#but i have one that absolutely isn't like that and it's such an enriching experience

[billowyy]

.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

kompenscovery was such a blessed secret entrance to a Whole Deal (winnie n tay. & i guess billions) when like. having the most specific, correct opinions, and being me, = the ideal is [nobody else try to talk to me about winston billions] and that’s just where we’re at. this is an exclusive experience

[bekolxeram]

I'm usually very block happy, but sometimes a couple of hot takes from the opposite side of the fandom manage to slip through. I'm no saint, I admit I do get quite worked up at first, but after some time, I realize they give me new perspectives to scenes I've watched countless times and discover things I didn't pick up before. So this one is for all of you, staunch Tommy haters, thank you for enriching my viewing experience.

In 7x04, when Tommy goes to Buck's loft to talk things out, this line gives some people the ick, because it echoes what Taylor said in 5x05. In that episode, Buck thought his team was off because they blamed him for Chimney leaving. He talked to Taylor about it, she shared her own experience with her boss being sulky around her, and it turned out her boss was just in a lot of physical pain, she ended the conversation with "maybe not everything is about you". While what she said was absolutely right, and she made an effort to make Buck feel appreciated at the end of the episode, but I can also see Buck not feeling supported emotionally at the time the conversation occurred. In a fashion true to her profession, Taylor delivered it in a very blunt, direct and advisory way. Her being right did not cancel out Buck feeling insecure about everyone acting weird around him and him not knowing why.

What Tommy says here though, is in a a completely different context.

Before all of this, Tommy has already reassured Buck that he's not trying to replace him, that his place in Eddie and Christopher's life is irreplaceable.

Look at Buck's smile, he's apparently in a better mood than before. It's like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

So going in this next part, Buck is more receptive to what he frankly needs to hear: Eddie isn't hanging out with Tommy because Buck did something wrong, he just enjoys Tommy's company.

We've witnessed Buck's growth over 7 seasons, now he can recognize that getting jealous easily is one of his character flaws, he tends to overthink and make other's action personal when he's feeling insecure in a relationship. He's telling Tommy this probably to signal that he understands he messed up and he understands what he did wrong. He never expected Tommy to validate his feelings.

But Tommy does empathize with his predicament.

Buck doesn't understand what Tommy, the cool, confident (and hot) pilot would be jealous over. And he almost can't believe Tommy gets what he's been feeling.

Tommy tells Buck that he's envious of the ride-or-die familial bonds within the 118 nowadays, as if he didn't also put his career and life in danger just to save Athena and Bobby (probably Hen's career as well), after one phone call from Chimney.

Now it's Buck's turn to reassure Tommy.

Another hot take I've seen from the other side goes like "if Tommy was nicer to Hen and Chimney back in the days, he wouldn't have to be jealous over what the 118 has now". You know what? Judging by Tommy's face here, he probably would agree. This is not the face of a man who is proud of what he did. This is the face of a man who is burdened by guilt and regret, this is a man haunted by his past, this is a man who doesn't think he deserves the praise.

Buck even cites fake mouth static as an example of Tommy's effort in aiding the 118's clandestine rescue mission, and they naturally fall into a flirty dynamic. I have no explanation for that, except, your honor, this is exhibit A against the "no chemistry" allegation.

Buck then spells it all out for Tommy that he also put everything on the line just for the 118, without hesitation. Tommy looks like he still has a hard time accepting it as an act worthy of redemption for his past behavior.

We've all made mistakes, and we all know we can't go back to the past and change what we did, so the best way forward is to change ourselves and be better. Judging by Tommy's "and [Gerrard] didn't make me a better person" line in 7x10, he quite possibly reflected on this a lot. Yet, sometimes you still can't help but doubt yourself over if you've learned enough from your past, if you're a good enough person now. I can't imagine how good it feels hearing Buck say out loud that he actually likes the person Tommy is now.

Apparently Buck likes Tommy so much that he came up with excuses just to hang out with him and get to know him.

Tommy is pleasantly surprised, because he did tell Buck to call him when he wants to go up. In fact, Buck can call him for whatever reason, Tommy accepted the Harbor tour request, there's nothing indicating that he would feel weird just hanging out with Buck. Tommy just doesn't know how much of a overthinker and bi disaster Buck truly is yet, but that's the story for another time.

Buck and Tommy really don't know much, if anything, about each other at this stage, as you can see in 7x05, but they're already validating each other's feelings. We've seen Buck get his feelings ignored, hurt, dismissed and kind of fetishized for 6 seasons, now this is something he's been looking for the whole time, for someone to understand what he's going through. At the same time, this interaction must also be quite freeing for Tommy, who's been haunted by demons from his own past.

[anneapocalypse]

I have really complex feelings about the idea (often implied or tacitly agreed to be true even when it's not stated outright) that realism in sex scenes (and specifically sex scenes in fanfiction because that's what I'm thinking about) is always preferable and desirable. That it's always better to be more realistic, and any kind of unrealistic or fictionalized portrayals of sex are inferior--or in some cases, worthy of contempt and an indication of the inexperience/immaturity/poor writing skills of the author.

I have mixed feelings about it because I do think there's a place for realism. There are things that add realism to sex scenes that I really enjoy. I enjoy watching certain characters communicate their desires and negotiate activities. In some scenarios I like seeing characters employ safer sex practices like barriers. I will always enjoy when an author takes the time to figure out a form of lubrication that's appropriate and believable in the setting! I can even enjoy when a character gets up to pee after sex before returning to bed to cuddle; it's a very human touch to the scene that can itself be comforting and enjoyable to read. I like it when people who have experience with certain types of sex create helpful guides to writing those things, offering details you might not think of or know about if you haven't had that type of sex. It gives authors more to work with! It's a tool. Realism is a tool, and one that can absolutely enrich scenes and make them more interesting and fun to read.

And at the same time, something really does rub me the wrong way when I see posts that express contempt for a realism gap in fanfiction and imply that anyone writing it that way must be a) stupid, b) inexperienced (while kind of implying that writing about sex when you haven't had sex is inherently a problem, which I object to fundamentally), and c) completely unaware that what they're writing isn't realistic, which kind of points back to A. It's less on the nose than it would have been like ten years ago, when a lot more people were willing to just come right out and mock "stupid girls writing stupid fanfic" (and all the assumptions that go along with that) but still... that tone lingers. I won't even get into some of the smug posts that used to circulate about anal sex that ended up coming across as "don't you know anal sex is GROSS" in a way that was kind of lowkey homophobic, intentionally or not. Nor am I going to get into the prevalence of queer people telling other queer people they're doing queerness Wrong (in fanfiction, in original writing, in life in general).

To bring a personal angle to this, I'm a nearly-40-year-old bisexual cis woman, married and monogamous, chronically ill, and with some lifelong undefined sensory issues that I don't have any kind of diagnosis for so I'll just call them that. For me personally, due mostly to sensory issues and some physiological quirks, sex can take a lot of energy. Sometimes it's just a lot of work! That doesn't mean I don't want it or enjoy it, or that my partner is failing in some way; I have an active and fun sex life with a very thoughtful and caring partner (and I am not looking for advice on this post, so let's not get sidetracked). There's just challenges! And sometimes I wish my own body made it easier!

So sometimes, when I'm writing smut which is definitionally for fun and primarily for me and my own enjoyment, I find myself caught between: do I want to make this character's experience of sex very realistic in a way that's relatable to me? or do I just want to indulge in the fantasy of sex being easy and low-effort?

At this very moment I'm having difficulty answering that question about some things! There's pros and cons to both, and I don't think either one is wrong. Because at the end of the day, my own enjoyment is the goal of this piece of fiction. It's self-indulgence either way. No matter what I write, these pixel people I'm writing about are not real and their sex scenes are still a fantasy. It's just a question of what kind of fantasy I want to indulge in.

There was a good post I saw recently about the fact that a lot of problematic tropes are problematic not inherently but by scale--in other words, because their prevalence reinforces ideas and narratives harmful to specific groups. And I will be the first to acknowledge that even in the realm of fanfiction--a sphere with relatively low impact on the culture at large--it can be frustrating to constantly run into the same tropes that we find unrelatable or just plain unenjoyable, whether it's rigid top/bottom roles or easy vaginal orgasms. I don't want to come across as like, scolding anyone for just being annoyed, or venting about that sort of thing. It's fine. Some people's forms of self-indulgence are irritating to me, and my self-indulgence is undoubtedly annoying to someone else. I also want to reiterate that talking about what is and isn't realistic in the context of fiction is fine and good and there's absolutely a place for it, and that I enjoy a lot of elements of realism in fiction. I just also want to leave room for fiction to be fantasy. I think that's okay. And everyone's gauge for just how much realism is enjoyable is going to be different. I think that's fine too.

