#chase to house pipeline

[there-is-only-air]

bitches really be saying, "i'm fine," then be watching season 8 of house

(it's me i'm bitches)

[junipum]

I fully support chase's slut era in s7👍

[kneelingshadowsalome]

Would you consider young Konig to be an incel like guy or just an awkward young man whose social anxiety makes it difficult for him to talk to women?

It’s awful but young recruit almost went down the full incel pipeline yes :/ He had high hopes of finally finding a girlfriend once he hit the army because soldiers get a lot of women, right? He’s not bad looking, he makes money, he’s ripped as fuck, no one bullies him now. He should either have a lovely cute girl by his side or a flock of ladies wanting to sleep with him by now!

Turns out they all look at him weird or turn their noses up at him once he starts to speak. He can’t even find a one night stand because he’s a bit too eager. Blows up most of his chances for a date because he says something filthy far too soon on those stupid dating apps he hates because they’re clearly rigged for women.

It fuels his grief even more: and like with most people, unprocessed grief turns into rage. Only, König already has loads of that... At some point he doesn’t even know if he wants a girlfriend anymore: he just wants someone to fuck (and hold close for a while before they leave him). He doesn’t believe in his chances which makes him an even lousier bf candidate, which makes women shun him even more, which makes him despise women in general even more.

That's until he meets you.

This time, the game’s changed. It’s a woman who approaches him: a woman who's adorable, sweet, and eager. You turn out to be married, yes, but König won’t say no to his first chance of getting some pussy. He likes it that you know what you want – he doesn’t have to think about whether you’re going to stand him up on a date or if some "Please go to therapy" text means you're trying to flirt with him.

You’re clearly infatuated, just like he is. You look at him with sparkling eyes when he fucks you, you make him a nice meal when he comes home (he calls your house home now, the place where he actually lives is just a flat, storage for him and his stuff), you pet his head after he’s eaten you out. You let him chase you around the house and rip your underwear to pieces, you let him bite you and carry you to bed and send you dick pics, just like a girlfriend would do! You’re only pleased when he sends you naughty texts and pics of his dick, he can tell. He can give you all the things Colonel can not (or will not): all in all, this setting works perfectly fine for him. If only he didn’t get so obsessed…

Because suddenly, you’re not just pussy to him. Suddenly, you’re not just the first girl he got to fuck. As much as he hates the Colonel, young König would swallow sharp shrapnels to get to be with you. He tells everyone at the base that he now has a girlfriend: he even shows them your picture (taken without your consent: you’re giggling and trying to cover yourself with his shirt after another rowdy session). He’s not sure if the uneasy smiles he gets are pity or jealousy (because of course everyone can see his gf is the cutest woman on Earth and also hot as hell).

He wants to call you all the time, hear your soft, shy laugh when he tells you he’s going to bully you when he gets back. Stomach full of those famous butterflies and cock twitching in his camos, he could listen to your laugh forever. If only it wasn’t for that stupid ring on your finger, König would take you to Austria to meet his mother.

[drdemonprince]

ive seen you talk about FIRE/mr money moustache and i am interested in how you balance that with your politics. i ask because i am also interested in FIRE but struggle with the idea of saving 2mil+ to retire early when people need money NOW to survive. not just broadly but even loved ones and community members in my immediate vicinity. i dont mean this in an EXPLAIN YOURSELF sort of way, just so many of the FIRE etc people i find writing about it dont really address this aspect and its something i struggle with internally myself.

Sure, I don't mind speaking about this at all. I wish I more frequently had the occasion to because it's a major special interest of mine.

First, I'm not interested in the saving 2 million dollars (if that were even feasible) school of financial independence/ retire early. I'm more of an adherent to the r/LeanFire, r/BaristaFire type approach of maintaining a consistently very frugal standard of living that is sustainable for me, on a relatively smaller savings, and pursuing a life of relatively little consumption.

