I was really into the signs all over ReptileFest- they all sent home messages of responsibility and the actual challenges of owning different species. Very refreshing- you never see stuff like this at breeder shows (because they want everyone to buy things)!
This is so amazing!
This is so inspiring and incredible and Iād love to see something like this brought to the Pacific northwest! God Iād honestly work so hard to make something like this happen.
Or to the expos that are established here already. Thereās definitely educational opportunities and information available, but itās overshadowed by the āspectacleā of the trade and the majority of the info youāll find is centered around breeders.
Iām with you. Even the nearby Herpetological Societies boths donāt look anything like this.
I donāt understand why people assume thereās this sense of entitlement when someone with depression or chronic illness complains about being bored. Itās not like weāre sitting there with endless resources in front of us, turning our nose up at all the options we have and whining about everything being tooĀ boring. Itās not just boredom – itās lack of stimulation and enrichment.Ā
When you have a condition that severely restricts your ability to do things, you getā¦ understimulated, socially deprived, restlessā¦ and that translates to boredom. I wish more people understood that when I say Iām bored what Iām really saying is, Iāve barely been able to leave the house for five days and I feel like staring at the walls or scrolling through my phone for another eight hours is going to make me lose my mind.Ā
This is absolutely true. Itās calledĀ āoccupational deprivationā which is fancy OT words forĀ ānot being able to do almost anythingā basically. Thereās a whole academic literature about how bad it is for people to be occupationally deprived and how it screws you up psychologically.
Iām actually in the beginning stages of writing an article about occupational deprivation in bedridden people. Itā²s basically a case study of me – Iāve been bedridden for decades – but Iād love to hear from other bedridden spoonies if youād like your thoughts included. Message me!
if youāre in a home thatās abusive and you know the reason behind the abuse, you know that they donāt mean to hurt you and that they care about you, but just donāt have or use the skills to manage their emotions more effectively, im here for you and it doesnāt excuse or invalidate the abuse. itās still abuse and youāre strong for being able to understand the reason they do it, but also strong enough to know that itās still not your fault.
if your parent(s) or guardian(s) had you before they were ready, if you were an accident, if you were a one night stand, if your parents had you to fix their marriage, if you were born out of rape, if your parentsā emotional immaturity is the reason they abuse you because they had you too young and still havenāt grown up, I am here for you, and I appreciate how strong you are. you are so, so brave, and these things do not justify the abuse. you have a right to feel hurt by the things they say and do, and it isnāt your fault. you donāt owe your parents anything just because they kept you.
if youāre abused by your family and you still love them, not because you feel guilted into it but because you love the good times youāve had and the memories you share, because you love their good traits, Iām here for you and I love you. you donāt deserve to be treated in the bad ways they treat you. even if the good times are so good you laugh until you cry, and the bad times are so bad you have an emergency bag packed in case you want to run away ā the good times donāt justify the abuse. I feel you and I know youāll be okay.
you can still have a relationship with your parents if you want to, and you can completely cut them out of your life if you want to. itās up to you, this life is yours and your decisions are yours and no one elseās. you do not have to feel guilt or shame for either of those decisions, or for any decision you make concerning your wellbeing. and your decisions donāt have to be that extreme ā you can hate the things your parents did/do to you, but you can still have a relationship with them and appreciate the nice times. either way you are still validated in saying they abused you or are abusive, and you are valid if you keep a relationship with them. or if you donāt. either way Iām here for you, and Iām proud of you.
Iām here for all of you.
Woah, literally the first time Iāve ever heard this advice from someone. Usually itās all ācut them out of your livesā or ātake no shitā and I feel extremely guilty for not wanting to do that.
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having depression since childhood, I can prove, that thisās true half the time, I feel like Iām not being myself, but I donāt know what myself IS. is it a happy giddy person? is it shy and timid? is it raging beast of anger? I donāt knowā¦ they all melt together and idk whichās which.
You wanna know how you know character memes are often taken more seriously than the actual series in this fandom?
There are people who literally think Goku killed himself intentionally vs Cell.
There are people who legitimately think Vegeta was a good guy and great parent since Trunks was born.
There are people who think Goku has no technique and cannot strategize on the battlefield and relies solely on brute force to win.
There are people who not only think Krillin is weaker than Roshi and Yamcha, or even only as strong as Mr. Satan, but they actually think Krillin knowing the Kamehameha in Super is either an asspull or the first time he ever learned to use it.
There are people who still think Vegeta never wanted to be bad, and that Vegetaās plan to kill Freeza was about saving the galaxy from his tyrannical reign.