[ineffablymischievousscamp]

Michael Sheen - Master Storyteller

In today's digital world, celebrity interviews are in abundance - especially when you consider newer mediums like podcasts that have skyrocketed in popularity over the past decade. You can find panels from conventions, access talk shows from other countries, read magazine articles from across the pond. There are so many one-dimensional, disconnected, or just plain boring celebrity guests in this oversaturated market. Michael Sheen is NEVER one of those guests.

Storytelling is an underappreciated skill. In this realm, it becomes obvious that Michael has harnessed this skill exceptionally well. As a master storyteller and world-builder, he captivates with the effortless ease of a raconteur, transforming an ordinary interview question into immersive journeys that leave you utterly enraptured.

You can't help but be drawn in by his passion. It's not just in the words he chooses or the exact experience he is relaying, but the ebb and flow of his narrative voice - a voice that exudes warmth and conviction, vulnerability and authenticity, humor and hope.

Like an artist crafting an epic, he makes it so that you feel like an active participant in the tale - present in the narrative being woven - instead of just a listener. Each story feels like a memory being created in the moment with you, rather than just a mere recounting of events.

I absolutely love when he takes a seemingly simplistic interview question that one would assume would result in a stale, depthless answer, and somehow delivers a story so engaging that you are now on an unexpected adventure alongside him. It doesn't matter the topic - he is just that magical and skilled. Michael must be a dream for interviewers. In a lot of ways, the man practically interviews himself. His tangents are so entertaining, refreshing, and enriching - delivering delicious opportunities to dive deeper into his narratives should the interviewer find themselves brave enough.

Outside of his masterful storytelling, Michael truly just seems like a wonderful human to have a conversation with. He is insanely charming, marvelously chaotic, unabashedly honest, perpetually curious, intensely thought-provoking, and deeply caring.

Do yourself a favor and listen to some Michael Sheen content this week. You might laugh until you hurt. You might sob uncontrollably. You might find yourself impassioned over a new topic. You might leave with a fresh perspective. You might find your faith in humanity restored. You will not regret it.

In closing, we all know that age-old ice breaker question - If you could have a dinner party with any 5 famous people (dead or alive), who would they be and why? Well if it isn't obvious yet, one of my answers would unequivocally be Michael Sheen. He'd be riveting in his own right, but can you imagine the stories he'd draw out of the other guests too?

Bonus Content:

For all of those that made it to the end of my TedTalk... enjoy this instant serotonin boost brought to you by Sheenie's Smile!

And yes, at my dinner party I'd 100% tell him "You've had such a profound effect on my life!"

[tonyglowheart]

Thinking again (more, lmao) about The Contentious Chapter 45, and my Why It Needed to Happen thesis, so here are some more semi-organized thoughts on this topic:

Why It Needed to Happen: Yan Wushi edition. So, we don't ever really know what specifically Yan Wushi went through/experienced in his life and more specifically his childhood - we get hints here and there that seem to imply or can be interpreted to be that he's gone through some shit as Xie Ling, and that's (partly? mostly?) what led him to reinvent himself as Yan Wushi, and then there's also the New Years Extra that has a line about how he'd (already) witnessed countless evils borne of the human heart - but the text does tell us he has this belief that human nature is wicked, slash humans can be pushed to do wicked things no matter how "good" they may think themselves to be. As far as YWS knew by Chap 45, SQ was no different -- he'd received no proof yet that SQ was different, he just hadn't found SQ's bottom line. This is sort of similar to the abused child or abused dog thing, where they will lash out to try to provoke the abuse they're expecting either to "get it over with" or so they know where the line is with this new person (except these are purposeful tests that YWS is doing and not like a reactionary mechanism). Basically, this needed to happen for YWS to know/believe that Shen Qiao is different from what he's observed of human nature -- he needed this proof of concept that the world isn't just rival(/rival peers) -- the closest to equals he has, and rabble. This needed to happen to show/prove - to him and the reader - that there may be a thousand Chen Gong's in the world, but there is only one Shen Qiao.

Why It Needed to Happen: Shen Qiao edition. Shen Qiao is a good guy, but he WAS very sheltered and naive. He holds his beliefs firmly, but his worldly experience was limited and so his character was untried. It's the "it's easy to be a good person when you're rich" idea -- he doesn't know if he has a bottom line yet if he would snap. It's easy to say that you will stay true to your principles when they're not tested - it's when they're put under the stress test that you can truly say that you know yourself and your character. Yan Wushi threw him into a fire, yes, but in many ways this was a tempering of his character, much as one would temper steel. This whole experience very much was an absolute low for Shen Qiao, and it's easy to see fire (analogy) as only destructive, but fire can also be a creative force -- e.g. the forging/tempering analogy from earlier, fires used to clear out brush and weeds choking up the land so that new growth can germinate in the new fire-enriched soil, that kind of thing. This isn't to say that Shen Qiao doesn't experience agony in this metaphoric fire, but he also very much textually experiences a sort of epiphany and rebirth. This is both a spiritual (character-based) sort of rebirth, as well as a rebirth of his wugong. It's after this and after traveling with Yan Wushi that we see Shen Qiao exhibiting much more wisdom when it comes to people, where he's not just naively believing and expecting the good in everyone (I don't have specific citations but iirc this is textual, there's whole parts where it's like, before he might have thought x, but now having traveled with YWS he knows xyz, etc.) Yes this was "bad," maybe, but it tempered Shen Qiao, catalyzed his recovery/"rebirth," and overall led to the strengthening of his wugong and his character. (The conversation they have in Chapter 124 underscores this point, actually.)

Why It Needed to Happen: Yanshen edition. Or maybe more like, what does it do for us from a yanshen perspective lol. Cuz imo, it does a lot. I've posted about this elsewhere before lol, but like aside from the above for the YWS side of things, an argument can also be made that this was YWS going "wait. oh shit, I'm experiencing... feelings? for him" (narrator voice: that feeling was friendship, although he had never experienced it before) and like, lashing out at Shen Qiao like "that'll show you for thinking of me as a friend (and maybe making me feel friend-like feelings towards you..)" -- he was already softening before this (him digging that grave for the dead boy unasked, for example), and the way he's like. ....so you think of me as a... friend? before he pulls the rug from under SQ's feet. But this is important because it tells us that YWS *does* care. He's flippant and teasing and gives the impression that he does it for personal amusement and not really out of affection or anything, so really Shen Qiao may be his latest target of amusement, but it could be anyone. But the fact that he reacted like this to Shen Qiao declaring him a friend instead of just dismissing him as not being worthy of being his friend, not being on his level, etc (I mean he does also do that, but it's not the FIRST thing he does, and also I'd argue that when he Declared it contextually he was purposefully trying to hurt Shen Qiao's feelings), or like, just laughing at him and ridiculing SQ for something so preposterous -- this tells us that he IS feeling some kind of way about Shen Qiao already, that something HAS changed and Shen Qiao went from "latest disposable amusement" to at least "point of fascination." We're not in the endgame yet with this, but it does show that for all that Yan Wushi is trying to influence and "experiment" on Shen Qiao, traveling with Shen Qiao/being around him is conversely having an effect on him, too. That he's not just some unchangeable flat "evil" archetype but is also a complex character that responds to stimulus/reacts to his environment and is capable of being influenced by Shen Qiao. Theirs isn't just a one-sided relationship of one influencing the other or one trying to change the other-- it already by this point is a mutual communion between the opposing but complementary worldviews they hold and embody. They're already like if the taijitu were people (sans the dots in each section-- that comes through the course of the story with their mutual temperings). The same or similar actually holds for the SQ side of things too. Actually, the very fact that he feels anguish from this act and finds it a betrayal is also a very huge indication that Shen Qiao also already cares. I mean, yes, he declared YWS his friend, but like YWS said when they were burying the boy - you didn't even cry when your shidi Yu Ai betrayed you - or later when YWS was about to face Hulugu and SQ says if he were to do it, it would seem natural, but if a friend were to do it, he'd worry. and YWS is like, a friend? If LQY were to face Hulugu would you feel the same way? -- Basically, a similar idea holds here. Would you feel the same way if it were someone else? Yu Ai betrayed him, we didn't see him experience this level of individual, personal anguish. Chen Gong betrayed him, he just kind of sighed and moved on. But coming from Yan Wushi... he reflects on how much it hurt, actually. I still hold to my theory that SQ fell first and by this point was already at least kind of in love with YWS, but even that aside, the very fact that this "betrayal" hurt SQ shows that Shen Qiao, like Yan Wushi, despite seeming above worldly/petty matters slash is disconnected from such normal-people-problems like getting your feelings hurt or, godforbid, heartbreak -- are very much not above that, at least, not when it comes to each other. They're not just two ships passing each other in the night -- they're already mutually entangled together, and this growing bond will only grow stronger as they travel more together