I also think that MMM, despite his many flaws, is broadly accurate in stating that when people continuing working all their lives, they also create more ecological devastation by consuming a whole of a hell lot more resources on convenience and burning more fuel, while chasing after a steadily rising living standard set by the norms of their profession. By taking myself out of the workforce sooner rather than later, I will be contributing less to climate change and waste because I'll need fewer convenience meals, fewer car rides, fewer flights, fewer hotel rooms, fewer fancy professional clothes, and so on and so on.

I also spend a lot of time on the Socially Conscious Mustachians group on Facebook, which focuses on investing one's savings in ways that are less ethically problematic. The easy mode version of this is simply putting one's money into index funds that exclude oil companies, gun manufacturers, etc. But honestly, today, with interest rates being as high as they are? It's pretty easy to just sock one's money into a CD or a bond, collect the cool 5.4% interest, and avoid having to contribute to the stock market directly at all. There are even high-yield savings accounts at credit unions that pay out about that much interest these days, and those entities typically do not invest in oil pipelines, BDS targets, or anything all that objectionable.

As for the hoading money while others are in need piece: Well. yeah. that's a difficult ethical challenge that we all must consider. how much can i hold onto for my own wellbeing in the spirit of "putting on one's oxygen mask first" without it being wealth hoarding? how much should i give to other people when i see that they are in need --someone could easily make the case that I have the moral obligation to give away what i have to my very last cent, and I couldn't really argue with them on that. maybe a person should do that. but i'm not going to do it. and of course the effective altruism freakos would counter that if i invest my money and grow it now, i will have more to give to others in the long run than if i cash out now.

realistically, i won't be able to continue working for much longer without having another health episode or worse. i will not qualify for disability benefits because high maskers who have had careers usually do not. and social security's coffers will be entirely drained long before i reach the age to qualify for it. if i enter my non-working years without any resources, someone else will have to worry about me staying housed and medicated and fed.

i tend to think of my retire early stash as my own little private disability benefits fund that will allow me to live safely and will hopefully allow me to take care of other people that i love as we age, and that will give me the freedom from having to do any morally compromising capitalist labor ever again, and only put my energies towards causes that either fulfill me or benefit others.

but it's still rooted in a highly individualistic capitalist system, this holding onto money under my own name and investing it thing. im sure a lot of people would choose instead to sock all of their money into some kind of cooperatively owned communist farm or something, and you know, some day down the line i would love to put money toward a big multi unit building that lots of people i am in community with could live in, with no financial obligations for them. but i dont have anywhere near that kind of scratch. as hannibal buress (that landlord piece of shit) said, "i don't have fuck you money, i have strongly worded email money." and you know, being able to write a strongly worded email to people who would otherwise be exploiting me into another huge burnout does feel good.

thinking that one day i might not work anymore is one of the only things that keeps me going. i am always on the razor's edge of not functioning, i dont think people really realize that, how could they, the mask is there to prevent them seeing it. im beyond privileged to even get to CONSIDER the dream of getting by on my savings for however long human society continues to exist. and it sure would be better if i could extend that kind of freedom and peace of mind to others. my life still feels very precarious and it always has and ive had to be stable for the sake of others for a long time, ive had to be financially responsible for others for a long time. i cling to the idea of FI/RE because it offers me a way to finally break down and be weak. but something more community oriented and interdependent would sure as fuck be better. in the meantime i guess im saving for something like that i could trust enough to give myself over to.

i also have a really strong fetishistic desire to be someone's completely brainwashed sex pet for the entire rest of my life, and having an early retirement account would really help me facilitate that

[petewentzisblack1312]

any beginners advice for flight rising?

the number one rule of flight rising is have fun and be yourself. the number two rule of flight rising is the economy is out to get you.

because of the way the loot tables work if youre low level in scavenging you seemingly have a much higher chance of getting unhatched eggs that way, just because there arent that many other things you can get at that level. they sell for a lot of either currency on the auction house so if you get one a good way to get money is to sell it. a lot of people, myself included, are quite sentimental and hatching unhatched eggs is fun bc its like a gacha but what constitutes a good pull is completely subjective. hatch or dont, do what you want.

