#2. Shower enclosures

[tapronlimited]

How to Choose a Bathroom Basin

The Tapron blog post "How to Choose a Bathroom Basin" offers a comprehensive guide on selecting the perfect basin for your bathroom, emphasizing the importance of material, shape, and design. It discusses various materials, including ceramics, metal, and glass, and explores shapes like round, oval, and corner basins. The guide advises on choosing basins based on individual style preferences, practicality, and the overall bathroom design, ensuring the basin complements the space both functionally and aesthetically. For detailed guidance, visit the full article here.

[bluelockmaniac]

reaction to you wearing a bikini pt.2 - itoshi sae

ft. itoshi sae

cw: taking a shower with sae, fem! reader

pt.1 nagi & reo

you had just arrived back at your and sae's shared apartment from a pool party where you had celebrated one of your friends' admittance to the university they had always wanted to attend. you glance at the dim entry as you take off your flimsy sandals and place them neatly on the organized shoe rack. turning on the lights, you noticed that sae had not returned from football practice, but you shrugged it off, assuming he'd stay longer than necessary as he does usually. before you actually began pampering yourself to a hot, bubbly bath in the bathtub situated elsewhere in the luxurious bathroom sae owned, you hurriedly stepped into the glass shower enclosure with your bikini still on to wash off the faint traces of chlorine. unfortunately—or perhaps fortunately—god had other plans for you since you were too preoccupied to see sae grinning while you sung along to your spotify playlist at the top of your lungs, your eyes firmly shut, and your hands massaging your scalp. he tried banging on the door, really, but he just knew you wouldn't hear his knocks over the splashing sounds of water or your loud music, so he entered anyway. it was just the football prodigy's luck that you had only recently entered the shower, so the warm steam had not yet formed on the enclosure's glass walls. you gasped in horror when a pair of large hands suddenly grabbed your bare waist. quickly turning around, "who the—" you cried out, only to make eye contact with your boyfriend, who wore a subtle smirk on his face. "—oh, sae..." you let out a sigh of relief as you threw your arms around his neck and gave him a quick kiss which he reciprocated immediately. "mi amor, if i had seen you in this state sooner, i would have suggested taking a shower together every day." he says indifferently, moving aside the damp hair clinging to your skin to plant a gentle kiss on the side of your neck. "eres tan hermosa."

translation: "you're so beautiful."

it took you a few moments to fully comprehend what he was implying, and your cheeks were quickly painted with a lovely crimson. "...ehh?" noticing that he was dead serious—and slightly sweaty— you nodded without hesitation and lifted his shirt over his head and tossed it into the corner basket. "you're not wasting any time, are you?" he gives your waist a light pinch as he enters the shower, a hint of a smirk playing at his lips. it was slightly infuriating— how he effortlessly persuades you to agree to anything without thought and how his presence makes you feel physically weak. you give his chest a playful punch before pointing to his boxers with raised eyebrows, pink rushing to your cheeks. a quiet chuckle escapes his lips, and you could almost feel the haughty smirk that forms on them. "sae, what are you lau—" his lips slammed into yours, bringing your hands to rest on his chest, interrupting you as he pulled you in by the waist. "...mi amor, you don't think it's fair if i strip completely while you're still wearing your bikini, do you?"

comments are very much appreciated, thank you!!!

[angelisgonnastartchangingurls]

nina pt. 2

Nina walked back to her mom's trailer and found her mother, father, and brother Paul. Paul was unloading the last of the supplies their dad had brought, and moments later he was saying goodbye. They'd see him at the end of the week.

Nina didn't officially have any work to do that day, so she hung around the cabin and read and then sat by the water for a few hours, mostly napping. That night she had dinner with her mom, Paul, Cassie, and Evan.

It was hot in the cabin that night. It always was, but it took some getting used to. she slept fitfully, sweating through her shorts and tanktop.

In the morning, she woke up and looked across the room. Cassie, she was surprised to see, had slept on top of her covers in just a pair of panties. Her breasts were fully exposed, and Paul was already awake and talking to her, sitting on his bed. Nina tried, as usual, to stifle her surprise.

"You guys want to go get stoned down by the river?" Cassie offered. Nina was still stifling her initial surprise about the toplessness, but then had to again as Nina casually slipped off her underwear and began to put on her bikini in front of Paul. So we just get naked in here now? Nina thought to herself. They'd used to change in the tiny bathroom, or the outdoor shower enclosure. That was clearly a thing of the past, and as if to confirm that, Paul was now pulling off his boxers and rifling through his suitcase for a bathing suit. Nina caught a glimpse of his cock, but mostly just saw his pale ass. She took her own bathing suit into the bathroom to change.

That evening, in the pitch dark, Nina awoke to giggling sounds across the room. In the morning, she assumed she'd dreamt it.

One sure sign of Nina's new level of trust and autonomy as a 16 year old, she discovered, was that her mother smoked openly in front of her now. She'd typically be out in front of the trailer early every morning, smoking and making coffee in a sports bra and jean shorts. Nina sometimes came by and they'd chat, before Uncle Evan was even out of bed. One such morning, Evan stumbled out, and didn't seem to see Nina there, and thus unceremoniously pulled out his dick in full view of Nina's mother and pissed in the woods. Nina looked at her mom, looking at Evan, and giggled. "Oh good morning," he said, putting his cock in his boxers as he regarded Nina. "Sorry about that." "It's fine," she said. "I've seen dicks."

"How many?" her mom asked, incredulous.

Nina just laughed.

That evening, something woke Nina again. She ignored it.

The next morning, she was outside using the outdoor shower. It was something Evan had rigged up years ago -- it was connected to a transparent tank on the back roof of the cabin. Sunlight heated the water that automatically refilled from a hose on the other end. Even first thing in the morning, the water was pretty hot. There was virtually no water pressure, which didn't do Nina's hair any favors, so she just never washed it, all summer long.

Anyway, she was washing her body under the hot trickle of water when the stained-glass bathroom door opened and Paul poked his head out. "There are some college kids on campsite 40," he said. "Cassie and I are gonna make friends. You in?"

"A little privacy?" Nina said, covering her breasts. Paul laughed. "Oh relax," he said. "Don't forget to shave your pussy." He closed the window.

Paul and Cassie's plan for befriending the college kids was simple: they walked over and offered them weed. Naturally, this worked, and Nina, Cassie, and Paul spent the day at their campsite, taking little trips to the river and on hikes in different small groups.