There are still people who think Yamcha was an abusive boyfriend while ignoring Young Bulmaās pattern of technicallyĀ āabusiveā behavior toward him & her friends.
There are still people who think Piccolo raised Gohan (and even Goten), even doing so while Goku was still around, despite Piccolo only having been alone with Gohan for six months and not seeing him too often after Cell.
There are still people who think 18 wasĀ ātrappedā into a relationship because she was guilt tripped by KrillinĀ āsaving herā.
There are still people who think Gohan wanted to be a warrior but Chi-Chi stopped him from becoming one & was an abusive parent.
I could go on but sweet Jesus, itās bad. And when you show them things from the series itself, they reject it and say theyĀ ādonāt agreeā, orĀ āthatās not the version I grew up with so it doesnāt countā or other such nonsense.
Itās freakinā nutso.
These may not come up as often but I sure as hell see them SO (strap in babes this is a doozy).
If these donāt say āI think one or two mangled character traits are accurate portrayals of these fleshed out individualsā I donāt know what does:
There are people who think that Goku intentionally held back against Cell so Gohan would have to fight (fucking why, God only knows, ah yes Son Goku always at it for the lolz).
Following that, there are people who genuinely believe Goku was really happy that Gohan had to get his ass kicked by Cell (because they keep confusing Goku saying āGohan is our only hopeā with him saying āGohan is our only hope and Iām fucking PUMPED about it!ā. And I mean, they think he was freaking ecstatic about it, like watching his preteen son get beat down was the highlight of his day. Itās really weird.
There are fuckers people that believe that āBattle-Crazy Gokuā shit in general, the idea that a majority, if not all of the fights in Z are because Goku sought them out/purposely escalated the situation in some way. Of course that couldnāt be farther from the truth, 9/10 of the major conflicts are villains seeking revenge for him stopping their evil deeds (if not Goku being totally unrelated to the initial conflict entirely). Hell, one entire arc is because of one dude! I canāt believe Iām saying that Son Goku is a literal sufferer of Victim Blaming, but here we are.
Following that, there are people who blame both Friezaās survival on Namek and his attempt to attack Earth on Goku, because heĀ āspared himā (wrong, he tried to spare him. And then F went backstabby and Goku blew him up. When will these people start fact checking the answer is never!).
There are people who think that Goku was happy to stay dead, for a shit ton of dumb reasons. This normally comes about when people misinterpret the scene at the Lookout right after he dies w/ Cell. He said something along the lines of āDonāt worry about me [staying in Otherworld], thereās lots of strong fighters here!ā, and douchenozzles with zero perception took it as him literally saying that he was happy to leave everyone and putz around fighting- y’know, instead of what it actually was: him comforting his soon to be grieving friends and familyĀ (including his child who is quite clearly blaming himself for his dadās death) by letting them know heād be okayĀ (this one always bothered me the most tbh, donāt sully his sacrifice and compassion you absolute FUCKS).
There are people who still think 18 doesnāt love Krillin/ is āusing himā (for WHAT)
There are, apparently, people who believe Goku is somehow forcing Chi Chi to be with him/ be faithful after he dies. Yes, ultra-traditional Chi Chi is being forced to not date after her husband dies. Forced by her DEAD HUSBAND from beyond the grave. Right.Ā
(I only saw this one in detail once, and vaguely a few other times, but it was so wild that I have to mention it)
And yeah, there are people who honestly think Yamcha was the worst offender in their tumultuous relationship and not Bulma, who does some really fucked up shit you guys, come on nowĀ (I wrote a bit about it in my Yeah, no, Yamcha didnāt fucking cheatĀ reblog, TL;DR Teen/Verging on Young Adult Bulma was an absolute menace)
Ā And also YEAH, there are people that actually think Vegeta gave a shit about Trunks pre-Buu, even thoughĀ
Trunks had been able to go SS for God knows how long before Veggie even found outĀ
The ānever hugā thingĀ
The āproud, battle seasoned warrior punches an 8yo in the face because heās startledā thing
TheĀ ādown with him dying more than onceā thing
My weakass speculations as to how often Trunks and Veggie were even in the same room based on the aforementioned Trunks goes SS scene (spoiler: not often)
And of course: There are people who still, to this day, hold the belief that DBZA, the parody, ātells the story betterāā¦ than the actual story.Ā
I donāt even know how to end this post other thanĀ āI hate this goddamn fanbaseā
Ah, theĀ āGoku could have beaten Cellā bit? Thatās thanks to the Other world Tournament filler. He was evenly matched with Pikkon, who essentially one-shotted Cell AND Freeza AND the Ginyu Force all at once, ergo Goku being able to match him MUST mean he could have easily beaten Cell.