that being said, if you hatch an unhatched egg and get a double, or if youre insanely lucky, a triple (that is a dragon with 2 or 3 of the same colours) because of how rare that is and how easy it is to make an aesthetically cohesive dragon with 2 or 3 of the colours being the same, theyre very very valuable. i once got a one off triple charcoal and sold it in an auction (different from the auction house) for 25kg. however. thats incredibly unlikely. if youre hatching unhatched eggs to make money off of what you hatch, you will make a loss. just sell the eggs. hatch eggs for the thrill of the chase.

people generally prefer unbred dragons, especially unbred g1s. however, you can breed your dragons if you want. i do! its your dragons, do what you want with them. itll tank the resale value but how sad would that be to have something that you love that you never really get to love because you might make money on it some day. breed any dragons you want if you want to. dont breed any if you dont. and i recommend not breeding anything you have as an investment.

maxing out your lucky streak in the fairgrounds every day is a solid way to make money. i used to do that when i was new, stopped, and started again when achievements were introduced. 75k treasure a day is really nothing to sneeze at. glimmer and gloom is the fastest but i know some people have trouble learning the algorithm or otherwise cant stand it. pick your poison!

the number one piece of advice i ever got in flight rising is to avoid any trades with crim worth more than 500 treasure. i would tack on 'unless its a battlestone other than one used for popular coliseum builds'. if shes offering more than 500 its probably apparel or something that you could sell on the auction house for more.

this really depends on what type of player you turn out to be, but i personally wish i thought a little harder about breeding my dragons. i take their ancestry into account in my lore but when i started i used my permas (dragons that you intend to keep) for fodder breeding and boy do i regret that. im attached to these dragons but they have a long list of offspring that are exalted. id say dragons you think are cool and dragons you want to breed should be a venn diagram that is almost two circular tangents unless youre sure you dont care. but also. lifes short. breed your progens 50gazillion times if you really want to. exalt them even. who give a fuck.

someone tricked a friend of mine this way so just so you know leveling to 25 is for dragons that you plan to grind with it is strategically not a good idea to level dragons to exalt to 25. ive already explained the value of doubles and triples so i dont think youll end up randomly exalting one of em.

if you can use the coliseum and you dont hate it i do recommend investing in a team to train fodder to exalt or to grind the coliseum and resell materials. one of the biggest flaws of fr is actually how dependent it currently is on the coliseum for gameplay. theres new gameplay in the pipeline. but its not imminent.

theres more. i cant think of it. keep asking questions if you want

[aegor-bamfsteel]

The Dany Grievance to Rhaenyra Grievance pipeline is so real and so funny to witness lol. HOTD was a mistake, but seeing these stans basically double down on yet another Targ woman who's ending they will rage at is astounding lol.

In the Dàny fans’ defense, she’s an actual well-developed main character who isn’t a prop in her love interest’s story (contrast Rhaeneato with husband DemonStu) GRRM said she’s one of his favorite female characters (along with Arya; he admits he likes DemonStu better than Rhaeneato) along with some positive comparisons (to Nymeria of Ny Sar), she’s got an actual platform beyond self-interest (she did free slaves even if some eventually sold themselves back in), the motivation behind wanting the Iron Throne is more sympathetic (she’s never had a permanent home and her family is gone), she’s a teenager rather than a grown woman in her 30s….and also the books haven’t finished, so we don’t know her ending (though the foreshadowing of Dark!Dàny is there). Basically, I can understand why people would be fans of Dány and be upset at her ending in the show.