[theajaheira]

gje ask: how long do you think it takes before Ethan stops being utterly horrified by the concept that he actually genuinely likes Jenny as a person? bc i feel like that would be A While but also it would probably be very... a year in, a switch flips in his brain and she's suddenly his favorite non-Ripper person ever, but he still isn't going to SAY that so he's just. causing problems for anyone who annoys her as a weird fucked up form of affection.

so i think that initially ethan approaches his deep interest in jenny with horrified anthropological precision. like he is obsessively going out of his way to spend time with her and spying on all of her dates with giles and he is very clear to her, giles, and anyone who will listen to his loud and dramatic protestations that this is because he just Doesn’t Get what giles sees in jenny, but the reality of it is that he (like giles) got trapped in the That Woman Is Too Hot And Can’t Be Real sinkhole and (like giles) is handling it with all the maladaptive coping mechanisms that 20+ years of unaddressed emotional baggage have created. except with giles it’s all about I Don’t Deserve Jenny, but with ethan it’s I Must Undermine Jenny. he HAS to find the flaw in her code and prove that she’s not actually that hot and interesting and perfect, and OBVIOUSLY that means spending time with her because he is RESEARCHING, and eventually + inevitably he will find out the truth and bring this fakey too good to be true relationship CRASHING TO ITS KNEES. he is a genius.

meanwhile, jenny has started taking ethan to her favorite bookstores “for enrichment” and is debating him because she thinks chaos as a concept should be ambivalent to the notion of causing harm, not averting one’s eyes from it, which is what ethan does, which sure does seem like he cares!!!! so maybe he’s not that good at his job!!! and ethan starts fighting with her all the time and giles in the background is like Oh Fuck I See Where This Is Going and starts trying to frantically stop it from happening solely because he doesn’t think he can psychologically take having ethan and jenny as partners at the same time, BUT if presented the option will immediately grab it without hesitation, because something is clinically wrong with him.

in my head there is at some point an accidental kiss that absolutely fucks up both of them and both of them agonize over what giles will think. probably, because they are both so clinically stupid in the exact same way, they kissed in giles’s apartment, giles saw them, giles went “well, i really am at the whims of the universe and my two incredibly hot partners are definitely going to murder me,” and then giles went grocery shopping to give ethan and jenny some time to freak out as individuals.

i think that the switch gets flipped the instant the romantic component comes into play, but you are so right that the horror is immediate and perpetual. suddenly this is the most perfect person outside of giles and ethan would literally die for her in a way that is sorta very different from his experiences with giles??? because jenny is SO VULNERABLE in a way that means ethan’s usual brand of Emotional Violence As Romance is going to go SO BADLY and also make giles literally kill him. he knows from minute one that digging his claws into her insecurities is the very fastest way to lose her, simply because her heart is so so on her sleeve, and once she knows that you know that, if you do it deliberate and calculated damage for no other reason than Showing Her Up, you are done. i think he would be most horrified of the fact that he recognizes there are limits with jenny and feels a desire to respect those limits. (giles thinks this is fucking hilarious btw.)

there is probably this transitional period where jenny is emotionally vulnerable with ethan and he is awkwardly sweet in response and then as soon as she’s settled and it’s over he has to go outside and burn down half the front porch just to make himself feel better. giles is kinda like ok i guess i will take up gardening so you have more things to burn or something. they are developing a system.

so to answer your question ….. a year. that sounds about right. i do think that a year in someone makes jenny make a slightly hurt expression and ethan MASSIVELY overreacts and fucking stabs the guy with an actual knife. jenny is like “wow :)” and giles is like NO DO NOT ENCOURAGE THIS. NO MORE STABBING. WE DID THIS ONCE ALREADY I LITERALLY CANNOT TAKE THIS AGAIN.

[aller-geez]

Bless You

By Levi’s Owner, not sure if she wants her name here ☺️

Please note! She doesn’t have the kink, but dabbles in a LOT of kink spaces that she doesn’t have, and she knows how much I love RemixLevi and wrote this amazing OneShot with permission to share 🥰 it got me GOING I cannot lie. A little sub/dom relationship, snz teasing, public sex in a bathroom, and definitely NSFW 18+ content.

BLESS her heart, she searched the internet for snz spellings too 🥹🥹

please enjoy~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Thomas bus door swung open and inside climbed in a tall, overtly excited man who bounced the entire house as he danced and jumped about. "Babe!!" he cried out looking for his smaller counterpart, emerald orbs scanning quickly around the small space but not immediately seeing the love of his life.

"Im in here," Remi heard a soft muffled voice coming from inside the pile of stuffies on their bed, followed by the soft ambient music of a video game he knew too well, minecraft. The wolf smirked at the pile shaking his head and rolling his emerald green eyes.

"Enrichment time in your enclosure?" he asked casually before the leopard's mop of white and black hairs came popping out through the middle, cheesin.

"How could you guess?" he giggled sliding out of his stuffie cave, putting his game on pause and setting it aside. "Whats up? You look like someone set fireworks off in your pants," he teased, poking his index fingers up and down the man's fairly chiseled, but clothed, abs. Remi swatted at his partner's hands and laughed through his nose.

"Baaaaabe," he rolled his eyes and then grasped both of his lover's wrists in his hands, gently, but it only gave Levi an even more squirrely case of the zoomies.

"Ooo you gonna make me??" he giggled again, tugging and pulling on his hands as the wolf's grip tightened, he sneered at him with lust behind his eyes before pushing their foreheads together gently.

"Why would I reward such bratty behavior? Be still and let me share this good news, maybe Kitten will get some play," he brushed their lips just barely together, a whisper of what a kiss really was, his fiance's face turning bright red, eyes sinking and he nodded ever so slightly with a gentle swallow. "Good boy," Remi patted the side of Levi's face with a light slap, a bit harder than one normally would their partner, but the cat loved abuse. Tingles shot down the leopard's spine as he wiggled to attention.

Standing up straight this time now, fixing his beat up leather jacket and lifting his head held high, Remi spoke "WE, you and me, have a big opportunity tonight, we have dinner with this dude from Wallstreet, he can get me an in and even though I know nothing, and have zero experience he's willing to teach me everything so we can be rolling in the money!" absolutely excited for the chance to be able to pay back tenfold what Levi has done for him the past 5 years, was euphoric, but he immediately sunk in himself when he saw the look on his mate's face. "What's wrong?" he asked cautiously, almost timid. Levi looked down at his hands and twiddled his thumbs, he wasn't sure he had the right words.

He loved Remi, more than words could ever describe, they were soulmates and he hated the idea of him throwing his soul away to work in corporate, worse yet, WALLSTREET. "Honey....wallstreet is where dreams die and lives are ruined at the expense of paper," his artic colored eyes looked up now at Remi's completely crushed face.

"You're not...proud? or ...excited?" Immediately feeling like a pile of the 'worst fiance' ever quickly, the cat threw his hands out in waves.

"No baby, I AM proud of you, and Im so excited that people are willing to see your potential, and that theyre giving you such opportunities to be successful but, this isn't your dream, my love, and I just don't want you to fall back in your progress because you think you HAVE to make millions of dollars to take care of us," he had stood up to face Remi, well, face his chest he was still significantly smaller. Sliding his hands up and down the nervous man's front in a soothing motion to calm him back down, making eye contact again, "I apologize, my love, you know how I can be, I should have had a better pros and cons talk with you after the dinner, I should have just been excited for you," instantly feeling bad for his realism that often rained on Remi's parade.

Leaning down to kiss him in a soft peck, Remi brushed his hand against the younger's cheek and gave him a reassuring smile. "I know you're just thinking about my mental health, I'll always be grateful for that because no one else ever has," their eyes met and they regrouped their emotions by sliding themselves into a deep but disciplined kiss. Before things got handsy, Remi pulled back and bopped the tip of Levi's nose with his long index finger. "Get ready, we can talk more after the dinner and consider the options," nodding his head in agreement, the skinny white haired male lept up and got into action. Remington wants to have a nice fancy dinner with a rich fancy wallstreet man? Fine. No problem. He will just have to create a little "devine intervention" tonight. The two of them immediately started scrounging and scouring to get ready for this opportunity they both had been suddenly blessed with; different motives, but opportunities none the less.