Most of them seemed to be couples. Nina enjoyed watching them interact. But there was at least one unattached girl and one unattached boy, who seemed interested in Paul and Cassie, respectively. Nina wasn't bothered by this. She was 16. She'd expected to be the wingman. And in the afternoon, when she and Paul went for a walk with Kate, the unattached girl, who was 20 years old, Nina found herself naturally talking up Paul, what a good brother he was, whatever. It was easy. They took Kate to this great overlook they'd found when they were preteens, and Nina looked out at the landscape while Paul and Kate made out.

When Kate told Nina to walk down to the path to be a lookout, she did so willingly. She stood about 15 yards away, behind a tree. When she first peeked out, Kate was topless, sitting in Paul's lap. When she looked back again a few moments later, Kate had Paul's erect penis in her hand, stroking it as she spoke to him. Nina couldn't hear what she was saying. She watched the way her hand traveled up and down his shaft. Nina was too far away to determine if Paul was impressive in size. And then Kate was on top of him, her skirt still on, but it was clear what was happening under there. Nina found herself thinking that Kate was being too active -- bouncing on Paul at hyper speed. Can that really feel like anything? She wondered. With Joe, she'd spent some time on top of him, moving slowly, and she could tell from Joe's face that it felt just as good for him as it did for her.

And then the girl was pulling off, and Nina looked away, and moments later she and Paul were fully dressed and heading back down the path, right past Nina. She followed sheepishly.

"You guys FUCKED?" Cassie was mock-scandalized. They were back at their own cabin. It was late. They were all drunk and stoned. "She was so tight," Paul said.

"I'm jealous," Cassie said. "I gave Tommy a sloppy blowjob but was like, so drunk he was barely hard."

"Skill issue," Paul said. "I can get hard no matter how drunk I am."

"Prove it," Cassie said.

Paul laughed.

"Seriously, do it," she said.

"In front of Nina?"

"Didn't you tell me to relax when you saw me naked this morning?" Nina said playfully. "I'm relaxed."

So then Paul was defiantly standing up, pulling down his shorts, and starting to pull on his flaccid cock. Nina and Cassie watched intently.

He was rock hard pretty much immediately.

Nina was close enough now to be impressed. But she remained wryly skeptical on her face.

"I could cum right now and be hard again in five minutes," he said.

"I think you know we're going to ask you to prove that," Cassie said.

"I don't know," he said. "I feel pretty exposed and alone here."

Cassie took off her shirt. She looked at Nina. Nina shrugged,and did the same thing. She still had a bra on, but she took it off.

Paul grunted, and then began to rapidly stroke his cock. 30 seconds later, he was shooting his cum on the floor of the cabin. Nina looked at it sitting there. A little white, mostly translucent.

On her phone, Cassie set a timer for five minutes. Paul laid back on his bed, cock still out.

"What should we do while we wait?" Cassie said.

"You should jerk off," Paul said.

"I think it would take me longer than ten minutes to cum," Cassie said.

"Not me," Nina offered. "I can cum in like, 2 minutes."

Nina was a very active masturbator. At home, with a room of her own, she did it three times a day. In the morning, after school, and before bed. At camp she only ever did it in the shower. Paul had nearly caught her that morning. "Prooooove itttt," Cassie dared. Nina reached into her shorts and started to touch herself. "Oh wow," Cassie said. Paul looked over at Nina touching herself and smiled. Nina closed her eyes and had a quick, efficient clitoral orgasm. She sighed, and licked her fingers. Cassie applauded. Paul turned to show them that he was hard again.

"OK," Cassie said. "You win. The guy from Site 40 was a loser. You should just fuck me instead."

Paul cackled. They went to bed.

The next day, they were back with the kids at Site 40. They smoked weed and drank wine all day, so much so that Nina passed out for a while, and woke in one of the couples' tents. She didn't remember being moved there, and when she stumbled to her feet, the girl, the blondest and most hippie-ish girl, gave her a bottle of water. It was getting dark, and she told Nina she'd come back to get her because they were having a fire down by the river.

When Nina arrived, the first thing she clocked was Paul and the girl from yesterday making out heavily on a towel. Cassie was similarly ensconced in the arms of her unimpressive man, and the two of them were watching one of the other couples, a lanky boy and a cute, short brunette girl, splash water at each other, standing naked in the river. "It's so cold," the girl was saying. She had almost a full bush. Nina thought it looked sophisticated.

The girl who'd woken Nina in the tent, her name was Ellie, at least Nina was pretty sure, Ellie was bringing her over to her boyfriend, Josh, and Josh gave Nina a beer. She sat with them as it got dark and chatted. Ellie was very curious about Nina, asking lots of questions. At one point, Nina was so absorbed in the conversation that she nearly missed that Paul and the girl were fucking on the beach in front of everyone. Cassie was watching intently.

Nina looked at Ellie and rolled her eyes. "That's my brother," she said. Ellie giggled. "That's my sister on top of him."

Nina felt like an idiot as she looked back and forth between the girls and realized they were twins. Ellie had longer hair and was more tan, but those were the major differences.

"Is that weird for YOU?" Nina asked Josh.

Josh laughed. "They have different bushes. Makes it easier."

The girl on top of Sean had a trimmed, shaped triangle.

Nina somewhat involuntarily looked quizzically at Ellie, who yanked down the front of her bikini to reveal a tight landing strip.

"Show us yours" Ellie said.

Nina pulled her bikini aside, which she felt was a sluttier gesture, to show them her pale shaved cunt. Josh whistled in appreciation.

"Can I touch it?" Ellie asked, already reaching.

Nina allowed it. Ellie's touch was tender and precise -- immediately touching Nina's clit. Nina gave a little yelp of pleasure.

Ellie was pushing apart the corner of Nina's labia, looking admiringly at her. "If we go back to your cabin with you," She offered. "Can we fuck you?"

Nina nodded.

Her legs shook on the walk back. Her second time having sex was going to be a threesome?

Once inside, Ellie and Josh quickly got naked. Josh's cock was very red and kind of thin but not unpretty. They moved Nina's bed and got on either side of it, laying her down on it and getting her out of her bikini. "I really want to taste you," Ellie said.