Rhányra, though, is incredibly flat, self-interested and entitled, cruel (torturing Tyland Lannister, feeding Vaemond’s corpse to her dragon after sending Daemon to decapitate him), doesn’t even pretend to care about the smallfolk (organizing feasts while they starved under new taxes), violent but not a warrior (Demon at least has the skills to back it up; she’s never in battle despite having a dragon), and explicitly has no platform other than status quo (she’s not changing the laws of inheritance for everyone, just so she gets the Throne). We know she ends up chased out of the city by the angry smallfolk, betrayed on Dragonstone, and fed to her brother’s dragon. The show got rid of some of her bloodthirst (still being for peace until Luke’s death when in the book she told Orwyle in response to Aegon’s offer that he either kneels to her or dies; barely being involved in Vaemond’s death and he’s made to look like more of a jerk) and gave her some excuses for her self interest (she had to have an affair with Harwin for heirs because she and Laenor tried but couldn’t! Never mind that Jace in the books was born the year of their marriage in 114, meaning she didn’t try too hard) but at the expense of making her even more bland and passive (she does like 5 things in the novella and the show already cut out like 2 of them. It takes a lot of not caring to make the thinly sketched characters of the Dance even less consistent and interesting, but HOTD writing is sinking to the occasion.) Basically, I don’t understand why there’s a big overlap in Rhaeneato (except in the “well the greens are even worse” sense) and Dàny fans, other than that she’s another Targ woman seeking the throne to which she has a disputed claim, because everything else about her is a lot different than Däny. I can understand why people are fans of a character who has a tragic end (I’m a fan of House Blackfyre partly because they end up dying due to their noble values) but the journey has to give the end pathos, and neither show nor book has given us a reason to care for Rhaeneato the way they did Dány.

[tomorrowxtogether]

The inner workings of idol casting are what brought TXT and EN- to the world

When it comes to scouting, it’s all about plucking stars from the sky

2023.04.10

BIGHIT MUSIC Casting head Hong Seung Woo can still remember the first time he caught sight of future TOMORROW X TOGETHER member BEOMGYU. “Even though I was far away, I could see he had really strongly defined eyes, nose and mouth as he ran for his parents’ car, and I chased after him with all my might knowing I couldn’t just let him go.” His sharp eye, which he used to find TOMORROW X TOGETHER members BEOMGYU, TAEHYUN and HUENINGKAI, as well as ENHYPEN members JUNGWON, HEESEUNG, JAY and SUNGHOON, is a testament to how important scouting and, more broadly, casting are in the K-pop world. MOA, the fandom of TOMORROW X TOGETHER, often asks how BIGHIT MUSIC was ever able to find five members with their looks, personalities, backgrounds and capacity for growth, as well as how different they are from one another. If TOMORROW X TOGETHER were made up of different people, it’s unlikely they’d be anything like the group they are today. If ENHYPEN didn’t include former figure skater SUNGHOON and taekwondo buff JUNGWON, it’s likely the performance styles and even seemingly trivial in-house content items may have been impacted. “From management to production, things only move forward when the casting’s done the right way, and that’s what makes it the first step of everything in the entertainment industry,” Hong explained. “That makes the casting team an important pipeline that’s tightly integrated with all other areas.”

Every possible way is utilized for casting: open auditions held by labels, visits to K-pop academies and even scouting on social media. Of all the approaches available, you might expect chance encounters with future talent through street scouting to yield low results, but there’s a surprisingly active effort toward it. It’s exactly how Hong discovered BEOMGYU in front of his middle school in Daegu and where he handed his business card to future ENHYPEN member HEESEUNG as the idol-to-be left the entrance exam for an arts high school “wearing a red padded jacket” but whose “face is what immediately caught my eye.” While good looks are an important factor when it comes to street scouting, it’s what comes next in the process where the true casting takes place. According to Hong, although neither BEOMGYU nor HEESEUNG had ever had any training whatsoever, they showed clear potential during their auditions. “As soon as I heard BEOMGYU’s voice, I knew he would be great with some training,” Hong said, “and you could tell HEESEUNG had a feel for singing right from the start.” He could see what direction and how far the two boys would go after training with BIGHIT MUSIC (then Big Hit Entertainment) despite their as-yet unpolished abilities and that’s what led to the label signing them on as trainees. HEESEUNG had the skill and the attitude to make him, in the other ENHYPEN members’ words, the “model image and paragon of a trainee,” placing him top of the trainee class every month. BEOMGYU was not only ready to debut after a short time of preparation but also the song he wrote while first learning the craft, “Maze in the Mirror,” was included on one of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s albums. Cases like these demonstrate why Hong emphasizes each person’s “potential” again and again. “There’s so many times that someone thinks they can’t sing or dance but they actually have a talent they don’t know about. We’ll even ask candidates to sing the national anthem or their school song when needed. We also have them rap or act. It’s impossible to say what talents will turn up where so we keep every door open.”