Itās one of the main things I point out when people claim Filler never changed or affected anything in the series or how people view these characters.
On that Goku holding back against Cell thing, didnāt Goku HIMSELF say that he was going all out, or was that a dub only mis-translation?
Goku both explicitly says he was trying his hardest and that he knew that Gohan had gotten so much stronger during their time in the ROSAT it looked to him like they were taking it easy.
And Cell was still a bit stronger than Gohan at this point. Hence why Goku knew Gohan finally pushing past the limits of a Super Saiyan was literally their only hope.
This has been ongoing so Iām taking it out of messages and into an actual post because there isnāt enough room for me to say what needs to be said. Keep in mind that @ross-faer came on to MY post about a blocked follower and decided to start this. Iām finishing it here and now.
As someone who is a licensed psychologist and has worked closely with people in abusive relationships, both the adults in the relationship and the children forced to deal with them second hand, I suggest that anyone who makes up apologies and excuses for abusers seek professional help. If you are so convinced that the treatment of these characters is somehow justified because āone fights backā and they can be treated this way, you need some real help with your reality button. These are fictional characters, but the fact remains: just because one of them fights back or has somehow lashed out at one or another person in this dysfunctional situation, it doesnāt make what has happened to them any less important.
I get that there are Destiel shippers, and Iām not telling you what to ship and what not to. All I was saying was that Destiel, Wincest and those others are dangerous. One Party or another is getting abused and itās usually by Dean. He is the aggressor. Prone to outbursts of anger and violence, he has delusions of grandeur (in that he may have made mistakes, but they were for a common goal and the betterment of others) and while seeing himself as flawed, he continues to act on his impulses rather than consider the thoughts, feelings or safety of others. Dean demonstrates psychopathic tendencies.
When dealing with Sam, Dean puts himself in the place as the protector but in doing so constantly uses guilt and ridicule to control his brotherās actions. Any time Sam tries to do something on his own, whether beneficial or not, Dean warps it into something that Sam has done to insult him or has made the situation unbearable, leaving Sam as the weakened side of the relationship and left to constantly wait for his brotherās approval.
When interacting with Castiel, it has been a horrendous mess since season 5. Cas used to be strong, he had his own opinions, own actions and was in a position to make his own decisions without waiting for his Masterās orders. However, by season 6, Cas is so desperate to prove himself to Dean that he makes wildly unchecked and dangerous decisions in order to show that he is still an Alpha. Dean belittles and berates Castiel, constantly badgering his decisions and actions and finding sometimes not so subtle ways to completely destroy the angel. Once Cas has been broken, thereās no bringing him back to what he once was, only plodding along the same road of denial and abuse by someone who tries to say he is part of the family.
A family does NOT treat their members the way that Dean treats Sam or Cas. But Castiel has never been treated as though heās anything other than a trash can. He has been physically threatened and beaten, mentally abused and broken down until heās nothing other than a broken shell of a man that isnāt even a man! Dean has, on more than one occasion, invited Castiel into the bunker only to turn him out again, citing that its dangerous or it may not be a good idea to have Cas there. Dean has told Sam that Cas cannot be trusted and because Sam is unable to make judgment calls that stand against his brotherās wishes, he goes along with it even though he may not necessarily agree.
Castiel HAS fought back. And he HAS done things to lash out at both brothers. I wasnāt defending or stating that this has never happened. But even in lashing out, he didnāt get out of the situation, all his violence did was get met with a false apology, promises that were ultimately broken sometimes in the very next episode and no lesson learned in either side.
Dean is an abuser. Sam and Castiel are his favorite toys and every time one of them breaks (dies) he finds a way to get them back so the cycle can continue.
Iām done with this conversation. If you are a supporter of this type of lifestyle and still believe that Dean ālovesā Castiel or even his brother in any other way than familial (and thatās even a stretch), it is my recommendation that you contact a professional care facility soon.
If you are seeking the āDean to your Casā you are only saying that you want someone that is going to control every inch of your relationship, you need to realize this is not something to want in your life.
Most Angels believed they were doing the right thing yet people still chose to hate them. We love Castiel for many reasons, but one of them is because he tries to do whatās right, even though he fails quite often. Even though he fails, we still love him because what he thought was right, was also right in our eyes.Ā
If any of the other Angels tried to do what we thought was right we would love them as well. Just because Angels have different opinions, backstories and ways of handling situations doesnāt mean we should hate them for it.