She put her mouth between Nina's legs, and Nina bit her lip to keep herself from moaning too loud. She'd never had oral sex before, and Ellie felt practiced in the art. She convulsed on the bed. Josh had his hands on Nina's face, and soon had his thumb in her mouth. She sucked at it eagerly, desperate to please. She watched his hard red cock twitch, out of focus in her field of vision because his arm was kind of in the way. She looked over at Ellie now, looking up from her cunt in a satisfied way. "Go get a condom babe," she told Josh. "This little whore is good to go."

Being called a whore stung Nina a little. She tried to get over it as Josh got on his knees between her legs. Ellie pulled Nina's legs open more. It felt less like a threesome and more like Ellie capturing and bringing a reward home for this creature in her care. Josh pushed his cock into Nina's pussy, and Nina gasped as her body accepted him.

"You like getting fucked?" Ellie asked her, pulling on her hair.

"Y-yes?" Nina said.

"Good girl," Ellie said. "You're so fucking pretty."

Ellie was touching herself, pretty frantically, and was almost holding on to Nina's head for balance or something. Ellie closed her eyes and kept them closed for a while, not watching as her boyfriend thrusted away between Nina's legs.

Nina tried to lock in and pay attention to Josh, tried to feel his cock, but she was drunk and distracted by Ellie, who was now moaning emphatically as she either had an orgasm or was working desperately to finish one. Josh pulled out, pulled the condom off, and sprayed his cum on Nina's pussy and stomach without asking. Ellie yelped a few more yelps, bouncing up and down on her knees, and then stopped. They both grinned at Nina on the bed and got up immediately.

They dressed quickly, said "thanks" to Nina, and left. Nina laid there on the bed, which had been moved to the middle of the room, with cum on her stomach and a condom stuck to her thigh, naked and cold.

Cassie came in seconds later. "Losers," she said. She looked at Nina, still stunned and sprayed and splayed on the bed. "Hit and run?" she asked.

"Yes?" Nina said.

"Losers," Cassie said.

She was stripping, unceremoniously as usual, and put on a sweatshirt, nothing else, and plopped down into Paul's bed.

"Will you turn off the lights when you clean up?" Cassie asked.

"Sure," Nina said.

[hometoursandotherstuff]

This restored 1970 mid-century modern home in Houston, Texas has walls of glass in the back and from front to back at the entrance. It's so exposed, I could never live here. 5bds, 5ba, $3.1M.

Through the front door, smack in the middle of the house, is a conversation pit with a large skylight over it.

There's also a very large dining area.

From the living room in the back of the home you can see up to the 3rd floor. Look at the sofa in a brick niche up in the loft- that's different.

There are 5 baths in house.

The kitchen is minimalist modern and looks like it has its own fireplace but it's just a shelf with a small sitting area.

The primary bedroom is open and consists of more than one room.

This glass enclosure appears to be, maybe, a yoga/meditation room.

The en-suite has a large shower and what looks like a double tub.

And, this is the closet/dressing room. Not liking the minimalist furniture in a house this expensive- it looks like IKEA.

Here's a family room.

Large secondary bedroom.

And, this is a child's room.

One of the other baths.

I don't know if that's book shelving on the right or an art installation.

This is another dining area on one of the upper floors.

There are 2 big decks in the back of the house.

It's only a .92 acre lot, which doesn't give it much seclusion for all that glass, especially if someone decides to build nearby. Plus, there appears to be a road going by along the bayou.

[eosofspades]

quick n easy list of gentle coping mechanisms for bad mental health days / neurodivergent understimulation episodes!! some are more applicable to one or the other but when i'm feeling particularly like a tiger in a too-small enclosure i find doing at least a couple of these things helps me so much

drink water. basic, but annoyingly effective

eat a snack. same as above

stretch! even just some laying down stretches like pulling on your arms and knees (in fact, here's a great tiktok series for "depression stretches" and workouts/physical stimulation you can do laying down/without much movement)

music/podcasts/video essays. your favorite playlist you haven't listened to in a while, a podcast you like/have been meaning to start (i listen to podcasts while i'm drawing!)

draw/color! if you don't wanna draw, a coloring book is always fun. i actually prefer kids' ones.

read a book. i prefer physical books bc i know i'll get sucked back into the social media scrolling for hours if i try to read on my phone. i also recommend a nice tea/hot chocolate/juice with this one.

video games. this can be anything from minecraft to destiny 2, but i usually never give myself time for these, even when i have it (stuck in that phone scrolling). a more action-packed game for mental understimulation, maybe a more mellow one for a bad depression episode.

shower. i am fully aware this tends to take a lot of spoons but even just sitting under running water ALWAYS makes me feel better when i can manage it. it also helps me with adhd overstimulation!

clean/organize. this sounds counterintuitive but i actually do enjoy organizing stuff for understimulation, and cleaner workspaces help with the depression. even if it's something as simple as "put all the pencils on the desk back into the pencil cup."

puzzles/brain games. this one is almost exclusively for mental understimulation but once i get going it makes my depression SO MUCH BETTER, TOO. my niche is getting myself some algebra sheets but this can be anything from math to jigsaws to crosswords to word searches!! some kind of problem solving that engages your brain and requires focus. this one is my favorite because i find it really grounding.

playing an instrument. this is in the same vein as the last one! again, my personal niche is the piano, but this could be any sort of thing. in fact this could even be substituted for some kind of alt hobby all together, like knitting or crocheting or something! again, mostly for understimulation, but gives me the serotonin boost to get through the depression stuff as well.

this is all i have for my list, but i'd love for anyone to reblog and add their own stuff!!

