#I'm into bodily autonomy

[a-queer-little-wombat]

If I had enough money to live casually and happily for the rest of my life, then it wouldn't matter, sign me the fuck up.

If you got enough money to live happily and comfortably for the rest of your life, but everyone who saw you immediately knew what fandom you are in and understood what that means, would you take it?

[kestrel-of-herran]

severance season three hints from interviews

take these with a grain of salt as the season is still being written, but i think we can sense some patterns here...

helly interacting with gemma

The moment that was important to me that stayed in the edit, which I’m proud of, is Helly seeing Gemma. Mark pulls her, she lingers, and she’s really connecting with Gemma for the first time. That moment is really essential for what comes next. [...] The whole scene is a reckoning for all of them. Helly is reckoning with this other person who loves the same person she loves, but on the outside. (Britt)

innie rights

All of the Innies are waking up to their own humanity and free will. Dylan is on that journey and even the marching band, another department, is now. Helly’s just like, “Maybe we have more people on our side than we think, and maybe there’s a chance for us down here to figure out something.” (Britt)

mark's development

Outie Mark makes a clear case for what he wants, which is to see his wife again, and Innie Mark makes a strong case for what he wants. That conflict will create a lot of story and tension moving forward, because both of these characters have a very compelling case to make for themselves. [...] Outie Mark’s motivation is very pure — he wants to be with Gemma — but he’s missing the fact that he’s created this other part of himself that he doesn’t want to accept. I don’t think Outie Mark understands that this is part of him, this is who he is. He wants to deny that. It’s obviously a weird, complicated situation that is theoretical, but I do feel like both of these parts of him represent parts that we have in ourselves. (Ben)

Mark’s choice to reintegrate represents a willingness to destroy himself, because he is so desperate to get his wife back. First of all, there’s the question of whether reintegration is survivable, because, so far, the survival rate of it is zero on the show. And then secondly, there’s this question of to what degree you will still be yourself by the time it’s done. [...] Is this something that will fade once they have stopped doing the procedure, or will he continue to see these flashes from his other life? That’s a question that we have going forward.(Dan)

With Mark, we leave him in this place now, where he’s having these flashes between his innie and outie life, he’s not fully reintegrated, but he’s getting these glimpses, and that makes him different from any other severed person on the show. We ultimately want to just live in that world for a while, and that was something we decided not to resolve this season. (Dan)

[The finale] shows innie Mark, having gone through the growth to see himself as an individual worthy of life and worthy of protection, he no longer feels that he is an appendage of his outie or an offshoot of his outie. He, through his love of Helly and his time on the floor, sees himself as a person. But it’s going to drive a hell of a wedge between him and outie Mark, I’ll tell you that much, because while innie Mark did get her to safety, he didn’t follow her and so he has robbed his outie of that reunion, which is what he’s been wanting the entire series, is to be back with his wife who he lost. I would imagine that to outie Mark, that feels like an extreme betrayal. (Dan)

helena's development ft. lumon

For someone to have inside of her a really strong rebellion, how does that affect the company for the greater good? On a personal level, how does the wilder, fiercer, and freer part of this woman — which she has lost touch with — affect her moving forward? What does she have to learn from that? How can she grow and expand? [...] I think she, much like Helly, is on a journey of self-discovery and answering the question Who am I? (Britt)

Of all the outie characters, Helena is the one who is the most masked. I think that she was raised with a very specific purpose, which is to be the best Lumon leader that she can be. I like to think that when she was young, there was a lot more Helly in her. And a lot of that got stamped out. So she’s walking around, playing this character, without even realizing it, that she has been forced to craft. So I think that if Helly seems really different from her, that’s why. (Dan)

As for Lumon, it’s another question that relates to corporate culture. You have Kier, who founded the company, and then all these different CEOs who put their own agenda onto what the company is. That’s an interesting question too — the difference between the core idea of a company and what it evolves into. (Ben)

fade to deepest red

It’s something we haven’t seen before. The colors have been pretty specific in the show. It’s an indication that we’re going to another place now. With red, you think of heart, and love. Things are changing. It’s a different tone. (Ben)