With the increase in people who want to become idols, the number of auditions has increased as well, giving them an opportunity to have their skills and potential judged directly. It’s for this reason that there are academies that specialize specifically in preparing students for the K-pop audition process entirely separate from those for music and dance alone. “We used to focus on vocal or dance skills, or teaching for school entrance exams, but now we provide training exclusively for idol auditions,” a representative from one such academy said, explaining that there’s now a demand for “training that prepares people for the audition screening process.” Their academy has come up with a system that focuses on teaching idol hopefuls to put on “a performance that most effectively shows off what makes them unique by taking a balanced approach that doesn’t prioritize either vocals or dance over the other,” and they coach students in how to maximize their individual visual appeal, too. For example, if someone aspires to join BIGHIT MUSIC and has something about them that reminds of YEONJUN from TOMORROW X TOGETHER, they receive help on crafting “a similar image, using YEONJUN’s hair and styling as reference.” As K-pop idols continue to become more skilled and the expectations in scouting and auditioning for labels have followed in tow, thorough training for a high level of aptitude across a wide spectrum of talents has become an integral part of the process for attaining the idol dream. In that sense, scouting and auditioning are equivalent to a job-hunting process in the eyes of prospective idols today, the academy rep said. “Everyone finds the process of looking for a job hard. You have to have the right stuff on your resume and put together a portfolio. What these people are doing is making a portfolio made up of singing, dancing and themselves.”

With everything idols-to-be put into training to try and become one of the labels’ trainees now, being selected through scouting or auditions is more and more about the amount of effort they’re willing to put in. It’s becoming less and less likely to be selected on looks or first impressions alone. “These days it’s hard to make it to the end, even if you look good, if you don’t have talent,” the academy rep said. “Naturally, talent tends to be proportional to the amount of practice you put in. So few people are actually scouted and it can take more than a year to be signed as a trainee, especially with the major labels, but those who continuously set goals and put in the time and effort make it in the end.” Some labels monitor how well probationary trainees are coming along before officially inducting them, and trainees in this situation are especially aware of this reality. “For those who get feedback from the label telling them where they can improve and that they should work on it, if they take that and make a real effort to improve, they usually make the final cut.” Some people therefore have the “potential” that Hong pointed to, but others can also reach the same level on their own sheer willpower. In ENHYPEN leader JUNGWON’s case, Hong received his photo from another trainee’s mother and was immediately “surprised by how cute he looked, so I had to at least check this kid out, even if it’s just because he’s so cute. They set up a proper meeting after JUNGWON had finished training with another label and Hong casted him after seeing he had “a good overall balance of singing, dancing and looks.” After Hong wrote a report on JUNGWON for the label, he was concerned how “his cuteness unfortunately didn’t come across as well as it could” and Hong suggested he go on a diet. The eventual ENHYPEN leader instilled renewed confidence in Hong, making a “drastic change in a really short timeframe thanks to cutting out his nightly ice cream completely and working out.” Hong felt “from now on he could do anything if he’s that driven and persistent.”