Remington had hopped himself in the shower, Levi had already cleaned himself this morning so he was ready to throw on his clothes, but which would he pick? If he was going to cause some ruckus he was going to need to pull up to all the stops. Out he snaked a pair of leather black tight pants, adorned in black rose lace down the sides of the legs "He looooves these on me," giggling in almost a demonic fashion, he slid whatever he was wearing off, and pulled on the pants, no underwear, cause that would absolutely ruin the aesthetic of exposed lacey flesh on the sides. Levi stood shirtless as he could hear Remi fumbling in the shower with the many bottles of product. Trying hard not to laugh to himself knowing the wolf was probably overly rushing himself, causing panicked chaos in the shower. He was right. The grumpier of the two was absolutely having a terrible time in there.

"ITS SO FUCKING SMALL IN HERE!" the leopard covered his mouth quickly to stifle the laughter threatening to explode from him as his lover shouted from their bathroom. Shaking his head now he went back to his mission of top, and accessories. Plucking it gently from his closet was a light blue silk shirt "Amazing," he kissed the air before sliding that onto his thin frame, looking himself up and down in the long mirror attached to the wall. "Hmmm," he contemplated as he looked himself all around, then tucking his shirt loosely into the pants, and unbuttoned 3 of the buttons to reveal a bit of chest flesh. "Thatll do him," sliding on some black loafers that had the image of a blue iris embroidered on the tops, he began scanning through his jewelry. Remington stepped out, towel over his head as he tried his best to dry out his hair, walking past Levi to the otherside of the bedroom cabin was his side. "Clothes....Clothes...." he started tearing into his closet nervously.

Looking back at his partner from the mirror while adjusting his one diamond earring in, "Honey, wear the beige trench coat with some black, you'll look perfect," the mate said honestly. Remi looked up in his cabinets and considered the suggestion, he pulled out his black straight leg dress pants, they just neatly clug to his legs in all the right places.

Back on the other side of the cabin, while Remi fished for his dress shirt, Levi was linking around his slender neck a sparkling, thin diamond chain and in the middle that sat against his freckled, exposed chest was a wolf's paw print, melded in sterling silver. Last but not least, a silver chain he link around his waist, a long piece connected that draped down his hip. Twirling around and admiring himself in the reflection, he fixed up his hair with some gel, and made his way out of the bedroom so Remi could have the mirror now. Still not paying full attention to what his partner was wearing or even doing, he scampered over to the mirror fixing any mistakes there may be. He had gone with a tucked in black long sleeve button up, shiny black tied dress shoes and ontop of it all was a very expensive looking, light brown long coat that toned in all the black he was wearing. Flicking the lapels of his jacket a few times and running his fingers through his hair, he made finger guns and clicked at his reflection. "Lookin good brother," he offhandedly said to himself before exiting the bedroom.

Bent up against the front door, keys dangling from the tip of his finger he licked his teeth, canines more specifically, he had dazzled in gems. Remi stopped in his tracks, gazing vertically at his mate, feeling a wave of possessiveness boil through him. "No," he said immediately. "You can't wear that, it'll have me in heat all god damn night, No!" his face flushed as he tried to keep his eyes off, but could only keep them locked on.

"Remington, You know far too well this isn't a fight you'll win so grab the keys to Ethel and lets get going," he stuck his tongue out over at his man, who in turn rolled his eyes, squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed in frustration.

"Its going to be a rough night for me I can tell," swiping the hunk of keys off the counter, Levi snorted.

"You never know~" his tone said, innocent, like 'oh trust the universe itll bring good things' but it had been far too long with his mate to know from that very instant, the man was up to no good, and Remi was already quaking in his shoes. They followed each other out, locked up Maybelle and got going in Ethel, which Remi had pretty much turned into his studio room with added storage space for his things. They were working up a way to create space for a bed somehow, for nights he has to be away from Levi for whatever reasons.

It wasnt a very long drive from the park they were currently staying at, out to the city, and eventually, restaurant. However, they did get very, very crusty side ways looks from the rich folks watching Remi drive into the lot with his van. "Bunch of prudes," Levi scoffed as he folded his arms against his chest. He hated rich white people, always so concerned with what everyone else has going on. Remi chuckled at his comment, he didn't give a shit. Look at him whichever way, however way you please, as far as he's concerned, with Levi by his side, his sister safe and the world back to being enjoyable, inbred rich people opinions couldnt touch him.

Parking the vehicle, both men got out of the van and walked up to the podium that said Reservations. "Remington for 3," the towering raven haired man said firmly, eyeing the employee down. Giggling softly, Levi grabbed onto Remi's hand and leaned himself against his partner's side, eyes judging the sweating employee infront of them. Clearly this establishment wasnt used to people like them whether that be gay, or just not visibly rich.

"Right this way gentlemen..." the usher said carrying them to a table with a much older, clean cut looking sir already seated, and scanning through the menu with a bottle of merlot sitting beside his half full glass. "Here is your table, please enjoy," the waiter bowed and left two more menus behind for them. Like the true knight in shining armor he was, Remington pulled one of the chairs out slightly for his fiance to sit at, Levi taking the gesture and letting his man push him in as well. "Good to meet you, I'm Remington, hope you don't mind me seating my partner first," extending a strong calloused hand out to the business man who smiled brightly and shook it enthusiastically. "No problem, at all, Good to meet ya! I'm Bill," he introduced himself cheerfully as they all were now seating themselves comfortably and glancing around the table. "This is my fiance, soulmate and partner in crime, Levi Anderson," the leopard extended a hand across the table as to shake Bill's already waiting hand.

"Pleasure," the shortest of the three said charmingly. The men began to discuss things as men do, but it was Levi's biggest shot now. Guards were down, ideas were flowing, plans were being made, if he didn't act fast, his lover was going to get smooth talked straight into hell through the promise of money and good benefits. The waiter came by silently, dropping off a charcuterie board for the table and leaving, Levi spotted his opportunity. As Remi continued to talk business with this plain old man, Levi was coveting some of the crackers to hide the fact he was also grabbing the pepper shaker. Looking around him to make sure he wasnt going to get caught doing such a childish thing in such a fancy establishment, but he dumped some on his cracker and brought it to his lips, without being noticed he silently, and secretly, snorted it up his nose. The second he did, it forced its way out from him like a volcanic eruption, no time to prepare, only react.

"HET-CHU!!~" He sniffled his nose, before another wave hit him. "cHU!~"

*Thadump* a sound Levi knew, so very intimately. Remi's heart beating loudly.

'No....No he wouldnt...' Remi flushed trying to swallow the sexual anguish he felt after hearing his partner break into sneeze, shifting ever so slightly in his seat to remain calm, to keep himself in check.

"Are you alright over there?" Bill asked concerned with the sudden series of sniffles, sliding an inch away, cautious of a virus.

"Oh..yes, I just have really bad allergies," he said sheepishly tucking a piece of loose hair behind his ear, his voice inflected to sound more stuffed up than he usually would be after two sneezes. The older man nodded turning back to Remi, who dead eyed his mate that only returned his gaze with a sly wink.

'That sadistic little shit....oh he's going to get it whe-' staring blankly at the man who was prattling on in front of him before his thought was shattered by the sound of yet another sneeze. 'Keep it together Rem...' his groin twitched.

"eh-TSH-eh!" Levi snuffled and rubbed his nose into the napkin in small circles, pulling it away, a bead of sweat started to slip down the side of Remi's face. Bill not noticing a single thing wrong as he boasted about his career and accomplishments, all the things he could do for Remi. All Remi could concentrate on was all he could do to Levi in this very moment. Would he go to jail if he just ravaged him here?

"TSHOO!" Levi tried to hold that one in halfway to give it a more dramatic effect. He knew it was sending waves of electricity down the wolf's spine, he wiggled in his seat. His baby blues blinking gently in the direction of his tortured lover.

"Hey, Remi arent you going to offer your fiance a hand or something?" Bill looking over between the two of them, Remi's soul completely out of his body due to the position he was currently in.

"I- Uh, yes I uhm....honey?" He held out his bare hand to Levi, brain completely not registering what he was even offering, Bill cocked an eyebrow, even the leopard looked slightly confused, but taking it anyway and then letting out another one, gentlier this time, nothing crazy flying out, just hot ridged breath in between his long shaking fingers. "ESHUH~" it came out almost high pitched in sound, too cute to the wolf's ears, his cock started to pump full of blood. The sensation of feeling such a gentle action, the sound, the absolute publicness of this display, it was so entirely naughty. They both clearly knew between the two of them, what was really going on. While Bill laughed out loudly and threw himself back with his hands on his stomach.