[kiawren]

random questions to answer about your f/o and/or s/i lolol could be an ask game or just fun to think about

1) what does their alarm ringtone sound like

2) what's their usual shower temperature. how long do they take to shower

3) what's their spice tolerance

4) what's their fav ice cream flavour. cone or cup

5) how do they bookmark their book pages

6) what zoo/aquarium enclosures would they spend the longest in

7) how easy is it for them to get sick

8) what do they usually have for breakfast

9) how good are they at origami

10) what kind of games would they have on their phone

11) who do they main on Mario kart

12) what kind of handwriting do they have

13) if they had an alternate haircut, what would they pick/what would suit them most in your opinion

14) if you asked them to form a heart with their hands, what would their default be (the regular heart with both hands, big heart with their entire arms, or a small heart with just one thumb and index finger, or something else)

15) what mythical creature would they be

16) how would they spend their airplane flights

17) how do they react to stray cats/dogs

18) what's their fav pasta type

19) how good are they at taking care of plants

20) what's their favourite time of day

[frances-baby-houseman]

We went to look at the 1.2 million dollar immaculate untouched but well maintained mid-century ranch that our real estate agent showed us. It is the most insane house I've ever seen

it has a pink marble bathroom (above)

all the floors are terrazzo

the primary bathroom has a bathtub inside the shower enclosure with a little step to get out of it (I do not know how to describe this feature)

there is a drive-through garage (a thing I have never seen before IN MY LIFE)

the backyard is a japanese garden

adam was like where will the children play sports, the entire yard is a japanese garden and then we kept walking around the back and discovered a FULL HALF BASKETBALL COURT

there is a boiler (??)

it is on a slab so no basement

there is no actual family room and all the walls are stone

the walls that aren't stone are covered in fabric wall paper

I am not describing this well bc it is PERFECT

every room is full of built ins, you would not need a single dresser

the walls are covered in actual art work, if we don't buy the house I'm at least going to the estate sale (I know there will be one bc many things are tagged "don't sell")

there is an enormous pass through from the kitchen to the dining room

there is an explicable structure made of steel and mesh screens enclosing the patio

it has a circle driveway in addition to the drive through garage

again, a DRIVE THROUGH GARAGE

there is a tiny office all the way on the other side of the house

every room has a door

the bedroom half of the house can be fully closed off from the rest of the house

listen i'm obsessed with this place but we cannot spend 1..2 million dollars

[summercosmos]

Fablehaven Pokemon AU; Pt 2 (Seth)

Seth as a pokemon ranger!

Seth would be bored out of his MIND tending to the daycare all day; running showers for and grooming cutesy pokemon is fun for about the first four times you do it only.

it doesn't help that there are more interesting (read: unsafe) pokemon available right at the fablehaven daycare! it's just that grandpa sorenson will not budge in letting his grandkids interact with those. something about lacking "experience" and "expertise".

Seth: alright then. bet ←(gets himself into a ranger school Like A Boss)

there's really nothing anyone can do about the school sign up— I'm thinking kids in the pokemon universe are considered their own legal representation around the time they graduate trainer school (13-14 yrs old)

and after the initial scare, everyone concedes it's kind of a good idea, really. Seth gets to explore and interact with wild pokemon while still in a somewhat controlled environment, minimizing the amount of trouble to be stirred.

Kendra is happy to be the one to inform Seth that Ranger School does, too, involve actual textbook studying. he forgor💀

Seth would do the bare minimum for the theory aspects — what he really excels at is practical demonstrations!!!

don't let anyone tell you otherwise; pokemon absolutely interact with people based on Vibes. if you show that misdreavus even the smallest of hesitation you're getting Astonished into your next life dawg.

obviously this is not a problem for Seth. in fact i think he'd be at his very best when approaching wild Dark & Ghost types; those are the most likely to feed from fear and distress!

if you have no fear to feed the little creepers with then theyll be like Well. Hmm. What Now. (top tier strategy)

while on that the rangers here are a bit of mix from the spin offs and from the trainer class from the og games. they have one partner pokemon that will accompany them in their main rescue missions, but their job also involves protecting certain areas from poachers &/or criminals— that means there's also a lot of pokemon battling!

I'll be honest i think Seth's main criteria for his pokemon team is Does It Look Cool? Catch

when his eevee evolved into a sylveon he had to pause to cry throw up bang fists on the wall roll around for a bit. imagine having your team astethics ruined by the sparkly fairy type. Kendra makes fun of it at least once

still comes back to the daycare even while on the training stage; when he graduates as an actual ranger the first place Seth will suggest to send rescued pokemon to is fablehaven

Partner Pokemon

Absol: look at me in the eyes a dark type pokemon which is frequently labeled as a chaos bringer & malicious when it in fact only has intentions to help warn people beforehand so they can escape disaster. who else could i even give this to. it literally gets wings in its mega form LOOOOK AT ME

okay so anyways Absol are pokemon which are frequently abused bc of superstition so it isn't a stretch to say one would have eventually found its way to fablehaven daycare as a rescue. this is still in the early days of Kendra and Seth being there to help out so obvs they wouldn't be allowed to handle this one bc of the dark typing and its general bad rep. do you think seth gaf though he does NOT his ass would absolutely sneak out at night to the enclosure they kept absol at and try to make friends with it. the secret lasts about a week (Kendra snitches) but grandparents end up letting him actually catch absol bc they bonded. aw

(rest of the) Team!

Meowth: first pokemon, a gift from his parents! Seth isn't much interested in it bc it's so very normal and boring and not very Cool until he finds out this cat can basically sniff out shiny things (coins & jewels included) and it quickly becomes a Get Rich scheme. which only works on paper for about 2 minutes until he realizes the meowth will absolutely NOT allow anyone (owner or otherwise) to get their hands on its loot. it kind of becomes a srungly family pet though like in a drowned ugly rat kind of way so its still loved regardless. isn't much used in battles so it hasn't quite had the chance to evolve.

Spiritomb: sorry but how can you tempt a child mentioning there's a antique keystone that contains a cool ghost pokemon inside of it and expect him to not do anything about it like thats on YOU. anyhow Seth frees the spiritomb out of the odd keystone and finds out its just a little guy that got locked away for playing too many pranks. come on there's not even a good reasoning to take it away from him

Braviary: caught as a rufflet! pokedex entry from black & white 2→ "It stands up to massive opponents, not out of courage, but out of recklessness. But that is how it gets stronger." it probably tried to pick a fight with Hugo the Golurk and Seth thought it was the funniest thing ever and immediately caught it.