The academy rep said there’s been an increasing number of young hopefuls who “find the right academy and program by themselves and register after getting consultation on their own.” Teen stardom seekers have become very active in the process and it’s having a positive effect on their personal development, including in nurturing their talents. “Their one goal training to be an idol is to debut, but they also have a lot of fun doing it. They feel alive because they’re doing something and they end up knowing how to do more things in the world.” It’s also become possible thanks to “parents becoming much more aware about K-pop idols due to world-famous groups like BTS.” Hong added that he can feel how “the acceptability has clearly gone up because of this generation of parents having a comparatively strong understanding of K-pop culture.” JAY from ENHYPEN has previously talked about how he had given careful consideration to his future plans after wrapping up his previous training, at which point he had taken lessons with the goal of being a part of Big Hit Entertainment like BTS before him, practicing hard before finally passing the audition. “He stood out more than anyone his age,” Hong recalled upon having met him. “He was especially good at rapping and came across as shy at first but it was amazing to see how confident he looked as soon as he started rapping—like he had never been shy at all.” It was at that moment when all the effort he had put into, as he said, practicing for months to sharpen those skills, finally paid off. The representative with the academy stressed the importance for there to be safety measures in place to protect teenagers at a time when it’s become so commonplace for them to pursue the dream of becoming an idol. There’s fairly open access to relevant information now compared to how shrouded in secrecy the label audition process was in the past but there are still some questionable people who prey on kids’ dreams of the idol life, which is why the academy rep works so hard to share information about all the different trainee ecosystems, including their scouting and auditioning processes. “For aspiring idols, the more information, the better. I think it’s on the adults to create a healthy culture since this is a world for people in their teens and 20s.”

Generational changes have had a progressive impact on the casting process, but changes in the K-pop market have had an impact as well, as HUENINGKAI’s own experience shows. “HUENINGKAI looked particularly young for his age but it’s his voice that really stands out in my memory,” Hong said. “He had the pop vibe Big Hit Entertainment was going for at the time and I thought he would go a long way to making the team succeed not only in Korea but worldwide.” TOMORROW X TOGETHER was intended to appeal to a global audience directly from the debut and so Big Hit Entertainment was looking for trainees who would have global appeal right from the scouting stage. According to the academy rep, “It used to be that companies like overseas labels came looking for training or auditions, but now there’s far more individuals contacting us because they want to become idols in Korea.” As K-pop spreads the world over, people from all around want to become K-pop idols and, at the same time, the industry is looking abroad to scout for and cast people, which is exactly why the global BIGHIT MUSIC NEW BOY GROUP AUDITION is being held: to find future members of the successors to BTS and TOMORROW X TOGETHER. Hong said the auditions for BIGHIT MUSIC’s third boy group has an identical set of standards for all potential talent, whether Korean or not, and that “anyone who dreams of being an artist can try out.” The academy rep offers what could be another tip for those looking to audition: “The labels never used to give much thought to things like academic performance but nowadays I think they’re accounting more for grades and the ability to speak multiple languages. I think they’re paying more attention now to those who show themselves to be individualistic and self-motivated.”

When TOMORROW X TOGETHER member TAEHYUN talked about his own casting experience in the group’s promotional video for BIGHIT MUSIC NEW BOY GROUP AUDITION, he said he chose BIGHIT MUSIC over all the other labels that were trying to court him because he “felt certain that I would receive wholehearted support.” That was after the casting team spent a lot of time and effort to persuade the future idol at a point when he was refusing to become an idol trainee. Although he didn’t scout TAEHYUN personally, Hong was the one who first told TAEHYUN’s scout about him. “TAEHYUN’s so shrewd that he already had his whole life planned out despite being so young,” Hong said. “He was really passionate about his studies and was determined to get into a good school. He was mature and realistic, so we didn’t feed him an idealized version—we told him everything straight and we were realistic about it.” SUNGHOON was making a name for himself as a figure skater before he eventually debuted with ENHYPEN—again the result of Hong “pouring everything I had into” getting the future idol on board. Hong spent a significant amount of time talking with SUNGHOON’s parents, trying to persuade them with various possibilities including that he take on his careers in sports and music simultaneously. “In the end,” Hong said, casting is all about “sincerity.” Casting directors must come prepared with a full vision for their hopefuls and concrete steps the trainees-to-be can take to fulfill it, and be confident in their decisions at the same time. It’s that confidence that led him to persuading SUNGHOON, who already showed many different talents, to try out to be an idol. “I figured he would pick up dance quick thanks to all his experience figure skating and, seeing as he was an athlete, I was confident he would be responsible and competitive. People with that kind of ambition always end up doing well.” Hong’s confidence went on to completely reshape someone’s life. 