"I LIKE him! Funny guy you have yourself promised to here," he slapped Remi on the side of the arm who tensed up and snapped his gaze back to reality.

"Oh I- uh...Yeah, he sure is something isnt he?" joking along nervously, the dark haired man was lucky that this old rich idiot was far too concerned with his ego to notice how absolutely rock solid and flustered he was. Slamming his fist on the table he coughed "We should order right? Food? That would be good..." He muttered scanning the menu lazily trying with every last inch of his soul to distract himself.

"Oh yes I'd love a clam cho-OWCHUH!" the white haired adonis male was interupted again by yet another violent sternutate. "Terribly sorry, don't mind me I'll just have to excuse myself to the....restroom, I'd like a clam chowder bread bowl," ordering as he stood up, glared at his partner to follow him, and continued his journey to the back bathrooms. While Bill's attention was on Levi to remember the order, Remi quickly snagged the pepper shaker, shoveling it into his pocket before he too stood up. "Yeah, I gotta piss, steak, rare, thanks, I'll be right back, so sorry," he excused himself as Bill waved him off without a care in the world, or concern on his plate.

The second, the absolute milisecond Remi pushes past the doors of the restroom and locates his partner's shoes in the correct stall, he practically peels the door off its hinges. "You think you're clever dont you??" He shouts in a whispered fashion incase anyone comes in.

"What do you mean, my lover?" playing it completely innocent in high brat fashion, cornering himself against the wall of the handicapped stall. The wolf loomed closer, each step of his shoe echoed within the chambers of the bathroom itself. Diamond eyes traced every move up the masculine man's body, stopping at the slightly enraged, but completely passion stricken facial expression.

"Oh? Oh we want to act like I'm stupid?" Raising a thin black eyebrow as he walked himself an inch away from Levi's face, "You've been playing with fire all night, my naughty little kitten, and now you're going to be punished, severely," He gripped Levi by a fist full of hair, knuckles white, Levi's eyes forced open by the pressure, mouth cocked.

"Hng~" The leopard whimpered softly, legs buckling underneath the sheer dominance of his mate. "D-daddy please I didnt mean to upset you..." his lips quivered but it was too late, the black haired man ran his tongue up the smaller's thin, etched neck, nipping at the line of his jaw. A whisper of a moan came bursting from out of Levi's vocals, like music to Remi's ears, but that wasn't what he wanted to hear tonight in this bathroom with amazing acoustics. While Levi's head is pulled back he takes the shaker in his other hand and swiftly brings it up to the man's nostirls. "NNnNGh~ AHHH~~~ EHhHhHhCHTUUU~!" Levi sneezes loudly, aggressively, suddenly into the side of Remi's face, echoing inside his ear drum, unhinged, uninterupted, bouncing off the walls and giving him a second helping.

"Mmm you wanted to entertain, so you're going to entertain me.....unleash it," he referenced, grinding his painfully erect dick up against the younger through the painful fabric of his pants. Wasting no time while head cocked in position backward, he still expertly found his way to his partner's belt unclinking it. "Give Daddy another, come on, be good for him now," He said gripping tighter against Levi's thick hair, between the pepper, the position of his face against the ceiling lighting, he didnt stand a single chance.

"etSHU! ET-SHU! EHTSHU-EH!" it came out in a series, as they spilled into the air around them, Remi forced the afflicted one just under his ear at the crook of his neck by the nap of his hair, instead of pulled backward, he wanted to intake every last reverberation through his core. Levi's hand fumbled its way past his waist band, through every inch of fabric to touch hot, throbbing flesh in his palm.

"Oo-fu-fuck," Remi hissed beside Levi's ear, the leopard's own pants feeling relatively too tight, but as in true punishment fashion, knew he was not the focus of this particular event. He was in big, big trouble. "Now, now, don't be shy," whispering in a sultry dark tone. "Don't stop," huffing faster now as Levi slid the pad of his thumb through the wolf's tip. "Hnngg..." strained now as he forced the shaker back over into Levi's nostrils.

"EH-TSHU!" this one rocked his body forward, eyes watering and tears starting to streak down his face, the tip of his nose cherry red, and his hand stuttering in his strokes as they got faster but sloppier. "Please.....TsHO...."Another, smaller sneeze. Emerald orbs disappeared through the back of Remi's skull as the hand on his cock twitched under Levi's skilled but nonmetrical fingers that worked to squeeze and pump him.

"Little more, kitten," he gasped low, guttural, deep from within his throat, Levi's own eyes rolled back from heated pleasure. They were rutting and rubbing up against each other in an animalistic, heated fashion, complete desperation for the both of them in this moment, who knows or cares if Bill was even still out there waiting. They were lost in this moment. The cat glanced to the side up at the light shining from the ceiling and it triggered one last...

"ACHOOO~" Levi's hand clasped tightly around his lover's leaking member, between the pressure of that and the sound of his mate's last big sneeze, he came, hard into's Levi's hand and down his shiny black leather pants, which would be a crime if Levi had the concentration to care. As he was still absolutely wasted off lust from being completely used in this fancy restroom. Remi, coming down from the high of his orgasm slumped lazily against the wall and his partner, catching his breath and trying to find the capacity to have logical thought once again.

Both of the men took a minute to cool off, to breathe. However, once Remi was recouped he had Levi tugging at his coat. "You're just going to use me, mess me up and leave me like this?" whining gently followed by a pouty lip as he pointed down to his own throbbing issue, and the spooge on his pants.

"Oh...Baby," Remi pouted back in a gentle tone that immediately changed into a devilish grin. "Yes I am," sticking his tongue out like the evil revenge master he was. "That'll teach you to rile me up like that in PUBLIC during important meetings,"

"I-...Bu--t....I-...Yo-..." He stuttered standing there flabbergasted as he fluttered back and forth.

"Bless you," he kissed the dumbfounded man on the sweaty forehead, before fixing his pants, buckle, and stepping out confidently. Leaving his partner behind to clean himself up and to maybe reconsider messing with a wolf.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Why I like it: Psmith, Journalist

To be honest, this one is my least favorite of the series. Which is not to say that I don't like it, because I do, but it's very different from the other installments. Mike is barely present, so the friendship at the heart of the previous books isn't plot-crucial here. There's so much focus on the comedic view of America(ns), which would have been fascinatingly foreign to Wodehouse's original readership, that there's less of an actual plot or personal stakes for Psmith himself. Some content has not aged well. You could skip this one and not miss too much, because nothing that happens in it seems to have much, if any, particular bearing on the rest of the series.

But if you're up for it, there's still a reason to read Psmith, Journalist. Well, maybe two. The scene in which Psmith passes Mike off as a cat expert to a feline-loving gangster. And the next step of Psmith's character development.

Psmith was frequently an absolute jerk in the previous book, and he still has his moments here, but this book transports him from the oblivious light-heartedness of his usual genre into (attempted) realism, where he has to realize for the first time that there are people out there in miserable living conditions nothing like the privileged existence he's always led. And it's sobering. It takes a lot for Psmith to drop the flippant persona and get serious, and this is one of the few times. Of course he goes about fighting for the people in the slums in the most Psmithlike way possible, through words and wit and vendettas, and it's possible that somewhere along the way he loses track of exactly why he's fighting in the first place. But it's a step in the right direction that brings him into a wider world, encourages him to put his skills to use for more than just his own amusement and his and Mike's benefit.

It also puts him into some new and challenging experiences. He has to realize that he's utterly lacking in street smarts and would probably not have survived if he weren't in the company of a savvier friend. He gets into a lot of physical altercations, with more dangerous stakes than the trifling skirmishes he's dabbled in before. His hat gets shot off and he makes a huge deal out of the hat's destruction because the alternative is to have to think about how narrowly that bullet missed his head. He gets held at gunpoint in a cab and there's nothing he can do for a long time besides try to stall, and only a deus ex machina manages to save him. Psmith has perhaps gotten a little too comfortable in his ability to talk or bribe his way out of anything after the two previous books, and forcing him to confront his own naivete and mortality--however subtly--is good for him.

And in the end he still saves the day by fast-talking and throwing money at the problem, but he's hopefully been enriched by his experiences in New York and come away from it a more compassionate, self-aware person. He's going to need it for the next book.

