Boats Against The Current @onefinem0rning - Tumblr Blog

AU where Steve is trying to find himself either at college or at a night class in art, but instead he finds BILLY who thinks posing for a drawing class is a) easy money and b) fun, because he gets to show off. (One class in, and he can add c) the best idea ever, because he gets to flirt with the cute first-timer who only paints in primary colours.)

herotox5

professsorlayton

look at this shit. look. at. this. shit. it has fifteen thousand notes. what does it mean? why does a picture of the pin k panther with a to do lis that makes NO SENSE have fiFTEEN FUCKING NOTES. WHY. my mom could make better posts that this shit. what even. fuck tumblr.

godguy0001

looks like someone doesnt know what to do. to do. to do, to do, to do, to do, to dooooooooooooo, dodododododo

harringrovefresh

Harringrove swimming/lifeguard headcanons.

- They constanty argue about who the better swimmer is and race everytime theyre in an open body of water together

- Billys technique is terrible. He can swim fast but Steve doesnt understand why. Hes got low elbows in his recovery, his catch is all messed up, his timing is always off.

- Billy *always* wins if theyre in an ocean(steve cant handle the currents as well) Steve *always* wins if its anything over 25m in a pool (Billy loses speed on the turns) and theyre pretty much 50/50 in all other water settings.

- Billy never did any proper swimming lessons. His Mom taught him the basics and then he picked other bits up along the way from talking to the surfera and swimmers on cali beaches.

- Steve loved swimming up until he was in the swim team and then he started to resent it because of all the 5am practise sessions.

- Steve primarily swum butterfly competitively because he heard it was the hardest and wanted to impress his dad. His dad was always away for his actual races so never saw him *really* swim

- Steve is the mean swimming teacher. He gives the older kids hard sets and has been heard telling kids to 'swim through it' if they complain about a stitch. He doesnt mean to be, but hes so used to competitive swimming that hes a dril sergeant when it comes to technique and will make the kids redo a set until its perfect.

-Alternatively Billy is such a supportive swim teacher that it freaks the whole party out. But he loves water, loves swimming and even Hawkins shitty public pool makes him think of his Mom teaching him to dive under waves and so he is *soft* with the kids.. (if they want to learn to swim. If they dick around too much he'll still snap at them.)

- because of their teaching methods Billy primarily teaches younger kids first learning to swim while Steve takes the older kids who already know a bit more

- They both go FERAL when teaching personal survival lessons. With their lifeguarding backgrounds they know too muxu about how easy it is to drown even for good swimmers so they go balls to wall on scenarios and teaching the kids how to save themselves if they need to.

- Billy almost drowned when he was a kid because he rescued a tourist who'd got pulled in by a rip and then tried to use Billy as a ladder to get their head above water. He insists that hes fine and it didnt bother him but every personal survival lesson will end in him teaching the kids how to break away from someone octopus hugging them.

- one time they try a 'hold your brearh contest' and only come up when Dustin and Max physically yank them out because theyre both too stubborn to lose and almost made themselves pass out.

- Steve teaches Billy how to do 'track start' dives and tumble turns. Bily teaches Steve to surf.

- Billy lesrns how to use his hand as a water pistol by cupping it half in half out of the water snd *constantly* sprays steve in the face while hes talking if theyre both in the pool.

- Billy bitches about the chlorine and chemicals when they swim in pools. Steve quite likes the smell but will complain about the seaweed and sand when theyre on actual beaches.

- Steves awful at staying still in the water. Hes got to be doing something. If theyre just trying to relax in the pool then he'll do lengths.

- Billy however would be happy to just float for hours.

- they make out a lot in the water idk

marinella-ela

phoenixwrites

#that giraffe is being so cute and curious and gentle#and that is running full speed because this is the worst fucking day if his LIFE#like IMAGINE having your butt gently scooted by the snoot of a pressence so massive#your body is not designed to even see high enough to see the top of#abd hes just gently nudging you along as you run for your life as fast as your legs can carry you#giraffe is playing humans are enjoying turtle is living out a cosmic horror story

anime-books-and-movies

✨️The giraffe✨️:

Vs.

