#and like the hysterical woman and all that

[astarlightmonbebe]

the fact that almost every single close female person in my life has has dealt with (chronic) health conditions that impacted or are impacting their daily lives...

[ciderjacks]

if I’m honest I have trouble believing it too, even when I say it a million times. That’s what happens when you’re told from birth that every aspect of your humanity, including your oppression, is inherently “lesser” compared to men. It’s by design.

You matter though, and if u keep pushing at the mental blocks that have been created by male supremacy, and u push past the shame and guilt that they want u to feel for simply acknowledging your own experiences— eventually those barriers will crumble.

Misogyny and sexism is just as bad as other forms of bigotry and being an incel or a “men’s rights activist” or any of that other bullshit is just as horrible as being a white supremacist. Should not be a controversial take.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

All cards on the table.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[shsl-heck]

Thinking about the Chevalier interlude, specifically the inaugural team of Wards. Like in universe, they sell it to this first group of kids (and presumably the rest of the world) as a place for second chances, to find friends and mentors who understand what youre going through, where you can learn to use your powers safely while making good memories. The kids broadly seem to believe in these noble intentions of course, but what really gets me is that I've seen readers buy into it!

"Oh, it's such a tragedy that the Wards program became this awful thing that traumatizes kids even more, and expects them to die for the sake of civilians! It's fallen so short of what it was originally supposed to be!"

No it has not??? The fact that the triumvirate and Hero are saying it has this noble goal doesn't make it true. The Wards was pretty clearly always a way to increase the amount of bodies the prt could throw at threats, and we know this because it was started by the fucking Triumvirate as a part of the Protectorate! Alexandria literally came up with the idea of the Protectorate to legitimize the power of capes, and have a consistent source of heroes Cauldron could throw at problems. That is the whole reason for the PRT/Protectorate existing. So when we have this group of children brought in a subsidiary, there are 2 real options.

1). Cauldron and Alexandria decided they would be really niceys and created this program with no intentions other than helping these kids out.

Or 2). As things got worse, they realized the Protectorate didn't have enough manpower to do what they needed, and so they expanded it to include children (the demographic most prone to triggering). That way, they greatly increase the number of capes who they can send to fight and die as needed, and the ones who do survive their tenure in the Wards will be better trained when it comes time to join the actual Protectorate.

At the risk of sounding conceited, I think the second one is far more likely based on everything we know about Cauldron. Maybe it was originally a little nobler, and the goal was just to create more well trained heroes and cut back on young villains, but there's no way Alexandria, Doc Mom, and Contessa didn't factor in the ability to sacrifice the kid heroes if it improved their chances of success. That was absolutely a perk at minimum.

That's the real tragedy of the inaugural Wards. The kids were lured in with promises of safety, comraderie, and second chances like lambs to the slaughter. All the while, Alexandria and Cauldron knew that many (if not most) of these children would suffer abuse by the prt (like in the case of Reed), die, or face a fate worse than death like poor Mouse Protector. It's horrifying! The idea that they didn't know the danger these kids would be in is literally inconceivable. Especially when one of you is also the head of the prt! They knew, and they didn't care. It improved their chances at the end of the world, and so they did it no matter the cost.

[radioiaci]

Of course, Valentino. So he likely knows about this little snafu, too. Lovely. That is a matter for another time, Alastor thinks, as right now he has to deal with the one presented before him, only breathing moderately easier when Vox seems to accept his desire to keep the television around as truth. Alastor is nothing if not possessive. He is not about to permit some strange hanger-on to ruin something he has been trying to build his way back towards for years now. That would be foolish.

Vox's response to him does not feel satisfying. There has to be more than just that - there always is. Just talk. Just decide what to do. Just take responsibility. Just keep it. Just destroy it. Just act as you should act in such a situation. Do what normal people do. Do that or else be cast aside for not living up to it. And on and on. Swallowing back his own hesitations, he focuses again on Vox's panic and fear. Again that he will leave. Things that are outside of his actual control - if Lilith wills it, he will have to go. But that is not something he will bring up here and now.

"First," he replies, a hand raising to take Vox's face into it. To steady him.

"Quit crying."

He knows that's a fruitless request. Vox will cry if he wants. But he has to make some effort to settle down whatever tide of distress keeps threatening to pull the man under.

