the lord jesus christ, i think that a mother is one of the most precious gifts that god gives to this world, cause a mother is the one who loves and has the warmth and always seems to be there when we need it. a mother is a very special thing. a mother is a very special thing.” - Family Tree (Intro) - Ethel Cain

. . .

sermon: "God is telling you and I there is death, for all of us. But then we find that the scriptures also tell us that we have a great promise, that there is a better place for those who believe in the lord Jesus Christ" - Strangers - Ethel Cain

. . .

'So I met him there and told him I believe (I believe, yeah)' - Sun Bleached Flies - Ethel Cain

. . .

'Jesus is the real thing. Are you the real thing?'

Sermon, Perry First Church of God, Perry, Florida

[adacayifedaisi]

I've been tearing around in my fucking nightgown Writing in blood on your walls 'Cause the ink in my pen don't look good in my pad But hope is a dangerous thing for a woman like me to have

[thetranstexasgal]

Had an amazing time at the local pond this morning.

[zanderism]

going home | daniels, wv

[presidentcircles-assistant]

R Line watching God himself break into her house on a Tuesday afternoon

[jellogram]

Do you think this is something that is only true in America? Do you think America is the only country where people live an hour away from hospitals? Do you think most countries are 100% walkable with no rural areas that lack transit? Do you think the defining factor in what makes a country walkable is whether or not there are no places that don't have hospitals? How the fuck does this have 22k notes???

I'm so fucking tired of people thinking the rest of the world outside the US is some sort of interconnected public transit paradise. Yes the US lacks a train system that would benefit it greatly. Yes our urban centers are designed to be car centric. This is still a silly post that could only originate from an extremely narrow view of what life is like outside the US.

[autisticrosewilson]

FOLLOW UP.

CATHY MEETING GRANT IN ANY AU YOU WANT

Hey remember that au where Grant is a ghost and Jason can see ghosts ☺️

Grant doesn't know who she is at first. He just knows that she's stuck to Jason like glue, too far gone for even Jason to see her fully, but he knows that Jay sometimes does. Staring back at him in the mirror when he's doing his T shots but gone in a blink, pressed against the glass outside his window on chilly mornings, floating limply in the tepid water of his discarded bathwater but sinking to impossible depths before he can reach her.

Grant doesn't know who she is, but he knows that he doesn't like the way Jason looks when he catches glimpses of her. Pallid, eyes red rimmed with shaking hands. He can never bring himself to talk for a long while after the whispy woman appears, his voice seems to fade away with her apparition.

Jason can never reach her, but Grant can. She likes to hover over Jason's bed at night, humming a tune Grant has maybe heard on the radio once, or on one of Grandma Fran's records. Sometimes she stands in front of the overstuffed bookshelf and just stares, glassy brown eyes tracing the words on the cover, occasionally reaching out a boney dark hand to run the tips of calloused fingers over the spine.

It's in neither of these places that he finally manages to corner her. They're staying at the manor, empty save for Alfred and Damian for the moment, and there's enough ghosts in these halls that Grant almost misses her. He's done a mighty fine job of keeping the rest of the spirits away from Jason, enough so that Jay has finally been able to get some rest, and the others have been made quite aware that Jason is his, so he feels comfortable enough to roam around.

He finds her in the garden, mimicking the motions of tending to a patch of lilies but unable to really interact with them. She is different from the other ghosts of Wayne manor, her skin is dark and stuck to her bones, underfed or maybe sick. She's barefoot, an old nightgown made of threadbare white cotton that brushes her calves, dotted with pale blue flowers and cigarette burns. There's a rosary hanging from her neck, familiar in its design, he swears he's seen it somewhere before but he can't quite place it. It's hard to see her hair with her head obscured by the bonnet.

"Why won't you leave him alone?" Grant demands the moment he realizes she's not going to slip away.

The woman doesn't turn to him immediately, still fussing with the flowers that phase right through her fingers. "Well, I missed him of course." She says simply, her voice dropping with a southern twang that catches him off guard with its familiarity. Not Kentucky, but certainly some place rural.

"You're hurting him. He's scared of you." Grant tells her firmly. If she cares about Jason, whoever she thinks he is, it might be enough to make her go away.

She looks at him then, with hollowed cheeks and dark circles around her eyes. This close she smells like mildew, stale sweat, and cigarettes. Hospital disinfectant and disease. She doesn't have the vacant state of a spirit too faded to distinguish between their life and death, but that must be what she is because he has never heard of this woman and Jason tells him everything.

He ignores the voice in his head sounding suspiciously of his mother that points out that Jason doesn't have such a strong reaction to the other ghosts that hung around him before Grant chased them all away.

"I don't know you." Is what she says instead of acknowledging the question. "But you are close to him. Did he tell you that? That he was scared." She looks... worried maybe, verging on pitiful.

And well, Jason hadn't said it explicitly, but Grant thinks he could tell. Maybe. Probably. "Does it matter? He's not whoever you think he is." Grant settles on.

She tilts her head, squinting at him. "Of course he is. He's Jason Peter Todd. He wasn't always, but that's the name he wanted. He's my son. I would know my baby blind and deaf."

That can't be true. Jason has told him about the woman who gave birth to him, a doctor supposedly, with bleach blonde hair and the same big dark eyes as Jason. The woman who gave him over to the Joker, the woman who smoked a cigarette while Jason was tortured. The woman Jason threw himself at the bomb to protect. The woman who died anyway.

The more he thinks about it, the more it lines up. The pieces fall into place and settle hot and angry in his stomach. "You." He scowls at her. "He told me all about you. What you did. What you didn't." He bares his teeth and is gratified by the way she flinches.