Golurk (Hugo): actually more attached to the fablehaven daycare than anything; it has its orders to protect the people and pokemon inside of the property. still Seth bonds with it more than anyone else and maybe actually brings the guy outside so it can see the world. cuties

Sylveon: okay now bear with me. LISTEN! Seth wouldn't have used any evolution stones on his (graduation gift) eevee bc he was hoping for a high friendship evolution, either espeon or umbreon. well. can you even imagine the look on his face when the evolution process finished and the first thing he saw was a pink ribbon. oh hed lose it. anyways sylveon are actually very combative pokemon — it lures foes in with the cute face and then pounces. they go out of their way to actively fight dragon pokemon likeee can you see the vision. Seth feels immediately better abt the whole thing when sylveon whoops a whole ass hydreigon with one singular Moonblast.

oh i had a Time making this. i love you pokemon au i really do. ill probably do either ronodin or bracken next

[leporellian]

recently i’ve become aware that while i absolutely love teenage opera characters and find them endearing (cherubino, manrico, gilda, zerlina and masetto, etc) i think teenage musical characters are like nails on a chalkboard, and furthermore, i think there are TOO MANY musicals about teenagers and we need to stop making them for a few years bc they are flooding the market. and while in the shower today i think ive figured out why

opera characters are not human. not entirely human anyway. they operate on the same boundaries as Human Muppets

we understand that walter from the muppets (2011) is species wise a human. but he is not human in the same way his brother Actor And Writer Jason Segel is. which doesn’t get in the way of us relating to him- we do empathize with him! greatly! he’s the audience surrogate!- but we see him as primarily 1) Muppet and 2) Human. “Muppet/Non-Muppet” is a categorization on the level of species and gender. i think opera characters work exactly the same way in that while they are all humans species wise “opera character” takes priority as a label and therefore we aren’t meant to entirely see them as just, yknow, random humans. It’s sort of a Noh mask like quality. Therefore “opera characters that are teenagers” is something of a different label than just “teenagers”

2) The concept of teenagerhood as its own rite of passage was not very much of a thing for most of opera history. So for example when Francesco Piave was writing the libretto for Rigoletto he was not looking at Gilda (who’s meant to be 14) and going “okay so what does a TEENAGER act like” he got back with “okay what does a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD act like”. The removal of “teenager” as a category to 1) generalize and more importantly 2) To pander to means that instead of coming across like the sort of rebellious teenager we would probably imagine NOW when “sheltered teen girl who’s secretly dating someone behind her dad’s back” gilda comes across like the sort of nice christian probably-autistic girl who you would encounter on a warrior cats roleplay forum or a littlest pet shop youtube video comments section in 2013

3) On that note the lack of “we gotta pander to teens!” means that opera is able to portray teenagers as 1) batshit but more importantly 2) Decidedly uncool and not in a hollywood way

I forgot where I was going with this. Anyway I love tearing into musicals about teenagers they’re like a pumpkin with meat inside of it and I am a bored tiger in a zoo enclosure

[horsegirlwarcrimes]

bury's tips to ACTUALLY combat writer's block

a lot of the time when you hear writers talk about writers block and what you can do to fight it, the advice that you hear is 'just write'

i took this to be true for a long time, and it's not the worst advice or whatever. at the end of the day anything you want to get done w writing does need to be solved by simply writing. but it took me until i was writing much more regularly to realize that actually thats nonsense

there are totally things you can do to help w writers block! ive been experiencing a bout of it recently, so i thought id share some tips partially to help out those who might read this, and partially to help myself out of that same slump

FEEDING THE MACHINE. in my experience, a lot of the time writers block is less of a blockage getting in the way of a flow of creativity and more like a machine running out of fuel. thoughts, ideas, and emotions CAN come from nowhere, but... usually they are coming from somewhere! i get my worst writers block when i am bored, under-stimulated, or stuck in my real life. try getting out into the world and doing something you don't usually do. this can be wild and exciting, or small and plain. take a different route home than usual, go for a drive somewhere cool, take yourself to a garden, bookstore, museum. if you're stuck at home try a new hobby; draw a weird picture, bake something, bird watch. this is really my top advice for myself at least, and something i have to remind myself when im despairing my own worth and dedication as a writer. you cant pour from an empty cup! you cant make something out of nothing! theres no point scraping yourself dry without trying to fill yourself back up.

FEEDING THE MACHINE... DIFFERENTLY. same principal applies here, but with what stories you are consuming. what actually got me to start writing and posting fic regularly was starting work in publishing that meant i was reading 1-2 books/manuscripts every day. they were often outside my usual reading genres, and sometimes i genuinely hated them... but they were food for the machine. the brain doesn't care if you like books about cows, the brain cares about variety and expanding its horizons. read something new and interesting! try a classic. try getting into queer classics you've never heard of if you're tired of old white men. read a murder mystery or a biography of a cool person or the history of the romance novel or frued's melancholia. try that new fantasy novel youve heard good things about. even if you only end up reading three chapters, thats still something new youre giving your brain. documentaries are also great for this if you're not feeling a new book; sit back and learn something.

CLEAN UP YOUR ENCLOSURE. humans feel yucky when we're in a yucky environment. cleaning is often exhausting and annoying and it sucks, but so is sitting in an environment that makes you feel bad. try clearing off your desk or table. set something nice you like nearby! choose a sunny spot to work in.

TALK YOUR IDEAS OUT. i really struggle with this one, because i dont like bothering people and im really embarrassed about my ideas, especially in the planning stage. it can really help though! try talking to yourself in the shower like you're being interviewed about your work. try going on some chat site, find a stranger to talk to, and infodump until they leave (or stay and you've made a new friend!). ask around for someone who wants to chat ideas; you can share yours, they can share theirs. if you have a loved one who would listen, ask if they would sit down for 45 minutes and let you talk.

LIMIT DISTRACTIONS. this one also sucks but yknow. turn on forest: stay focused. close discord. ask your dog politely to stop barking. get off tumblr and stop writing advice posts about writers block. turn on some ambient music and rain noises or chappell roan's red wine supernova on loop.

may add to this later as i think of others, but the point here is that writer's block isn't laziness and, even if you do in the end just need to write, there are ways to uplift yourself and make doing so more pleasant. these also dont fully apply to what i think the actual cause is of what we often call 'writer's block,' which is just exhaustion and lack of free time; i wouldn't consider that in itself writer's block. these tips are more for when you have that time, or you're making it, but you just cant seem to make it happen.

[ruthlesslistener]

Ello! Cat advice anon here, just checking in and hoping that i can help a bit more! Holy Moly, from 0 to 4 kit-kats is a LOT. I commend you for taking in so many, personally I've never had more than 2 at a time sharing the same house, so i can only imagine the chaos! An Experience indeed!

For the overly-cuddly Hwanggeum, I'd say it's either bc you're the "head of the house", so to say, or bc you're her favourite and have been till now showering her with most of the attention she's been wanting. Or it could be both. Blue, my oldest, has always presented to my father, but otherwise she always comes to me bc I'm her main source of affection.