The turtle:

tomatette

do not leave this in the tags @biillys

#billy hargrove

lizardposting

it makes me so furious when i want to know about a specific ass species of animal and theres only like 6 existing photos of it. like im actually going to pass away if humanity as a whole doesnt release more pied butterfly bat images

rednines

I believe the Mormon church has more sway on US law and politics than any other religious organization

rednines

Like they’re the flag bearer and strategy think tank for the strongest examples of religious interference in the law even if you see evangelicals and catholics making moves they’re using the LDS playbook

throwsahammer

The LDS church is directly responsible for organizing a decent chunk of "religious freedom" coalitions over the years. The primary reason why they don't get more flak for it is that they're primarily seen as a regional power both by outsiders and those living within the mormon corridor. Pretty much everyone who looks at Utah for even a couple of seconds understands that it's Like That because the mormons have to sign off on any proposed legislation, but then they'll just assume that this phenomenon is limited to Utah and that the church doesn't have any meaningful impact on anything outside of that bubble.

Ensign Peak alone is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate, and the church regularly pours massive sums of cash into PACs throughout the nation in support of conservative political campaigns. The most tangible impact the LDS church has is on the wider political landscape of the US via its spearheading of attempts to replace public education with charters or home schooling, and yet the biggest criticism most people have about it is that those poor bastards in Utah will never get to experience the joys of recreational THC. Like, girl, one of the wealthiest, least financially transparent nonprofit organizations on the continent is constantly pouring money into the Heritage Foundation.

rednines

YES EXACTLY

heronfem

I cannot emphasize enough that the Church quite literally has overthrown election results in Utah. Like you all know this, right? Utah voted for some of the best, healthiest marijuana laws in the country that would have made chronic pain for millions disappear overnight and it passed by a LARGE margin. People were ecstatic. The election results came out and people were beyond excited. And the state refused to honor the fact that it passed because the Church simply told them not to. My friend was in the Capitol building and watched the legislator she worked for see before his very eyes that the law did not apply to these men and watched the election be overturned quietly. Politely. The law shifted and adjusted just enough that people wouldn't riot, but not in any way what was actually passed. Utah is the testing ground for controlling the narrative. The goddamn NSA has one of its biggest offices there.

You all know this, right? You know that when you mock people in Western states like Utah you're talking about people who live under theocratic laws that they didn't vote for and can't vote out of and gerrymandering so severe that despite the majority of voters in Utah being registered Democrats, it's blood red because they built it that way... right? You know this? Please tell me you know this.

And then once you tell me you know this, promise me that you will actually internalize that the red states are not your enemy, they are being held hostage.

sanjerina

Louder for the folks in the back please:

…the red states are not your enemy; they are being held hostage.

sirladysketch

This isn't specific to the church fucking about with politics, more the republicans actively working against the people - my sister has been keeping us apprised of the gerrymandering debacle that's been ongoing in Utah:

The people of Utah voted on and passed a ruling to have a neutral 3rd party draw up new voting districts back in 2018 (basically democratic districts were carved up to be ineffective so people wanted them fixed)

The legislature decided they didn't like that and decided to ignore the votes and keep doing what they were doing (bad gerrymandering)

League of Women voters took them to court and in July of 2024 the judge said, uh, actually, yeah, you have to do what was voted on/approved by the people

The court decided that they would meet for a special session to pass an amendment to the state constitution saying that, actually, if they didn't agree with something the people voted on/passed they wouldn't have to uphold that decision

They got taken to court again (surprise surprise)

In September 2024 the lower courts ruled once again that no, you can't just fucking do that, you're actively trying to deceive voters with your convoluted phrasing

They don't meet again until January so god knows what hijinks they'll come up with to keep the state voting districts fucked up

This is only ONE example of how red states will stop at nothing to suppress votes and prevent loss of power. Please please PLEASE make sure you are registered to vote and fight things like this when they happen!!

nudityandnerdery

And we remember how they can have influence in other states, too, right?