[lesbianelsas]

alicent + (lack of) bodily autonomy

"This felt like a baptism. Stripping the outer layer, and that f-cking collar [laughs]. Her getting into the lake on her own is embryonic, in a way. It’s weirdly a coming-of-age moment for Alicent—the start of the rest of her life, what she’s about to do, and the woman she’s possibly about to become." (x)

[peanutbutterandbananasandwichs]

A tale of two wrecked Impalas . . . .

2x01 vs 7x01

So, I want to talk about two superficially similar scenes that are actually very different in terms of what they say about Sam and Dean's relative agency and autonomy.

Let's start with how they are, on the surface, similar. Both scenes occur during season openers in which the Impala had been heavily damaged to the point of being almost beyond repair in the season finale of the proceeding season. In parallel with the Impala in both cases, one of the brothers has suffered some kind of life threatening situation. Both scenes feature a conversation between one of the boys and Bobby about the state of the car. In both cases, the state of the car is explicitly being used as a means of talking about the state of the other brother and a desire for them to recover. The scene in 2x01 is particularly interesting to me because it is one of the only times in which the Impala acts as a mirror/stand in for Dean. As is pretty well discussed on Samblr at this point, often throughout the series, the Impala serves as a mirror to Sam and to his place within The Roles (x, x). "Looks like Dean's taken care of this old beast. Seems like he's taken good care of you too." As Lucifer (as John) says, calling back to John's S1 line "I wouldn't have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it." These lines reflect the idea of the Impala, and by implication, Sam being passed down from John to Dean as a possession. The possession aspect is amplified in these lines in particular to me because of the notable lack of female pronouns used in reference to it "the damn thing" "ruin it" "the old beast", all of these serve to strip Sam of his personhood, dehumanising him. Dean's place in the position of power within his and Sam's relationship is reflected here.

Whilst the scene in 7x07 does use female pronouns (and that they are female pronouns is important) for the Impala, it still tacity treats Sam as an extension of the Impala (an extension of Dean) - "we'll glue him back together too" - both the Impala and Sam are objects, with the illusion of personhood, but who ultimately belong to Dean. The scene demonstrates Dean's sense of entitlement and ownership over Sam's agency, his body, his autonomy. "No matter what shape he's in. . ." It doesn't matter what is done to Sam as long as "Sammy" is preserved in some form. By contrast, the scene in 2x01 begins with "[Dean] is gonna wanna fix this" - immediately, this embodies the agency with Dean, if the Impala in this scene is acting as a mirror to Dean then it is saying that the ultimate agency over his own body here belongs to Dean. "If there's only one working part, that's enough" whilst, again, similar sounding to "No matter what shape he's in", I think does have fundamental underlying differences in intension and tone. Sam's line, especially in combination with the first line, suggests that he will look for a working piece, and if he can find it they can help to rebuild the Impala (Dean) around it, and ultimately, Dean will be the one to conduct the final repair. Despite the comparison to the object of the Imapala, I find Sam's approach here to be humanising of Dean. "Working" is I think, especially relevant here when drawing a comparison to 7x01. Dean's line doesn't care whether the parts of Sam they "glue back together" are "working" or not, and there is certainly no indication here that Sam would be involved in the process. Dean will shove parts of Sam back together whether he likes it or not. The 2x01 scene also reflects the relative balance of power in their relationship, Sam as neither the intention, or the power to claim ownership of the Impala and by proxy Dean, the way Dean does over the Impala and Sam in 7x01.

Ultimately, whilst these scenes may appear similar, they are profoundly affected by the relative positions of power Sam and Dean inhabit within the bounds of The Roles, and the effect this has on their relative agencies.