For over a decade, Psmith, Journalist was the finale of the series. It ends with Mike and Psmith in Psmith's flat at Cambridge. Psmith sums up his adventures and our outcomes and how he feels about it all while Mike struggles to keep his eyes open. It's the smaller moments of peace and relaxation that stay with him, Psmith observes. Adventures are entertaining, but his heart is most in the pleasures of friendship and domesticity--even if he's still a bit grandiose about the outcome of his recent exploits. He's still very himself, but he's in a happier place than when he first appeared in this series. "The man behind Cosy Moments slept," declares the final line. And we're happy for him.

It's a pleasant, if not especially dramatic, conclusion that returns our hero to a setting evoking the heart of the series. But I don't think it reads like an intended closing of Psmith's entire story. There's evidence that Wodehouse was working on another Psmith book shortly after this one, but it seems to have been abandoned. Which is too bad! A story that flowed immediately from this one thematically, as Mike and Psmith and Psmith in the City do for each other, would have been an excellent addition to Psmith's arc. Where would his newly awakened altruism take him next? How might further growth (or attempts at such) affect him, especially against the backdrop of his law studies at Cambridge? That's a Psmith we'll never get to know, but all the same, the R. Psmith, journalist, who materializes in this volume is a persona that takes our hero a step or two more in the right direction toward personal growth.

[legendaryprofessorwisteria]

Beginner Legendaries

Before I say anything else, I'll say that "beginner Legendary" is a bit misleading. A Legendary should never be your first Pokemon or owned by any beginner Trainer. However, for people new to caring for Legendaries, there are good and bad choices. So I'll review them a bit because even in my field, few talk about things like this. Honestly, the barrier to entry can be unfortunately high especially given how overwhelming it can be to even try and care for some of these Pokemon.

Good Beginner Choices

Mew. They're high-energy, will need a lot of enrichment and playtime, and may become destructive if their needs aren't met. But other than that, their care needs are startlingly easy to keep up with! They're also tiny and very friendly.

Suicune, Entei, and Raikou. Suicune is the easiest of the three, but they're similar enough that I'm grouping them together. All of them need space to roam, but their temperaments are excellent. Most times, the worst behavior problem you'll have with them is having your face licked, barking at strangers, or having them come back home from a run covered in burrs. They're also big enough to carry as many as three people as adults but not prohibitively huge for an average house.

Latias and Latios. As with the Pokemon above, they need to exercise daily. But, they're incredibly friendly and easy to work with. Their care needs are manageable, and their versatile abilities make them phenomenal partners. If you can keep up with the energy and the playfulness, which is a bit easier with Latios, they are a treat to work with. People in my lab have previously fought over who gets to work with a visiting Lati.

Shaymin. They're small and friendly with less of an exercise need than most of the Pokemon listed, particularly in their Land form. You could feasibly live in a one-bedroom flat with a window garden in the middle of a city with a Shaymin issue-free. They're also relatively common and easy to find.

Yveltal. Yes, shockingly enough. They have a terrible reputation, but they're stunningly docile, and the most severe care needs aside from their large size is a meeting with a healthy Xerneas periodically for adults to keep them topped up on life energy. They also respond very well to reinforcement training, which is a massive plus for a large and dangerous Pokemon. I am planning to apply for a license to own one once I move into a house with a yard, which will be soon! However, just due to size, they're probably the most challenging 'mon on this list.

Bad Beginner Choices

Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. They're super aggressive and territorial, making them very difficult to deal with. Even the babies are difficult to train and feisty, often snapping at their own trainers or becoming destructive.

Groudon and Kyogre. Highly dangerous, highly aggressive, highly territorial, and very challenging to get a License for. Their care needs are also really prohibitive. Just don't unless you have a LOT of experience working with large and dangerous Pokemon.

Necrozma. They're not nasty creatures by any means, and most have a pleasant disposition...but they need an energy intake that is absolutely, prohibitively high for most to keep up with, and can become desperate or violent if that need isn't met.

Literally any Ultra Beast. Aggressive to the maximum, with strange and particular care needs that can put them or you in danger if not met. Prone to hurting people by accident, and also ridiculously difficult to find.

[beyond-a-name]

Top five music albums of the 2010's :3

Oh god I have to actually think about what came out in the 2010s. Uhhhhhhhhhh

1. Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino by The Arctic Monkeys: This is one of the first times I really excitedly bought an album and listened to it as a cohesive artistic piece, rather than just as background music or something I got with family. It is one of the few albums I let take up the very limited storage on my phone, and it is the first album I was interested in enough to research its meaning and concept. 10/10

(Uhhh okay I gotta go look up some other albums I'll be back.) [Exit stage right]

[Some time passes.]

Okay I'm back and I have reviewed albums.

2. Unearthing the Sentience by Beyond Flesh: So first off, I discovered this album this year through a friend of mine, and I absolutely love it. It's a technical death metal producer duo that released this and another album (the other one came out in 2020 and so doesn't count for this :/). It is entirely instrumental, but each song is so distinct. It'll introduce a concept, put a few spins on it, then tie it all together in a beautiful conclusion. The songwriting methodology honestly reminds me of Super Mario level design (as laid out by GMTK on youtube) in its expressive focus. Half of the duo, Juan Carlos Hernández, has genuinely become one of my favourite artists of all time. I have not yet had the pleasure of exploring his whole discography, but what I have thus far listened to has been extraordinary. Every piece is an imaginative journey that I delight in being swept up in. If you want to enrich your musical tastes a little more, you can find more of his work spread out across a few different bandcamps (his dungeon synth/ambience/fantasy works, his doom metal project, and his other works) or check out the occasional work posted to his tumblr at @imsobadatnicknames2. The works are entirely prolific and delightful, and this album in particular has been one of few that's started me getting into more metal. 11/10

3. Transgender Dysphoria Blues by Against Me: I also found this one this year, and it was recommended through another friend. Amazing punk music about being trans (and other topics, of course). I had shown great interest in punk culture and aesthetic approaches, but this was a really good deliberate foray into the music itself that resonated with me personally (I'm a trains). The album was released after the singer and frontwoman came out as a trans woman, and it heavily centres her experience in doing so in a way that is really provocative and heartfelt. Some of the songs seem, I guess the word is insecure? In a way I don't really resonate with, but I guess that's the point, isn't it? The first two songs, Transgender Dysphoria Blues and True Trans Soul Rebel, have been permanently etched into my heart. I also really like Paralytic States. Really good to listen to as a full album. 10/10

4. Morning Coffee Chillhop Lo Fi Electronic Mix by Various Artists: "But wait!" I hear you exclaim. "That's not an album, it's just a youtube lofi mix!" Yes. Anyway, this mix has been my absolute favourite since I first heard it, and it really kickstarted my exploration of lofi. Like before this I was checking it out, but upon hearing this, I was well and truly hooked. The first song overlays audio from a tv scene (I think it's twin peaks?) about rewarding yourself every day, ("Every day, give yourself a present,") and it's a lovely sentiment to begin an album a mix on. the use of additional audio throughout is typical for lofi, but it is used to great effect here to elevate the music it's played over rather than obscure it while rendering each song distinct. It was also the first time (or at least most memorable time) I heard something like that. I do not know the name of a single song on this mix, and if I ever lose access to it, I will kill everyone within a five kilometer radius. 10/10

5. Starbomb's Self-Titled Debut Album: This is a comedy album around video games composed of several Game Grumps members, and I bought it as a teenager and listened to it front to back maybe more times than I got a good night's sleep. I'm not really into Game Grumps anymore, and now I kind of tend to skip NSP (other Game Grumps-adjacent band) when it comes up on older playlists of mine. But like, I couldn't un-memorize this thing even if I wanted to, and it is somehow one of like 6 albums still on my phone (Tranquility Base was unwittingly bought on Google Play Music and did not outlast its end) even since getting a new phone. Even the Caravan Palace album, while it's still on my device, didn't soundtrack my teenagedom nearly as pervasively, and it does not stand out as much as the other entries here (you should still listen though). I can sing along flawlessly to every track, and it is lovingly catalogued by that dorky teenager I carry in me as I keep growing through adulthood. It's my alarms sometimes. I want to rate it lower, but I have loved it too entirely for too long. 10/10

Surprise Bonus Play!!!!!!!! (Woa!) (Honourable Mention)

6. Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 by The Flaming Lips: This one is maybe cheating a bit as it's a greatest hits album, but whatever. I initially bought this on impulse as a gift for a friend for his birthday (I bought myself one as well), and I fell in love with how silly the song names and premises were. We all loved it, and had a blast listening to it via his playstation, then later in the car when we went camping together. I genuinely did not realize that it might be a somewhat well-known band before I saw the inclusion of one of their songs in the game Hi-Fi Rush. (Hint: They are very well-known. They have many awards and a long history. Their discography has its own wikipedia article seperate from their main article. I didn't know any of this until I came to wrote this.) I especially like "She Don't Use Jelly," which aside from being very funny, also implies a delicious toast recipe which I wholeheartedly recommend everybody try. 10/10

[tourdion]

Stephen Malkmus Reflects on Horse Show Loss to Leonard Cohen: A Humble Interview

Introduction: In a surprising twist of fate, indie rock icon Stephen Malkmus recently participated in a horse show, only to find himself in the unexpected position of second place, trailing behind the late Leonard Cohen. In an exclusive interview, Malkmus opens up about the experience, sharing his thoughts on the competition, his newfound equestrian endeavors, and the poetic victory of Leonard Cohen.