"Second- Do you see me walking away? No. Now put that out of your mind."

Because he is here. He does not know what to do. But he's here. And that's a feat in and of itself, isn't it? Be grateful, says his internal thought process. That he is entertaining conversation about this at all and not simply telling Vox to make a decision one way or another. Though he wants to. Why is this reliant on his own input?

"Women have been bearing children for eons," he mutters. "That this is Hell and that you are not a woman only makes a marginal difference. Whether you keep it or destroy it, it's not going to kill you." He says it with conviction despite not truly knowing. "So calm down. If you want to talk then we'll talk. But I won't while you're in hysterics."

Because Vox is bad at listening when he is. Alastor does not want to put forth effort for nothing.

"I'm letting my heated conversation with Valentino and my own doubts infect things." Vox admits quietly. And that wasn't fair to Alastor and this conversation. Fueling the miscommunication taking place.

Not fighting it when he's pulled back. He searches his face. Even now that smile is ever present and it looks exhausting. Despite the whirlwind they find themselves in Vox has the desire to close the remaining distance and kiss his cheeks. He remains where he is and pushes the fleeting thought aside.

It is an immense relief and comfort to hear that Alastor isn't going to just straight up abandon him. Understandably one of Vox's largest and most damning concerns. People had forsaken all sorts of unions for far less than an unplanned pregnancy. Considering the short time in which they'd been reunited, could anyone have really blamed Alastor for getting cold feet?

As Alastor goes on Vox makes a genuine effort to listen and actually try to consider the words being said. Rather than just react and respond as he is so often prone to do.

Brows furrowed at that word. The weight of it. 'Expectation'.

"Us to talk." And he realizes with a shameful glance to the side that he is indeed a hypocrite. Considering he'd been preparing himself to run when facing what he thought was going to be another break up. Continuing on despite his own cowardice, "We made this thing together. And we should figure out what to do, together."

Vox really doesn't know fully how to envision or refer to it either. Hard to wrap one's head around things that way. Really he's making up most of this shit as he goes. There were no manuals or scripts to fall back on.

"I don't need you to coddle me or start playing picket fence. I'm not expecting you to be overjoyed to tears or demand a termination right this minute. I was worried you'd be disgusted or angry, enough that you'd leave, but that's different. I brought you here because I can't do this alone Al and I don't want to!" He doesn't know if he's explaining himself well at all. If he's getting his intentions across. "I don't expect you to have all the answers or solutions and I don't want to pin it all on you. But I need you! As my friend and as my partner, to at least be here."

"We need to figure out how we feel about all of this. What our options are. What we each want. What we think is best. And start considering what we should do." Wiping his face on his free arm. Voice finally breaking, "I mean f-fu-fuck! What do we do!? I don't know, no one does! And I'm so fucking sc-scared."

.

[dreamyintersexouppy]

the great thing abt transandrodorks is that theyre literally so stuck in their own echochamber a single blog is a full comprehensive block list cuz no respectable person wants to interact with their vitriol and they drive away anyone who is even the slightest bit kind to trans women. keep it up y'all i hope i never see you again, notorious man hater that i apparently am

[kakusu-shipping]

'You come home to introduce your new delinquent boyfriend to your mom and his parole officer is there' is probably the funniest scenario imaginable and i almost died laughing about it

Shitty doodles of my vision

POV You went on a Pokemon Journey and came back with a new BF only to find out your mom has a new BF, who also happens to be that crazy cat lady you obliterated and also your new boyfriend's Parole Officer.

[ananke-xiii]

Castiel: vessel, body, woman, (best) friend.

This title comes from a previous post of mine where I talked about Yockey’s episodes in s12 and how they all deal with the theme of interconnection between motherhood/fatherhood and human vessels vs demons, angels and other humans. Ultimately, the post was about Kelly Kline, the final “doll”, the real one, true vessel used to pour angelic grace in, give birth to a Nephilim and be discarded once her “job” is done.

However, since I’ve been thinking about the mothers of gods and monsters and how they all, in some way or another, end up being associated with Castiel, I’ve found an interesting discovery about “Lily Sunder Has Some Regrets” (the linked post about mothers and this one seem to be disconnected now but it will all make sense with later posts, I promise).