I dunno what might stop Hwanggeum from rubbing on everything, since I haven't had this problem with mine (they're actually not very territorial with space as much as with us humans haha!), but maybe having a smell she doesn't like near the places you want to keep her from might help? Smt like sanitary alcohol or another pungent smell, maybe, which might also help with keeping the others from spraying everywhere.

The smell might fade with time, but the stains sure don't as easily 😣 Found that out the hard way when we discovered a hidden spot in the closet where one of them had peed in a while back, but the smell had faded after some time without us managing to find the source of the smell. Then we found some clothes stained and still emitting a slight odor and knew immediately there'd be no saving them 😓

Hopefully the cat you've managed to find a free spot for doesn't go in heat right before it bc otherwise you (or the shelter) might have to wait till after it ends. You might have gotten used to recognising signs of an incoming heat by now, but just in case, watch out for a sudden increase in demands for affection and loud vocalisations. Mine get real cuddly and all meowy about a week before the real thing hits, but it's obvious bc they're usually not super affectionate with us unless it's our nightly or morning cuddle session 😊 Then again, no two cats are the same, one of them is super clingy and the other super bitey 😂

We plan on spaying them soon, but haven't since my mom is (understandably but also frustratingly) overly cautious about the surgery and the aftermath and keeps thinking of worst case scenarios, but my sibling and I finally convinced her.

Anyway, one last piece of advice i have is playing. There's nothing like that hunting instinct activating and putting the hindbrain on the back burner, which is exactly what happens when you play with them with a string or a powered mouse or mini car (the younger one, Odette, loves a tiny truck i got from a kinder egg or something. its back wheels can be dragged back and released and it spins and twists as it goes) for them to chase.

I think that's all I have to offer, sadly, but, once again, hopefully smt does help outta all that rambling of mine. Wishing lots of love to all 4 of the babies and lots of patience to you and your qpp, you guys are doing your best ❤️❤️❤️❤️

From two snakes zero cats to four cats two snakes AND one umbrella cockatoo!! Would it surprise you if I told you that the cockatoo is the easiest of the new animals to deal with?? It's been a learning curve for sure-apart from the heat cycles, the two cats we're keeping both have vomiting issues (one from eating too much too fast, one from being unable to digest the dry food), so it's been a learning curve for sure. And ofc now that Hwanggeum is out of heat, Mochi is going into it, so it's been a domino effect of horny single ladies near me. Someone pissed on my bed just today, which means that I'm gonna have to go back to keeping my room closed off to the cats until it passes, and I feel bad about that bc miss old lady Fiona has taken a soft spot to sleeping on Toast's enclosure + my bed

Hwanggeum- who I've taken to calling Revelry bc she reminds me so much of my friend's DND character + she's silvered out of her golden kitten phase- def. has imprinted onto me, I think. She follows me around everywhere, wails when she can't see me, and tries to make my life as difficult as possible when I need to leave for work via climbing up my leg when she sees me getting ready. So I'm pretty sure that's why she was so clingy when in heat. Thankfully that's ended for now but *man* did it make working on anything difficult bc she turned into a velcro kitty for about a week- I've got minor scratches all up my legs and shoulders from her jumping on my back or climbing me

The problem I've personally found with her rubbing, though, is that these cats rub really aggressively on *everything*, to the point where I'm not sure how get the scent trick working. It's like, they'll rub on any surface they see, but then you make eye contact with them and they start to rub even more aggressively, knocking everything and themselves over in the process. It's fine with minor unbreakeable shit but very difficult when you're in the middle of painting something and they jump up onto your desk and start rubbing their cheeks against your lamp, paint jar, etc. I'm still trying to figure out how to handle that, since Mochi is twice the size of the others and has some real bulldozing power to her. I think we're fine with not missing the shelter spots bc we likely can't get a spot for the spays until mid August anyways, but yeah...I'm eager to get them spayed lol. If cost wasn't so prohibitive then it would have been done right away, but, well...the cheapest we found is 50 per spay, and that's via a mobile vet mobile that is currently unavailiable. And none of us have 150 dollars to get all 3 cats done, so waiting for the two getting adopted out to get their freebies + the clinic to come back for Rev is our only option. Toys ARE a great suggestion, though- I just need to find the ones that they have. They had a whole bunch of them they used to play kitty soccer with that seem to have mysteriously dissapeared, and we haven't the faintest idea where they've gone. I'm already planning on making a stick-and-mouse toy with some cleaned dropped branches and old scraps I've got lying around for sewing practice

Appreciate all your help and well wishes! Both of us are a little overwhelmed, but we're trying our best and making sure we communicate solutions to the problems. I'm going to try my best to get the piss outta my sheets but I appreciate the heads up about the staining lol

[thepastisalreadywritten]

By Connor McGovern

16 October 2023

We’ve a lot to thank the trees for. Other than their vital role in the ecosystem, they’ve played an important part in mythology, agriculture, industry, and medicine since humans first walked the Earth.

Remarkably, a good number of the UK's most ancient trees — most of them yews and oaks — still stand today as living, breathing witnesses to centuries of British history.

We take a look at some of the UK’s most fabled trees — and the intriguing stories that surround them.

1. Ankerwycke Yew, Berkshire

Yews are guardians of churchyards throughout Britain. Many represent the oldest and most storied tree specimens.

Few are more spectacular than the Ankerwycke Yew, in the village of Wraysbury, near Staines-upon-Thames.

Measuring 26ft in diameter, it’s a botanical behemoth that’s believed to be around 2,500 years old, making it one of the oldest trees in Britain.

It long outlived the now-ruined St Mary’s Priory, a Benedictine nunnery whose grounds it stood in, and some even believe it to be the true site of the signing of Magna Carta in 1215, rather than Runnymede on the other side of the river.

Its intrigue doesn’t end there — it’s also alleged to stand on the spot where Henry VIII wooed a young Anne Boleyn. If only trees could talk.

2. Isaac Newton’s apple tree, Lincolnshire

Numerous trees are cited as being the very one that inspired the young physicist to investigate the theory of gravity.

But the apple tree in the grounds of Woolsthorpe Manor, near Grantham, has arguably the greatest right to this claim, with a scion planted (and still growing) at Trinity College Cambridge, where Newton once studied.

While the apple story is probably the stuff of scientific myth, it’s almost certain that Newton would’ve been familiar with the tree — which today is at least 350 years old — as it’s the area in which he was born and raised.