Mormons played an extraordinary role in the passage of a California ballot measure that once seemed close to defeat.

mini-wrants

People straight up do not realize that part of the reason manufacturing is not returning to the United States in massive waves is because we have things like “OSHA” and “environmental laws” and “minimum wages.”

It’s not even just about fair wages. It’s literally about the fact that you can’t dump industrial waste in a river here anymore.

Our cheap goods are so cheap because South American and Asians environments are being destroyed so you can buy a $40 pair of shoes every 3 months.

Cutting granite countertops has lead to a rapid increase in silicosis in the lungs out in California. All the working men and women in my family have died from pulmonary fibrosis. They were carpet layers, Post office workers, floor tilers. Staying safe in manufacturing jobs is annoying but also very, very expensive. Real manufacturing factories belch smoke and dust and grime that causes asthma and birth defects in surrounding communities. Everyone wants their manufacturing jobs back until they realize their kids are living directly under the Asthma Plant.

There will come a time when the workers in these countries rise up and demand better and things will start to even out, but if you want to honestly “do your part,” you gotta stop buying cheap shit for no reason.

Not every event needs to be celebrate with a baseball cap or a coozie or a t shirt or a keychain. Not every wall in the house has to have a picture or a cute phrase on it. The knickknacks are killing people.

mini-wrants

Yep!

snazzymolasses

All extremely true.

What I can't figure out is why people seem to want factory jobs to come back?

They are awful jobs that break your body and shorten your lifespan, why do people want this?

I can't figure it out.

alex51324

The decline of US manufacturing tracks very closely with the decline of the highest marginal tax rate--i.e., the amount of income tax paid by the richest people on the portion of their income over the highest income tax bracket.

The highest marginal tax rate peaked in the mid-50's, and slowly declined through the 70's. Manufacturing--and therefore manufacturing jobs--continued to rise during this time, peaking in 1979, when the highest marginal tax rate was 70%--and had been for most of the decade. (Again, this is the tax paid by the richest people, on the portion of their income that is above the highest tax bracket, which in 1979 meant income over $215,400 a year, for a married couple filing jointly.)

In 1982, Regan took office, and the highest marginal tax rate plummeted to 50%.

Throughout the 80's, US manufacturing continued to decline, while the highest marginal tax rate went into freefall--bottoming out, in 1988, at 28%, before bouncing back up to the mid 30's, where it has stayed ever since.

The decline of manufacturing meant that people lost their jobs, which of course created economic hardship for them, but the decline in the highest marginal tax rate--tax breaks for the wealthy--was felt by everyone except the wealthy. There was less money to maintain infrastructure, less money for schools, less for higher education--which meant rising tuition, especially at state universities and junior colleges, which had formerly been publicly supported as affordable options. Public hospitals and clinics had to charge more, and then were swallowed up by for-profit conglomerates.

First-time homebuyer programs were cut--these were programs that gave people who were purchasing a home to live in, and did not already own and real estate, access to non-predatory mortgage lending and lower up-front costs, which meant that young people and families had a shot at putting together an offer that would be attractive to the seller, and not be immediately outbid by someone who wanted to buy the property and rent it out. These programs were done through regular banks, and nobody who used them thought of themselves as having benefited from what Regan et al. would call "a government handout," and so they gleefully kicked the ladder out from under those coming up after them.

Basically, a lot of things started to suck, right around the time that US manufacturing started to decline. And the GOP sold the American public on the idea that everything was starting to suck because of the decline of manufacturing jobs--because everybody knew about a factory that had closed and someone who had lost a job, but nobody understands how the fuck marginal tax rates work.

They said, look back at the 1950, when we had manufacturing jobs galore, (and certain groups of people knew their place), and a man could work an honest job and make enough to support a family, (and women kept to their place at home), and wasn't that great?

And what they don't tell you about those times--which were, yes, a period of unprecedented prosperity and social mobility for white American men, and by extension for white American women married to white men--is that the rich were paying 91-92% income taxes on the top slice of their income.