[whoever-the-heck]

"it should have ended with Helly pushing Mark out the stairwell door"

Oh, ok. You want Helly to take away Mark's autonomy and consent? You want Helly to take away his freedom to make his own choice? Why? Because you want Helly to think she knows what is best for him? You mean like Lumon infantilizing, patronizing and manipulating their employees because they think they know better?

Riiiiight.

[luniviravosshipper]

Something I think about all the time is how some of Aaravos’s first words to Viren were “how may I serve you?” and one of his absolute last direct remarks made on his thoughts on Viren (for now) is “I tried so hard to help your father”.

[confused-stars]

... some half-formed thought about how both Shimin and Zetian had surgeries done on them to remove something from their bodies without their consent so someone else could benefit

[suzirya]

Some grandma and death/grief thoughts under the cut

My Aunt Charmaine has been posting about soup made in grandma's old kitchen, more recently about final cleaning and tidying of my grandmas house. It's been like, 8 months since she died, peacefully in her sleep, and after the life she had I'm unspeakably glad that's how she went. She and Aunt Roseanne want to send me Grandma's hand-annotated recipes to type up as they keep cleaning her house.

I have a stained glass suncatcher with pressed sage and another little plant from the prairie graveyard where she's buried that a local artist made for me. I have a hummingbird suncatch returned to me that I'd gotten her as a gift. I have photos I took of her house between the funeral ceremony and when the relatives started piling in and populating her house for food, when it was silent and quiet, and I told Roseanne and Dion I'd take those pictures before everyone arrived and things "got weird" and was met with a "hey, yeah, do what you gotta", and I wanna get some of those developed.

It's been a cold dry snowy week in Michigan. Hovers around -10, Celsius, mind you. Feels like home, like Canadian winter. I'm homesick for Canada in the background of all the other things I'm feeling these days, and bringing home to me however I can to find relief for that feeling, and El's been helping which is stupidly sweet. Heartsore and throat-lumped about it. Gonna make perogies soon.

[homehauntsyou]

Day Six (May 1st): Autonomy / Abuse / Trauma "The Rest" by Jane Huffman // 01x01 / 05x22 / 09x10 / 13x21

[uwudonoodle]

[welcometogrouchland]

Noticing that TV and film will often have a character either have had an abortion in the past that isn't showcased on screen (and just used as part of the character's ~fucked up and twisted backstory~) OR contemplate getting an abortion in the present day but not to through with it. Just once I want to see someone delete that fetus within the events of the plot and not be like. Extremely majorly punished for it and/or be in the wrong

[the-sacred-now]

An Open Letter to the Single-Issue Pro-Life Voter

What do you want more: For abortion to be illegal? Or for fewer abortions to occur?

There’s a reason so many of the Left think that all single issue pro-life voters are obsessed with controlling women’s bodies: because most of your official allies are more interested in punishing people for their pregnancies than in doing anything that could actually be called pro life.

But I know many of you really DO want to save lives, to make lives viable. I trust your hearts—because I used to be one of you.

I argued against abortion with the best of 'em, not because I wanted to push my religion into law, or to control anyone, but because of my belief in that life should be defended, and my genuine care for the unborn.

I’ve learned a lot. Some of my positions have changed, and some of them haven’t.

I’ve faced the fact that one person has the right withhold their own bodily resources as a matter of course. Even after our own death, in the United States, use of our body’s lifesaving resources is not legal without our prior consent.¹

I’ve faced the fact that “risk to the life of the mother” is a reality that stalks every pregnancy, always present and recently rising in the U.S., and a person has the right to refuse that risk.²

I’ve learned more about the dangers of ectopic pregnancies, the primary drivers of late-term abortions.³

I’ve learned the truth about blastocysts and how long it actually takes before an embryo resembles anything more than a bacterial culture, and what a 6 week pregnancy really looks like.⁴

I’ve learned that abortion was not even considered an issue for American Christians until after the religious Right lost the culture war around the Civil Rights movement.⁵

But even without all those factors, this counterintuitive fact would have stopped me in my tracks on the way to the voting booth: The number of abortions INCREASES the more legal restrictions there are.⁶

I’ve never actually stopped believing that human life begins at conception (however fragile, alien, and fleeting—especially if it fails to attach to the uterine wall, as happens to an estimated 30-70% of fertilized eggs). Ultimately, though, that’s just my opinion, founded in philosophical thought experiment and ~vibes~ and nothing else—not even the Bible.