I’ll quote myself from my initial post in order to explain my theory:

Cas: Benjamin is always very careful. Long ago, he found a powerfully devout vessel in Madrid, and her faith, it… she gave him everything – her trust and her body. Dean: Wait. So Benjamin’s a woman. Cas: Benjamin is an angel. His vessel is a woman. But it – it’s – it’s more than that. She’s not just his vessel. Sam: She’s… She’s his friend. Cas: Yeah. Benjamin would never put her in unnecessary danger. So Lily killed Benjamin, the angel AND the “powerfully devout from Madrid” who’s first described as a vessel, a body, then as a woman, then again as “more than that/not just a vessel” and ultimately as a friend (with a romantic undertone to the word). So we GOTTA ask: when is a human being just a body? And when a vessel? Are there “vessels” and “not just [some angel’s]vessel”?

I’ve always interpreted this dialogue as an interesting lesson on “Angels and Gender Politics”, and it is, but maybe there’s something less intellectual and more mundane about it. Maybe it's just the same-old SPN parallels technique. But more fun.

“Vessel, body, woman, friend” is how the powerfully devout woman in Madrid is described. But in this episode, “vessel, body, woman, friend” is also Castiel. Castiel is the powerfully devout woman in Madrid and Dean’s… her Benjamin. There’s a complete reversal of roles here where Cas is paralleld to a human and Dean’s his angel which I find very interesting.

The comparison between Dean and Benjamin starts even before the Castiel-woman-in-Madrid one:

CAS: It was, um... Look, Benjamin wouldn't call for help lightly. And he wouldn't put himself in harm's way if he could help it. DEAN: Wow, this Benjamin seems like he's pretty cool, you know. Like he wouldn't make any half-cocked, knee-jerk choices. CAS: Yeah, you know what I like about him? Is that he's sarcastic, but he's thoughtful and appreciative, too. DEAN: Now what is that supposed to mean?

What Dean is saying here is that Benjamin is not Cas because Benjamin sounds like a cool type who wouldn’t make reckless decisions (while Cas is not this type of person). But what Cas is saying is that Benjamin’s like Dean because they’re both sarcastic but Benjamin is better than Dean because he’s also thoughtful and appreciative (while Dean’s not).

Let’s see if I’m right about this.

Vessel.

The moment Cas meets Ishim and Mirabel he just has to open his mouth and say it: “Kept your vessels all this time. I'm impressed”. Ishim and Mirabel say that they were not careless with their vessels like Cas was. Which, of course, means that they’ve known Cas in is “old him”, his old vessel.

Body.

Whether they like it or not (and Ishim doesn’t like it because he thinks humans are apes, monkeys and primates which, to be fair with Ishim, is not technically not true however he does throw shade at us) angels on earth are incarnated beings, meaning that to live on Earth they need to take… a body. Specifically, a human body (no cat angels for us). Human bodies, however, are, from an angel’s pov, weak. Ishim might have been careful with his vessel but this doesn’t mean he can’t get hurt. Lily doesn’t manage to kill him in the alley but she hurts him a great deal because his wound is deep and healing it will be painful. Bodies suck, huh? But maybe also… not so much after all.

Woman.

The big reveal of this episode is that Cas’ old vessel was a woman. We don’t know anything else but the fact that she was a woman. We don’t even know if Sam and Dean know about it because we see the backstory through a flashback while obviously they don’t. They must have wondered because they know for sure that Castiel took Jimmy Novak as his vessel after resurrecting Dean. Whatever the case may be, though, what we know is that that was the first time Castiel possessed a person to visit Earth.

Friend.

Friendship is one of the episode’s themes. It’s not the central one but they do bring up friendship a lot. Benjamin and the devout woman were "friends". Benjamin and Castiel were friends. The angels in Ishim’s garrison were friends. Sam and Dean are friends with Castiel. Dean and Castiel are best friends. Since Benjamin and the devout woman were established as “friends”, meaning that they were a little more than that, then where does it leave us? Well, frankly the usual: Cas and Dean are more than friends. Woah, what a surprise, I absolutely did not see that one coming.

The scene that confirms that my theory is correct is when Ishim dares Dean to finalize the sigil and blast every angel in the room. You see, “Benjamin would never put her in unnecessary danger”. Neither does Dean with Cas.