Q: Stephen, thank you for joining us. First off, how did you find yourself entering the world of horse shows?

Stephen Malkmus: Well, it's a bit of a departure, isn't it? I've always had a fascination with horses, and when the opportunity to participate in a horse show arose, I thought, "Why not?" It was a chance to explore something entirely different from my usual musical endeavors.

Q: Can you walk us through your emotions during the competition?

Stephen Malkmus: It was a mix of excitement and nerves, to be honest. I've spent a significant amount of time training and preparing for the event, so there was a genuine desire to do well. Of course, when I found out Leonard Cohen had taken the top spot, it was a bit unexpected, but you have to appreciate the poetry in it.

Q: What was it like competing against someone as legendary as Leonard Cohen?

Stephen Malkmus: Leonard Cohen was an absolute force in music and culture, and to share the horse show arena with him was an honor in itself. I mean, I lost to a musical giant on horseback — there's a certain poetic beauty in that.

Q: How has this experience influenced your perception of competition and creativity?

Stephen Malkmus: It's a reminder that life is full of surprises, and creativity can manifest in unexpected places. The horse show was a different kind of stage for me, and I learned a lot about embracing new challenges. Creativity isn't confined to one medium, and sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone leads to remarkable experiences.

Q: Any plans to continue your equestrian pursuits?

Stephen Malkmus: I'll always have a love for horses, and who knows where this journey might take me. While I may not be the reigning champion in the horse show arena, the experience has been enriching, and I'm open to exploring more equestrian adventures in the future.

Q: Final thoughts on Leonard Cohen's victory?

Stephen Malkmus: Leonard was a masterful poet and an incredible human being. Losing to him in a horse show feels like a poetic continuation of his legacy. I'm just grateful to have shared that space with him, even if it was on horseback rather than a concert stage.

In a world where music and horse shows collide, Stephen Malkmus's humility and openness to new experiences shine through. As he continues to navigate unexpected avenues, fans eagerly await the next chapter in his eclectic journey.

[drbased]

One of the best ways to force TRAs to admit that transwomen are males, that they have been socialized as males and that they belong to the male class, is to push the concept of the "afab trans woman"

I left this ask unanswered for a while because I know exactly which user sent this and I don't really care for their arguments. But I'm going to use this an opportunity to address something that I think is really important for feminists and leftists when arguing online.

I don't really care about forcing TRAs to admit things. I'm much more interested in enriching the discourse of the choir I'm already in.

Arguments online are performative first and foremost; they're rarely if ever about trying to actively persuade the person you're talking to - they're much more about using sass and wit to try to control the conversation and make yourself look like the stronger person. Zero integrity is required to engage in an online argument - and those with ther crappier but more confident argument will always win out (plus if that argument supports the status quo and the oppressors class(es) within it, then said argument will take even less effort to convince people). Unless you're absolutely watertight in your argumentative strategy, you've basically already lost, and you've wasted your time. The ones who do decide to argue a lot end up looking vaguely irritating on your dashboard; discourse is irritating because you have to sift through a bunch of arguments you already know are wrong and bad intertwined with a bunch of arguments you already know are good and right. But the argument never seems to stop, despite how supposedly 'good' all those arguments are. The discourse goes on and on. By arguing with these people you're being baited into wasting time and energy.

I'm not here to say that nobody should say words to the opposing side, and by all means I sure can't stop you if you want to. The problem is, if the facts are on your side, the odds are stacked against you. You're fighting against mainstream status quo opinion and a collective of rhetorical tactics which are more effective than the truth and compassion will ever be. TBH I think the most effective arguer on this site is opabinia, but that's because she never wastes time actually arguing, she just sealions the other side over and over again until they give up (and, seemingly, deactivate??). But could you say she's ever actually convinced anyone, or has she just made our side go 'yassss girl!' over and over? Has she turned arguments from performing for them into arguments that are performing for us?

The Jehova's Witnesses are a cult-ish Christian denomentation infamous for knocking on people's doors and asking them if they've heard the good news; they will then attempt to convert that person to their religion. As studies have shown, this method of converting people is bad. It has such a laughably poor success rate that you'd be forgiven for thinking that conversion isn't even the point. And theorists have indeed posited that the 'point' of doostep conversion attempts is not actually to convert, but rather to strengthen the in-group through shared experiences - the members bond with each other through how much they are rejected by those outside.

Before I end this I also want to point out that trying to use the 'afab trans woman line' is weak as all hell to me. A lot of radfems seem to be under the impressionn that genderists haven't got excuses and workarounds for the most basic of arguments about sex. If these people cared about facts, then, well, we wouldn't have a genderist on our hands. You can't just 'trick them' - well, maybe you can the teenagers I suppose, but IDK I personally find arguing with teenagers online to be kinda gauche. Trans activists have their party line that gender is assigned at birth, and that's what dictates their life experiences. An 'afab trans woman' cannot exist because to them, because the whole damn point of being trans is that your gender is different from what you're assigned at birth. At best you can piss them off, get them to say hypocrisies with a straight face - but once again, that's just entertainment. Maybe it'll change their minds years later when they look back and cringe, idk. I personally think the odds are stacked against us and it's much more worthwhile to charge up our arguments for ourselves and so we're better at changing the minds of people who aren't already on the defensive.

I'm going to round this off with promoting a youtube series that every feminist and leftist needs to watch: Innuendo Studio's The Alt Right Playbook. I have referenced a couple of his videos here, specifically Control the Conversation, which I consider a must-watch for anyone frustrated with the argumentative tactics of groups like conservatives and trans activists. Now, he does lump in 'terfs' with this perception of the alt right, but that's just part of this territory (if you can handle the misogyny and bigotry of platforms like the Spectator and Daily Mail, I'm sure one little mention of terfs in a powerful leftist piece of work shouldn't be a problem); the actual content has been foundational for me in understanding how the right wing operates and understands the world. They're all short watches, and they're incredibly well-written. If you like my insight and how I write about things, well, youtube essays such as these have been formative in how I analyse and write about the world. A strong broad understanding of how people and the world operates in general makes you less susceptible for falling for bad arguments and rhetoric and makes you a stronger, more coherent thinker, speaker and writer.

[enigmaticpink]

Rat cages do and dont's

I thought this would be a good reference post for those who have rats are or are thinking about getting rats, considering the amount of misinformation I see on this site about rat enclosures. I honestly could make a series of posts about rat care misconceptions as a whole but I think this is a really important one. Of course there are some exceptions to these, such as in the case of hospital cages or travel/temp cages, but that's not what I'm talking about in this post.

1. Do make sure it's the proper size

Rats need about 2.5 square feet per rat, and adding height or extra levels doesn't add to this, only adding floor space will. A critter nation, a popular rat cage, can only hold four rats. Adding a unit on top doesn't increase the amount of rats you can keep in one, only adding floor space by adding a unit on the side can increase the rat limit. 32x20x24 is the absolute minimum cage dimensions. There are many other brands that meet the requirements and are suitable, make sure to always check the dimensions. Plastic neon critter trails from PetSmart are never ever acceptable.

2. Do use loose substrate all along the base.

Rats are a fossorial species that need to be able to dig and burrow, and thus need at least a few inches of a suitable substrate to be properly enriched. Lining your cage with fleece or blankets is not suitable at all and is something I see many people doing too often. This is not proper rat care. Additionally do not use paper or clay pellets as a substrate through the whole base. Certain types of pellets are okay in litter boxes but aren't a suitable substrate.

Paper bedding is often used and it's not inherently harmful but paper has very poor ammonia control and the ammonia in rat pee is very bad for their delicate respiratory systems. You will need to change this out much more frequently to insure they're not breathing in a bunch of ammonia and it will stink alot more. Plus paper bedding can be more expensive. All around I wouldn't recommend it at all.