And the government--in the hands of people who had ridden out the Great Depression, and the very real fear that it would cause a Communist revolution here in the US--spent that money on making (white) middle-class life feel comfortable and prosperous, and on building some on-ramps for a reasonable proportion of (mostly white) poor people to work their way into that comfort and prosperity.

Anyway. Manufacturing jobs? Sure; I don't think they're integral to the process, but if they're good union jobs, with safe working conditions, job security, and a family wage, let's have them. Ditch the racism and sexism, definitely.

But the big thing is, bring back the 92% top marginal tax rate--allowing for inflation, let's say on everything over a million dollars a year.

Plow that money into schools, into parks, into colleges and universities, into healthcare; into homebuyer programs, and neighborhood revitalization, and construction of nice, affordable starter home for the burgeoning middle class. Pour some into climate research, and into workforce training for sustainable industry, into medical research to defeat this century's top killers. Hell, put a human being on Mars--as long as it's a giant leap for humankind, and not a boondoggle for Elon Musk.

That's how we make America great again. Tax the motherfucking rich.

TL:DR: People want factory jobs back because America went to shit in 1982, and the GOP convinced them that it was because of factory jobs going away, but really it was because that's when the rich stopped paying their fair share.

(Sources: Marginal tax rates, US manufacturing, tax brackets. )

creatureofthenight94

Saturday June 14th is the No Kings Protest. This is a nationwide protest with over 1800 registered locations.

Here in Michigan, there are several locations where you can go to protest. Below I have information on the locations as well as what to do to prepare and how to handle situations that you may find yourself in.

https://www.mobilize.us/

For those going out to the protests, stay safe.

disdaidal

billy hargrove in every scene (30/∞)

I told you to plant your feet.

#harringrove #billy x steve

our-queer-experience

violently-puppy-deactivated2026

this is fucking sick hell yeah i love this

47-bunnies-in-a-labcoat

It rlly doesn't come across how huge this flag is until you notice there are people in this photo

our-queer-experience

i was so confused seeing all the comments about the people in the photo. like ???

you guys have to be gaslighting-

wait

WAIT

THOSE ARE THE PEOPLE???

ok. yeah. this is a million times more badass

#the queer agenda #lgbtq #trans rights

tiktoksthataregood-ish

olyphant-tim

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT + on-screen kisses happy birthday, sarah! 🥳💕

#timothy olyphant

olyphantgifs

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT in Apple TV+ comedy series 'Stick' (2025)

#timothy olyphant

passivenovember

They cope with things differently, after the gate closes, cloaking world-weary shoulders in ways no one saw coming.

And the others, they could’ve guessed what would happen to Billy.

That he would shrink when the shadow cast itself out, skin sucked dry like astronaut food left to rot when the shuttle went up in smoke. Melancholy, spackled and drying over his bones to take up less of the atmosphere.

It wasn’t much of a surprise. They’d always thought, that. Maybe Mad Dog Hargrove wasn’t all he inflated himself to be. Maybe he’d catch on something, one day. Pop. Deflate.

And he does.

Billy was supposed to die. They were banking on it, but he didn’t. By the time he could breathe on his own, Neil had sold his stuff from bins marked $5.00 under the cooling September sun, so.

Billy pulls through and he hides himself inside the zip up hoodie Steve Harrington drops at the hospital. Steve knits the sweater Billy calls home, and loses his mind as payment.

Comes up from his third concussion in three years swinging, asking about California.

California, come home.

They spend three months in physical therapy together, and things change again. Steve props himself up with his battered spine and falls in love with who Billy is now that his walls have been torn down.

He cries all the time. Hurts.

Aches, deep in the enter of himself to see Mad Dog Hargrove trapped in a muzzle. Helpless.

Steve makes a decision to be tough enough for the both of them.

Steve gains a shadow. A hand that snakes, tugging on his jacket at midnight parties, fingers knotting with Steve’s own to pull him out of the living room. Away from the fights he never wins.

They make an odd pair. Billy, quiet and sullen, blue eyes tear swamped and muddy. Steve, snapping and snarling at anyone who gets too close. Who stares too long.

They’ve switched places. Parent trapped their trauma into something that fits together like pieces of a puzzle.

#harringrove