Back when they were still known as Big Hit Entertainment, the label had just one team taking on a new artist’s every need—from casting all the way to training and management. Now, BIGHIT MUSIC has a separate, specialized team for every concern, and they continue to iterate on their casting process to this day. According to Hong, the BIGHIT MUSIC Casting team continuously researches new methods on the best paths to cast artists, evaluation standards that are in line with the latest trends and approaches to promotion and scouting in addition to actually casting group members. “For casting, you can’t get stuck in an outdated mindset and you have to be quicker than anyone at picking up, and then keeping up with, new trends and especially those that are unique to and popular with teens,” Hong explained. That’s why the casting team “goes out and interviews teens directly about what they like to do, their patterns, what they’re interested in and more,” developing new avenues for scouting based on the information they amass. “Using apps like ZEPETO and Bondee that are popular with teens” is something else they consider when making contact. “We take many different possible approaches to casting, researching the trends of today and doing market research like plotting out the appearances of idols by generation and the characteristics of each country and making guidelines for that.” Hong said that casting is “mostly intuition- and feeling-dependent” and it isn’t absolutely required that they make concrete, systematic decisions for such a subjective and abstract job. Still, the reason for taking the approaches they do is clear. “If it could be in any way helpful, we just try it. We’re always eager to discover people’s latent potential and help them explore their dreams of becoming an artist. That’s also why we work hard to cultivate casting professionals by establishing a system for casting and improving on that process.”

Last year on Teachers’ Day, JUNGWON expressed his gratitude toward Hong on the EBS radio show Listen, calling Hong a memorable mentor and explaining how he spared no effort giving advice and encouragement from the time JUNGWON was casted to the day he became an artist. When artists he casted reach out from time to time to tell him they’ll never forget his efforts, Hong said, “any sense of feeling tired or drained goes right out the window and I think about how I made the right choice getting into this job.” But for anyone working in the field, that same sense of joy is accompanied by an equally serious sense of responsibility. “I used to go full speed, fearlessly, into casting, but since then I’ve necessarily started to think things through a little bit more and be more cautious,” Hong said. “My decisions change the daily and long-term lives of countless people.” Not only does the decision to cast someone in the role of idol have a profound impact on that person’s teens and 20s, but that one person in turn will have an influence on innumerable others. That’s why happiness for casting directors like Hong is their discovered trainee blooming into an artist. Hong and others can also rest assured they made the right choice when they see those artists grow. “I’m always rooting for TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ENHYPEN,” Hong said. “I feel as proud as a dad. When the members I casted myself and continue to cherish—people I realized were the one—continue to grow as artists and I see how much they’re loved by people …Is there any feeling in the world better than that?”