"I'd like to say I tried my best-"

"but we both know that's a lie." He cuts her off. She looks distraught, if ghosts could cry he's sure she would be. Grant doesn't buy it for a second, Jason had fallen for her act and paid the ultimate price. Grant is not trusting, and certainly not so quick to forgive.

"You don't know anything about us." She shakes her head, fists clenched even while her thin frame shakes with sobs she can never let out. She's an angry crier, Jason must get it from her.

"Don't I, Sheila?" Names are powerful he knows, for spirits clinging to the living they can burn like hot coals, especially malicious entities. I see you, I know you, you will not fool me.

The woman freezes and Grant let's the feeling of triumph settle over him.

"What did you just call me?" Her voice is low and hateful, her aghast anger prickling up his arms like static.

He opens his mouth, fully prepared to repeat himself, when-

"Momma?" It's a quiet, ruined thing from behind him. When he turns Jason is a ways back still, frozen in place, hesitant to get any closer.

Ice rushes through Grant's veins the way blood no longer does. Sheila is mother, when Jason is feeling generous. The Woman Who Gave Birth To Me, when he's not. Never, not even in his dreams, is she momma. Only one person has ever held that title, that Jason has told him about. A frail woman, sickly and hurting and slowly rotting away in a one bedroom apartment under a pile of thrifted blankets.

"My baby," Catherine calls out to him, she holds outs her arms and the sleeves of her dress roll up to reveal the track marks littering her skin, "oh my baby."

"please don't leave." Jason begs her. Grant has never heard Jason beg, not through the worst of his nightmares or through the worst torture his teachers have thrown at him. "Please momma, please don't leave."

"I'm here baby. Momma's here I promise. I'm sorry, I'm here." Catherine's voice is thick with tears that can't fall, heavy with the wail forever stuck in her chest.

Jason barely spares him a glance, he barrels into her, strong arms wrapping around her emaciated waist as he cries, nose buried in her neck. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He repeats, over and over. "I love you, I'm sorry."

"Ain't nothin' to be sorry for," She sniffles, "you've done so well." She cards her fingers through his hair.

He's shaking his head, forehead tucked under her chin because he can't bear to look her in the eye. "I- I didn't finish school, or go to college, I don't go to church, I hurt people. I'm not- I'm never gonna wear your wedding dress. I didn't even keep the name you gave me." He confesses through tears.

Catherine doesn't try to refute any of it, just holds him closer. "It's gonna be alright baby, momma's here now. And I ain't ever leavin' again." She promises. Her eyes fluck to Grant then, freezing him in place. "No matter what no one has to say about it."

Grant- he should apologize. Or explain himself. Or maybe crawl back into his grave and never come out. But he can't bring himself to move, staring wide eyed with his mouth agape.

Jason pulls back with a start, quickly wiping his face as he remembers Grant. "Oh. Um, momma I'm so sorry," he laughs thickly, "I never introduced you two. Momma, this is Grant. My...my boyfriend." He swallows. "Grant this is Catherine, my momma."

Grant is still and silent. Catherine rakes her gaze down his body skeptically, clearly not fond of what she's seeing. It makes him feel open and vulnerable in a way he hasn't in years. "Boyfriend?" She raises an eyebrow at Jason. "Darlin' there are plenty of fish in the sea, you ain't gotta settle for the first stray that sticks himself to ya." She clicks her tongue.

"Momma, I promise he's real funny. And he takes good care of me. He's a lot like dad. You just gotta get to know him." Jason assures, his thick Jersey accent dipping into something more rural in a way Grant's never heard it.

"Yeah he's funny all right." Catherine mutters, intentionally loud enough for them both to hear. "We'll see about straightening him up. Your daddy had a lot of getting it together to do too before I even let him propose y'know."

"I know momma." He doesn't seem inclined to argue with her, which is not a good omen. Jason loves arguing, he argues with everyone. He sends Grant an apologetic look and Grant knows with a sudden clarity that he's fucked.

He finally manages to pick his jaw up off the floor. "Nice to meet you Mrs. Todd."

[trracstudy]

Fordham University & University of Maine Mental Health Research Study (Ages 15-18; Enter to win $25)!

Hi there! We're a queer research team based out of University of Maine's Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology Lab and Fordham University’s Mood & Behaviors Lab conducting a study on risk & resilience related to mental health in LGBTQIA+ and straight, cis-gender adolescents across rural and urban USA.

In order to participate in this study you must: Be 15-18 years old, be comfortable reading and speaking English, and live in a rural community OR an urban community in the United States. We're particularly in need of LGBTQIA+ teens to complete our study!

If you are interested in participating in the study, please click on the link below. Participants who complete the study will be entered into a raffle to win one of 20, $25 Amazon gift cards.

Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can end the study at any time. All data collected in this study is confidential, we will not ask for any of your identifying information. You will need to submit an email to be entered into the raffle, this will be kept separately from your survey responses. There is a 1 in 20 chance of winning the raffle. Your parents do not need to be involved in your participation in this study. This study is approved by the Fordham University Institutional Review Board (ethics approval), please email us for more questions about ethics board approval.

We hope that this research helps us better understand online experiences for adolescents across the United States. Please reach out to us at TRRACstudy@gmail.com with any questions and for any verification of study procedures and validity.

Thanks for your interest and for reading our message!

[alrauna]

Elle-May (@ellemaywatson)

[giresthoughts]

‘Get me high’, May 2023, ph Erik Gigengack

This timeless image is for sale as a 20x30 cm fine art baryte print at Kunstveiling.