The scene also pretty much sums up the whole episode as far as the theme of “vessel, body, woman, friend” is concerned. Cas has healed Ishim who’s now fully recovered and brimming health from every pore. Cas, on the other hand? Not so much.

ISHIM: I used to envy you, Castiel. You believe that? ISHIM: You survived Hell. You were chosen by God. But now look at you. You're just sad and pathetically weak. ISHIM: So now... I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna cure you of your human weakness same way I cured my own– ISHIM: – by cutting it out. DEAN: Don't move. ISHIM: Do it. You blast me away, you'll blast away every angel in the room. I'll survive. Castiel, on the other hand, he's hurt. He might live or he might just end up a bloody smear on the wall. Roll the dice.

Castiel’s “bodiness” is exposed in this scene, but there is a… ahem… “positive” side? Unlike the poor guy that Ishim is wearing as his meatsuit (ugh), Cas doesn’t have to worry about his vessel’s safety but his own. He is his own vessel now (well, he kinda still stole the looks from Jimmy Novak, nevertheless his vessel has become his body. An angel with his own body, crazy, I know. Maybe this is really why Ishim is jealous of him). Which, to be honest, is still concerning because Cas is reckless as fuck. Thank God Dean is not.

Dean doesn’t roll the dice, he doesn’t endanger his powerfully devout friend, he doesn’t bet on the odds of having to scoop up Cas’ remains from the wall.

So cool, right? Do you think that Cas has learnt the value of life, the value of his own life and will be less reckless with it? Of course not!

By the end of the episode Cas still says (re Billie’s murder)that he doesn’t regret his actions even if they cost him his life. He also says, after all he’s been through with Lily Sunder, that he doesn’t know if he’s capable of killing an innocent baby or not.

SAM: But, Cas, at the end of the day, it's a mom and her kid. I mean, do you – do you think you'll be able to... CAS: There was a time when I wouldn't have hesitated. But now, I don't know.

I don’t know if the show ever answers this question. He does bring Kelly to the “sandbox” but then Dagon shows up and then Joshua gets killed and then Kelly takes his hand and then Jack shows him “the future”… And then, and then, and then. Stuff happened, life happened, you know? I mean, it’s complicated but this is what makes it more interesting!

[bumblingbabooshka]

"Everything you went through was meaningless." [St Voyager S3 E7: 'Sacred Ground']

[juniperjelly]

"we can always tell" motherfuckers when they see a teenage boy, a teenage girl, a black woman, and a bearded man in pink;

[boypussydilf]

“Nova was basically OBSESSED with Casper.” HATE. HATE. HATE. HATE. HATE. THERE IS HATRED IN MY SOUL AND IN MY BODY. ANGER

[perenlop]

i think its always worth thinking about how women are portrayed in certain stories, from fictional narratives to reddit posts presenting themselves as true stories. is every woman in the narrative either antagonistic or shallow? are most or all of the men portrayed as sympathetic and competent, moreso than the women, even if they commit the same crimes?

[agnesandhilda]

my father is an olympic gold medalist in the sport of emotionally tormenting women

[catgirltoes]

Gotta be honest the constant objectification of women's bodies is a bit tiring sometimes.

[catboyfurina]

focalette / neuvalors whatever the ship name is orz

[secondwhisper]

"Transmasculine people who claim to be adversely affected by sexism are bioessentialists cloaked in progressive language, discrimination on the basis of ""biological sex"" isn't real!"

Oh right, sorry. I forgot that sexism in medical research means that endometriosis, ME/CFS, migraines, post-concussive syndrome, Raynaud's phenomenon, and so many other conditions are only understudied in women. Of course endometriosis For Men™, ME/CFS For Men™, migraines For Men™, post-concussive syndrome For Men™, Raynaud's phenomenon For Men™, etc., are all well-funded fields of research and totally understood. Medical research cares only about the gender of an individual patient, not the association of a condition with people of a certain gender. Patriarchal devaluation of women's health, women's illnesses being treated as fundamentally hysteric, and (peri)cissexist reductions of any individual to the reproductive system(s) they were born with clearly only affect people whose gender is woman, nobody else.

Wilfully ignorant motherfuckers.