Wood shavings are a really good option, depending on the type. Certain woods like cedar and raw pine will release chemicals that aren't good for rats at all. Pine bedding is alright if kiln dried, but some rats still may be sensitive to it, in my experience. Aspen bedding and hemp bedding are great options. Make sure the bedding isn't too dusty, certain brands are less dusty than others, but it isn't too hard to sift the dust out on your own usually.

In the case of bio-active enclosures eco earth and other types of soil make really good substrates, but this type of cage set up honestly deserves its own post.

3. Do have proper ventilation

Like stated before the ammonia in their pee is very bad for their respiratory systems, therefor a cage needs to be properly ventilated. Bin cages, tanks and aquariums, any cage that doesn't have proper ventilation on all sides, is harmful. They need to have proper air flow in and out of the cage. That's why cages with the typical four wired sides and wired top is best. I even see homemade cages with two sides made of wood and two sides made of wire cloth and this isn't okay either. (Not to mention wood cages are improper as well do to pee absorption and being able to be chewed through)

4. Don't use too many levels

Little to no levels should be used in your cage if you want an active lay out. Try replacing them with lava ledges, ropes, branches, baskets and the like, to make the cage layout more enriching and to keep them active and healthy. Ramps especially aren't recommended, this can cause laziness, hind leg degeneration, and wired ramps can cause bumble foot. Wired anything except for the sides of the cage are a big no.

Some people keep one or a minimal amount of levels and I think this is okay depending on what you do with it. I keep one level in my cage to hold a dig box but all other additional levels have been removed.

5. Do fill it with the right things

A big cage that goes above and beyond the size recommendations but isn't filled properly is still subpar. They need lots of enrichment and alot of "clutter" so to speak, to feel safe. A wide open bare cage will not make them feel secure and they will be extremely bored.

They should have lava ledges and ropes and the like for climbing. Sea grass mats and branches made of safe wood also are great. Check beforehand to see if any wooden item is made of a wood that's safe for rats, as some wood is toxic to them. I personally use grape wood and apple wood in my cage.

Foraging toys are also a great, and I'd say necessary, addition to any proper cage. They need things to keep them from getting bored, they are extremely intelligent animals and foraging toys or small puzzles like that are great for them. Actually lots of toys for parrots are great for rats.

They should have at least a few different places to sleep, such as hammocks or hides. I like to have at least one of either for everyone rat.

Fall breakers. This is extremely important to insure the safety of your rats. If your rat falls from the top of the cage, fall breakers are there to catch them and avoid potential injuries. Seagrass mats, nets, and Ikea tie holders are amazing for this, I recommend multiple. You should have enough that there's not too many open spaces your rat can fall through. They also additional give your rat more things to climb on, making the layout more active.

Rats can be littered trained, and paper litter pellets are good for litter boxes, or a different type of substrate then the one you use for the rest of the cage. Just make sure the litter tray doesn't have a wired bottom.

Also additional I recommend having nesting material available in the cage, such as Timothy hay or orchard grass or anything along those lines. They really do enjoy putting nests together with them and it adds some texture variety for them.

6. Do have proper water sources

Rats should have access to clean, fresh water at all times. They should have multiple sources of water.

Bowls aren't bad but are very likely to be spilled, spoiled, or contaminated and need to be changed at least daily. If you do give them water in a bowl they should still always have at least one bottle, though I would recommend more depending on how many rats you have.

7. Don't house rats alone

I think most know this but I'm adding it on in case. Rats are social animals and you cannot replace their need for same species companionship. They should be grouped in groups of two at minimum, and two is the absolute minimum. Three or more is actually much more recommended. Housing a rat alone for long periods of time is down right cruel.

Also don't house them with non rat animals, such as mice and hamsters and the like. They should not under any circumstances be interacting with other species, other than their fellow rats and their humans. Your cat grooming them is not cute.

If there's anything I forgot to say, feel free to add on.

[foxofninetales]

a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

something you see in fics a lot and love

you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

the ship that always makes you smile

the character that always makes you smile

a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

how has fandom positively impacted your life?

Oooh, lots of juicy asks, thank you so much!

1: Trans Xiao Hua! It's not so much that I "wasn't sure about it" as that I filed it with a lot of other headcanons under "yay people are having fun but it doesn't really affect me". ...and then I actually met him, this bitchy, beautiful, better-than-you man who built everything about himself and wrestled his world into his own control and now I literally sometimes forget that it isn't canon. (It's canon to meeeeeeeee...)

2: It's a tiny thing, but I really love how writers 'borrow' a lot of each others' pet OCs! Everything from carp to chickens, out here living their best lives from fic to fic - so fun.

3: Already answered this once but THAT WON'T STOP ME so... I'm gonna cheat a little and say that I wish more people would try @thelaithlyworm's podfics! They're some of the best-read, best-produced podfics out there and we are SO LUCKY to have our tiny fandom enriched by them, and they deserve so, so much more love. She reads a wide variety of ships and gen and characters (including her own lovely fics), so there's a little something for everyone!

4: Okay, look, it specified ship that always makes me smile, and if there's one ship that's guaranteed to do that, it's KanSang. What an absolutely delightful catpuppy ship.

5: I almost feel like it's cheating after this to say Kan Jian (but he does, he does, my best boyyyyy!!!) so... I'm actually going to say Geya from the Mystery of the Abyss movie! What a delightful, awful, clever little ragamuffin.

6: THERE IS A BAT. HANGING. FROM LIU SANG'S HEARING WHISTLE. Because he is the weirdest little nerd and he thinks he's so cool that he hung a BAT from his WHISTLE because he's THAT EXTRA.

7: I've been in fandom for longer than some of my mutuals have been alive, and it has given me friends, a playground for creation, new experiences I would never have had, and a whole world of different cultures and opinions that I would likely never have been so positively exposed to. DMBJ in particular came along just as my last fandom friend group's slow fracture to new interests and new real life situations was finally clinched by the pandemic, and I've been so grateful to all the lovely people that I've met here and love how much the internationality of this fandom has expanded my world view.

(The game is here is anyone else wants to play!)

[rainbowsky]

Hi rainbow.. is it true that yibo went to see some event like art exhibitions/festival with ADLAD director?? If it’s true it’s a candy right??

I do not consider this to be a candy. More on that here.

In reference to the question implied here, "if there's a connection it must be a candy."...

Fake, fan fiction, CPN.

I think it's important to remember that GG and DD are both well-connected, active, successful, multi-faceted individuals who have reasons in their own right to be at various places with various people, doing various things.

Everyone is free to clown however they want, but I personally prefer to start from a perspective that something is not connected to their relationship and work outward from there, because I think it's important to remember their individuality and humanity first and foremost.

If you think about it from your own life, wouldn't you find it a little bit insulting if you went to a work party that somebody your partner knows happened to attend, and then somebody later said, "Anon was at that party because of their partner."?

No matter how much you might love your partner, you probably wouldn't want everything in your life made into something about them. After all, you hold your job because of your own efforts and because of who you are, you were invited to the party because of your value to the company.

I think this is especially true for women, who often get treated as being only an extension of their partner. I mean, often they even get named after their partner when they're married. I've known women who got married who've been sent mail that addressed them as, "Mrs. Joe Shmoe" as though their separate identity ceased to exist the second they married a man.

So hopefully we can look at our own individual lives and experiences for ideas on how we might feel about something and then extend that empathy to GG and DD.

I love my partner, I enjoy being married to him, but if people made everything I did as somehow connected to him I would be angry and offended. As much as I love him, most things in my life have absolutely nothing to do with him.

So that is why I look at things first from the perspective of it not being a candy, because in most cases things to do with GG and DD as individuals probably have nothing to do with each other or with their relationship. It's just the realistic perspective in my opinion.

So hopefully that answers your question of "if there appears to be a connection, then it must be a candy."

In most cases, probably not.

However, one thing we can say in situations like that is that GG and DD probably have more depth and background about certain subjects because of their connection to/relationship with each other.

For example, DD meeting the author of ADLAD might be made more interesting for him having known the background of the play and possibly even watching GG rehearse his lines, and probably having attended the play himself at some point. It would certainly give him more to talk about and make the conversation more insightful.

So while their connection might not be at the root of a lot of things, their relationship and connection would certainly enhance and enrich their lives.

So after having said all of that, a candy is anything that we find sweet between them. Even if something isn't directly 'because' of each other or because of their relationship, it can still be sweet to us for the reason I just explained. They enrich each other's experience, and anything that connects the two of them would probably make their lives more interesting and their interactions with other people more meaningful.