The county is also home to another of the country’s stalwarts: the Bowthorpe Oak, reputedly the UK’s girthiest oak, with a hollowed-out trunk so wide that it’s said to have hosted the Earl of Bowthorpe’s parties.

3. The Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Tree, Dorset

Beneath the boughs of a 350-year-old sycamore in the village of Tolpuddle, a small group of agricultural workers gathered in 1833 to lament their poor working conditions and paltry wages — only to be arrested, tried, and sentenced to penal transportation in Australia for seven years.

The six men became known as the Tolpuddle Martyrs, and after much public outcry, they were pardoned and returned to England.

Their cause was a key step in the workers’ rights and unionist movements. It is remembered in the annual Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival; a memorial plaque sits beside this great tree.

4. Fortingall Yew, Perthshire

Widely believed to be one of the oldest living trees in the UK (and indeed in Europe), the Fortingall Yew spills over its walled enclosure in a village churchyard like a great shower of dark green needles.

Some experts estimate the tree to be the ripe old age of 3,000, which would make it date as far back as the Bronze Age — some 1,000 years before the Romans had even come up with the name ‘Caledonia’ for Scotland.

The sheer age of the tree means that over time, the trunk has split that it now resembles several smaller yews, rather than one sole, mighty plant.

The future of the Fortingall Yew, however, is precarious, with souvenir-seekers stealing needles and branches, and so compromising its health.

Ongoing conservation efforts that preserve the tree’s DNA by planting saplings in other Scottish churchyards will be key to maintaining its history.

5. Spanish chestnut trees, Herefordshire

Of all the ancient trees at Croft Castle, near Leominster (including the 1,000-year-old Quarry Oak), most noteworthy are perhaps the huge Spanish chestnuts.

Planted in one grand avenue, their origins are believed to hark back to the battle with the Spanish Armada in 1588, when chestnuts were salvaged from the wreckages and planted here at Croft.

In fact, the planting arrangement is said to represent a flotilla when viewed from above.

But it’s at ground level that the trees truly amaze, as they’re almost fantasy-like in their size and contortion.

Take time to admire the gnarled, grotesque trunks and the twisted branches reaching towards the sky.

6. The Chained Oak, Staffordshire

This old oak in scenic Dimmingsdale is now bound in rusty chains.

Local legend has it that in the early 1800s, the Earl of Shrewsbury was accosted by a beggar as he was passing by.

He snubbed the old woman, and in retaliation, she placed a curse on his family that held that every time a branch fell from the oak tree a member of the Earl’s family would die.

That night during a storm, one of the branches fell from the tree and — lo and behold — a relative of the Earl died.

Seized by paranoia, he chained up all the branches to prevent any more falling from the oak.

Even today, as you approach the tree through the thick woodland, there’s a mysterious air to this gnarled old giant.

Just moments away at Alton Towers, the legend is the inspiration for Hex — a psychological hair-raiser of a ride set within the Alton Towers building itself.

[whumpsoda]

Whump ask game!

Nevan, 7

Malak, 11

Marshall, 2

Bea, 3

Adrastus, 17

@oliversrarebooks

For this ask game 

7) when was the last time you laughed?

Nevan bites his lip, wracking his brain for an answer. “Maybe, um… maybe with… Malak…? Don’t… can’t, can’t… ‘member… Master doesn’t like when I laugh…”

11) do you have any phobias?

Malak’s face twists with anxiousness, curling into a fearful ball. “Scared… sss… scareddd Master does… ‘nt… like, umm… me…”

2) be honest: did you deserve it?

“Oh, fuck off.” Marshall groans with a thick grimace, turning away from you in his enclosure, before quickly muttering under his exasperated breath. “Maybe.”

3) what do you think about whumper?

“I love my sir! Love, love, love them! Sir is so… so prettyyy… and sweet… love sir…” Bea melts into a puddle just thinking about them, a wide, glassy smile spread over her face.

17) do you have any pet peeves?

Adrastus gives you a heavy sigh. “Goodness, yes. Malak’s whining annoys me to no end! He refrains from doing so often, but lord does it get on my nerves!” They exclaim. “And, you know, Darius loves to preach about his cleanliness, but the man just loves to not pick up his hair from the walls of the shower! So irritating.”

[hometoursandotherstuff]

The 5 pod Mushroom House in Pittsford, New York is available to rent for $5,500 a month. It has 3 bd. & 3ba., so if you wanted to split the rent, it wouldn’t be too bad. The house was built in 1971 in upstate New York.

Look at the 2 little mushroom columns at the entrance to the path.

I mean, really. Look at the entrance hall alone! The door, floor, and tree. How cool is that?

Check out the ceiling in the living/dining area. You’re under a giant mushroom.

Plenty room on the built-in sofa.

The kitchen is divided from the living room by an island that is also a table. 

This is a rear entrance into the home. 

And, there’s a small home office nook off that entrance.

The rec room is so cool, too. Look at the fireplace and ceiling.

Isn’t this tree divider to the pool room amazing?

Here’s a bd. and an en-suite. Look at the mosaics cascading down the tub enclosure. Has a nice shower, too.

Here’s a 2nd bd. and cool bath.

Have you ever seen a hall like this?

The house has this wonderful raised round patio and is surrounded by an acre of beautiful forest.

And, look at the cute little cave. Looks like that might be a hot tub.

http://www.mushroomhouse.com/

[paladin-of-nerd-fandom65]

Pretty cool answers got some more if that’s ok?

1: what is something the duo believes in? Like Bigfoot, mothman, etc…

2: what’s their opinion on cops in general?

3: you mention in a earlier post that Chris accidentally brushed his teeth with Jake’s toothbrush, was there any other gross moments the duo received?

4: you might’ve answer this before I think but what’s something that makes the duo really angry like super-saiyan angry?

5: what bets does the duo regular make? Like sees who’s faster for example?

6: what does the duo like to do with those respective girlfriends? Like hand holding, kisses on the cheek, etc

1) Well given that well….its the DCU where Greek pantheon gods, biblical demons, descendents of the Norse pantheon (New Genesis and Apokolips) and many others are all legit characters, it’s likely those cryptids indeed do exist anyways. Mainly the Duo though would give some attention in saying the Loch Ness Monster and the Congo’s Mokele Mbembe are real. Unlike in our reality, they have some actual evidence

2) Whilr they certainly have very good allies in Dan Turpin, Maggie Sawyer and especially Amy Rohrbach (in addition it of course Jim Gordon, Renee Montoya and even Harvey Bullock), Chris and Jake are overall more cautious around police officers in general and prefer not to overly rely on them as they both are aware of the systemic issues and structural problems many police departments have, the ones that we in the real world would acknowledge. This is especially true for Bludhaven as their police department is stated in being more corrupt than even Gotham’s.