But even if it were an objectively true and proven fact…

I would still be less interested in jailing the people who disagreed with me, and more interested in creating the world I want to see: a fair and free society, where sexual assault is rare, sexual education is clear and honest, unwanted pregnancies are few, healthcare is robust and continually improving, and children are desired and supported—before and after they’re born. And yes, in this world, abortions are as rare as they are free of fear and shame.

We may not be able to create this whole reality right now, but what we can do is decrease the number of abortions, in ways that are consistently shown to be reliable.

I’m pro-choice now. And I never had to give up on caring about babies.

I’m not asking anyone to let go of being pro-life. But I am asking you to join me in allying with the people whose policies support life in all its stages. Which is proven to inherently lower the number of abortions.

One party’s leaders push against contraception. Against the sex education that leads to more teens waiting longer before losing their virginity.⁷

Against creating infrastructure that supports people through pregnancy and beyond, against supporting people in feeding and educating their children.⁸

The other party wants to support people in making informed and independent choices about their bodies—which statistically leads to more confidence in saying “No,” or “I’m waiting,” or “Not without protection,” to sex.⁹

They want to support peoples’ health and well-being.¹⁰

They want to create a future in which children are a real option, an option compatible with getting an education, with keeping your income, with food and housing.¹¹

They want to rebuild a financial landscape in which a single income could take care of a whole family.¹²

I used to feel jarred and confused by having to choose between bundled-together policies that saved the lives of the unborn but left everyone else to struggle in a lack of support callously dubbed “freedom”, and policies that promoted abortion access as an important freedom, but aligned with my values of protecting and uplifting life in every other way.

Now that I know easy access to safe and legal abortion lowers rates of abortion, especially when paired with education, healthcare, and financial stability, my choice is more obvious than ever. My choice, as it always has been, is life.

*Sources linked in reblogs + replies.

[tashiduncandonaldson]

I have this recent head cannon that Tashi went through a slut phase in college post injury. Art leaves college early, she’s left to her own devices and loses herself for a semester. She was so rigid in her schedules and only really played around with Art/Pat all to still end up hurt, so what else does she have to lose…. So she sleeps around and parties.

-👵

i also share that headcanon!!! i've pictured the rest of tashi's time at stanford being her finding ways she can be in control again, especially in control of her body. and by having her slut phase (positive!!! very positive!!!), she's figuring out what she likes, what she doesn't, how to feel powerful again, how to move in this new body that still gives her what she wants, etc. i see it as a time that's complicated for her because she feels lost and is trying to find something she can still be in control of the way that she was when she had tennis.

plus, i see her having a brief stint as a partier to see what she was missing out on all those years she didn't let herself do much of that when she was actively playing tennis. she tries to have the Normal Girl experience while she's at college, and she winds up realizing maybe partying isn't necessarily for her, but she enjoys the casual hook up (safe sex ofc) side of being a college girl.

would love to see a fic where this is explored because i think it could be so interesting and so telling to get in tashi's head during a time when neither of the boys is around. (i personally see her having her sleeping around phase and her partying phase after she cuts ties with art once she realizes she's never going to be able to play tennis again at the level she was used to playing.) anyway, i love yapping about this kind of stuff!!! putting this into the atmosphere and manifesting a fic that dives into this era of tashi's life 🥰

[homehauntsyou]

i'm going to the con in boston on sunday and i literally cannot stop thinking about it. the whole day i've just been going back to imagining it any second that i can