For example :: Many people say Gadreel was a villain because he allowed evil to created.
1. He was tricked by LUCIFER, who is also known to be the Prince Of Lies. You have to remember that Gadreel didnāt just open the garden and sayĀ āOh hey Lucifer, Iāve unlocked the Garden for you. Surely nothing could go wrong!ā
2. Once he had endured millennials of torture, he may have still thought for only himself but Iād say that was a good thing. Heavenās torture must destroyĀ the brain, creating heavy self-hate and depression. If that was me, I would think of only myself and my revenge. Heaven would have torn me down and made me hate myself for something I didnāt even mean to do.
3. Again, he was tricked by Metatron. When he possessed Sam, at first, all he wanted was to heal himself and Sam, and then leave. Then he met Metatron who convinced him to fight so he could regain a place in Heaven. This links back to point number two when I said I would do anything for revenge. Surely Gadreel would too.
3 Ā½. Yes, he didnāt want to leave Samās body or kill Kevin and Gadreelās old friend (Almer? I canāt remember his name.) Ā AbnerĀ but he did it because he thought he would be forgiven. He was desperate. We still love Sam even though he (Accidentally, I know but he still did it.) condemnedĀ a man to Hell just because he wanted to find his brother.
4. Eventually, in ourĀ humanās eyes, he did do right. He saved Castiel from the prison cells and allowed Metatronās plans to be thwarted. They, Sam, Dean and Castiel, couldnāt have done it without Gadreelās help. The whole time Gadreel thought was he was doing was correct, and then he realised that the mission was more important that anything and gave his life to it.
Example two :: Lucifer was evil, in many peopleās eyes anyway. Iām not going to go into too much detail because it would make the post extremely long. (Look through @devil-in-a-winchesterās stuff if you want to see more detail.)
Lucifer hates humans. Everyone knows that, but not many care to listen to why he hates them. God cast Lucifer down because he refused to bow down to something so insignificant in his eyes. Why bow down to something so weak and stupid when you could love the creator of the entire universe? Lucifer loved his father so much that he couldnāt do the task God assigned him. God cast down his son because Lucifer loved him too much.
Would you kick your son or daughter out of your house if they refused to love the new dog that you have bought more than you, their parent? I doubt itā¦
Linking back up to my point before ::Ā Just because Angels have different opinions, backstories and ways of handling situations doesnāt mean we should hate them for it.
We donāt hate other humans because they have a different opinion from us, do we? No, because in todayās society thats wrong. The only reasons people do it against Angels is because they are a different species. All of our lives we have been told that Angels are great beings of joy and miracles but when we see them on the show, weāre disappointed. Most of them areĀ āassholes who donāt gives two shits about them human race.āĀ
Practically all of them have never been taught to interact and care for humans. Angels hadnāt interfered with Earth and Humans for years and now suddenly, they have contact.Ā
Angels follow orders. They donāt follow their hearts.
Bamn, massive Anti-Angel Hate post over. Sorry for the rant but it really annoys me when people say that all Angels are bad. (Iām looking at you, Dean Winchesterā¦)
Awesome and very important meta.
All the angels really needed was a leader. Remember in last season how they all worked together in the first time in forever to weaken Amara? They werenāt separated into groups anymore. Because the moment it became official in Heaven that Chuck was back, they were all willing to follow his command and do the right thing to save the world, just as the four archangels did back in the time when their Father was still present.
And once he left, all they were doing was destroying his work, unintentionally because they thought they were doing the right thing.
Angels strive for the right choices, and are made to follow orders. If they donāt have a leader, they try to fix things themselves and ultimately fail out of inexperience to make decisions on their own. And they might all fuck up, but donāt we all? Celestial beings have advantages over us but arenāt perfect. Maybe if Chuck was there, none of it wouldāve happened.
Maybe Zachariah and Naomi wouldnāt have been a bunch of douches, but they still had hearts. And remember that the angels who fell or have been villainized throughout the show arenāt exactly bad either. In the eye of the human, yes. But taking it from their side of the story, no. They were the ones who were bold enough to trespass their Fatherās laws and taste freedom, be curious. They got punished for it.
I know itās just a TV show, but we all gotta stop being a little hypocritical, oil the cogwheels and tap our brains until they start working on seeing the positive side of certain characters.
š„ There is beauty in destructionš„ 