3) Well, there only two incidents they are willing to talk about including the time Jake was dared by one of his classmates to not shower for a few days, hoping to break a record from an urban legend at their school. While he was able to beat said record by one messily minute, by the end of it he’d smelled and I quote from Chris “like if a foot and Brussels sprouts had a baby….who went Number 2 on their diaper.” Once Jake finally beat said record, Mar’i and Chris immediately gathered up some clean clothes, dragged Jake immediately straight to the bathroom and shut the door behind them so he can finally shower.

The other time would be when Chris and Jake love did some volunteer work at the local zoo, especially when it came time for cleaning some of the animal enclosures. Most difficult of all being the chimpanzees given their usual methods of warding off intruders. One of their ‘items’ they threw literally hit a fan (thankfully an air conditioner fan not a person) from across their habitat.

4) Easily hurting their loved ones and best friends like each others real badly and especially right in front of their eyes while gloating/laughing about it. During the brutal duel and beat down against Victor Zsasz on Jake, had he not been restrained by a power dampening anklet with traces of kryptonite in it, Chris for sure would’ve gone absolutely ballistic on the deranged criminal and rightfully so.

Also hurting innocents just to spite them or being careless is another way to get the two real ticked off. Even Chris and Jake have shown amazement on their ability to hold back during the few times Mongul nearly annihilated large swathes of Bludhaven and Metropolis, merely pounding him down rather than outright incinerating him.

5) Along with who can fly and/or run the fastest, they also made bets on Who can Eat Raw Onions without Crying (Chris won that one), Who’s the better poem writer (Jake), Who Can Curl Their Tongue (Jake again), Who can Annoy Hawkman first (Chris) and Who Can handle Spicy Hot Wings (like we’re taking spices including Habenero and Ghost Chili Peppers) with their Powers Shut Off and Without Milk (a Tie since they both made it two Twenty Wings before rushing for the Gallons)

6) Hand Holding, Quick Cheek Kisses, Sitting Close to each other when taking a seat, Paying for Lunches (Chris and Thara often make reservations at a local Big Belly Burger in Metropolis while conversely Jake and Meredith are regulars at a Bomp N Stomp in Bludhaven), Going to the Movies together (Especially Kaiju movies for Meredith of course), and helping each other out with their homework at their nearby libraries; all these are common place for the Duo regarding Thara and Meredith respectively

Thanks for the asks and your compliments @pin-crusher2000 . It’s very appreciated :-D

[bump1nthen1ght]

feel free to ignore but i would love to know if you have other characters that are drogo's workmates? i just love the setting of it all (drogo my beloved!! 😔🤝)

Oooh this was such a fun request anon! Hope y'all enjoy some general headcanons about Drogo's coworkers. If you're interested for more just let me know!

(And if you have no clue who were talking about, heres the link to the headcanons about our resident demon Drogo!

Headcanon 1

Headcanon 2

Headcanon 3

Drogo's Coworkers: Belz and Rory Headcanons!

Belz (He/they)

Belz is the champion of smooth talking clients, even among his fellow sex-demon coworkers. They always have a way of getting customers to extend their time, knowing exactly what to say to make them wanting more

Bright blue skin and horns that curl back into his messy, shag hair. Definitely one of those people that can hop right out of the shower and their hair looks perfect

On the smaller side of sex demons because he’s actually half-human! Belz is around 5’9 with a lithe body

(Their mom is this sweet baker who fell in love with their biker incubus dad. Though according to his parents, the baker is the wilder of the two 👀)

Their day job is as an art teacher at a rec center and the local community college.

(Definitely the teacher everyone has a crush on. His billowy tops and boho pants make him feel like a love interest you’d run away to Greece with)

Will flirtatiously offer to be your nude subject if you ever want to practice figure drawings ;).

But then will genuinely paint the most beautiful portrait of you when they feel most inspired. It could be as simple as you sitting in the couch in your undies, but he’ll make you feel like a Renassaince muse.

Secret passion: Rodents, especially his two pet rats, Benny and Jet

Once when they were drunk they tried to call out to an opossum and keep it as pet, Drogo had to pull them away as they cried saying “Look at its little face!!”

Bond with his pets and you’ll be one of their favorite people, period. They’ll gush about their whole life history and how much work he’s put in their rat enclosure.

Like Drogo is very flirtatious with his tail, often holding out your wrist or wrapping around the meat of your thigh as he pats you in the butt

Ror’aman/Rory (She/Her)

Built like a brick SHITHOUSE; I’m talking 6’3, arms like carved marble, and thighs that could split a watermelon open

Bright Lavender skin and long, tall horns. Has thick, wavy black hair that she loves wear loose

Specializes in mommy-dom stuff, mostly because of her deep and raspy voice, but it’s aggressively caring demeanor that gets her the nickname ‘Mama’ in the office

One of her favorite hobbies is sewing; Not only can she make her own sexy outfits but she also has a passion for historical fashion. Going to a Ren Faire with her is a delight.

Loves to dress you up in the outfits she’s made, even having tailoring sessions where she can customize stuff to look absolutely perfect.

Her main source of income is as a personal trainer. She’s mastered the mix of encouraging and fierce where she can push you to your limits yet make you feel confident.

(Also has killer gym fits. All the matching sets that hug her body perfectly)

Like many Succubi, she is super touchy feely. She’ll randomly pet the top of your head or rub the back of your neck, not even realizing the shivers running down your spine

Will scratch the base of your skull with her long acrylic nails, pat your lower back, before giving a soft little kiss on your temple

(I mean c’mon who wouldn’t be like “Mommy 😳”)

Hardest part of staying over at her place? She has a tall person’s shelves, meaning you need a step stool to get everything. Or, she can pick you up by your hips and put you on the counter 😉

Takes play wrestling very seriously. You’ll be trying to grapple her with half strength and she’ll go between your legs and throw you over her shoulder like a fresh hunt, before supplexing you onto the bed

(She sees no problem with this: Fight the bull you get the horns 😤)