[jennamoran]

Things Like ... Cabinets

DATELINE: December 9 cat: give me treats! me: *gives cat treats* cat: ... I cannot eat those. me: what? cat: the other cat, the evil cat, lurks atop the cabinet cat: that is TOO CLOSE to the treats as you have dispensed them

cat: ...

cat: there is no alternative cat: you must open your door cat: you must let me sleep on your bed me: ok cat: ... let me go use the litter box first, though cat: don’t worry, I’ll rush me: ... cat: wait, why did your door close again? me: we have discussed the litter box to bed pipeline cat: I remember no such discussions me: look, why don’t I just remove the evil cat from atop the cabinet cat: ... tentatively, agreed me: *removes the other cat from atop the cabinet* other cat: *stops to eat the treats, departs* me: ... well? cat: I can’t go up there me: ... cat: wickedness *descends* from up there cat: how can I know how many more evil cats await? me: there’s only one in the house cat: I can’t know Jenna me: fine, let me just ... me: let me just play with the other cat for a minute to apologize me: *uses laser pointer for a bit* other cat: *shows vague, mild interest* cat: *comes over* cat: *lurks* me: you ... realize that the evil is over here now, right? cat: enough words cat: Jenna cat: make with the wiggling me: will you at least chase it cat: no cat: I will only stare cat: dead-eyed cat: into the distance cat: I have seen things Jenna cat: I have seen things

[waitingforwinterwinds]

ASOS; Steel and Snow: 22 ARYA IV (pages 298-310)

Arya and her party go looking for Beric and Thoros in several places before stopping by Lady Smallwood's to catch up on the recent gossip and get a lead that's not colder than the Wall.

-

The sounds had scarcely died away when rope ladders unrolled from the limbs of trees. (...) They climbed to a hidden village in the upper branches, a maze of rope walkways and little moss-covered houses concealed behind walls of red and gold, and were taken to the Lady of the Leaves a stick-thin white-haired woman dressed in roughspun.

I love a good tree village, this one sounds hella cool. roughspun = 🥛

"Whose work was this?" said Lem Lemoncloak. "Mummers?"

lemon(cloak) = 🥛

"I'm not a squirrel," she said. "I'll almost be a woman soo. I'll be one-and-ten." "Best watch out I don't marry you, then!" He tried to tickle her under the chin, but Arya slapped his stupid hand away.

... "men of Westeros stop being gross to children" challenge 2023

Suddenly, a loose stone from the vaults ceiling dropped on Greenbeard's head, killing him instantly.

Kinghts were captured and ransomed all the time, and sometimes women too. But what if Robb won't pay their price? She wasn't a famous knight, and kings were supposed to put the realm before their sisters. And her lady mother, what would she say? Would she still want her back, after all the things she'd done? Arya chewed her lip and wondered.

Ironically, while Robb wasn't willing to pay the price when he thought Arya and Sansa were hostages of the Lannisters, now that Arya's the ransom for some outlaws, he actually might pay it out, call it a reward for her rescue rather than a price for her freedom, but still, a higher chance... if they ever got there.

"The old gods stir and will not let me sleep," she heard the woman say. "I dreamt I saw a shadow with a burning heart butchering a golden stag, aye. I dreamt of a man without a face, waiting on a bridge that swayed and swung. On his shoulder perched a drowned crow with seaweed hanging from his wings. I dreamt of a roaring river and a woman that was a fish. Dead she drifted, with red tears on her cheeks, but when her eyes did open, oh, I woke from terror. All this I dreamt, and more. Do you have gifts for me, to pay me for my dreams?"

*rubs hands* okay, lets see how I go. shadow with a burning heart butchering a golden stag: Stannis' first shadow demon baby killing Renly faceless man on a bridge with an undead crow: hmmm, I'mma say Euron Greyjoy though. iirc in the show his first screentime was killing his brother on the bridge at Pyke. Faceless man did make me think of the faceless men, but the undead seaweed crow is making me think it's Euron. Does he have some eldritch thing going on that would explain the face thing? (I mean I know he has some eldritch thing going on, but does he have one that would explicitly explain the face thing?) fish woman dead in the river: the Catelyn>Stoneheart pipeline. (I'm a little bit excited for that, I don't want Cat to die, but they cut Lady Stoneheart from the show, so I've only ever heard of her second hand.)

"Dreams," grumbled Lem Lemoncloak, "what good are dreams? -"

Lemon(cloak) = 🥛

"- What do you like to do?" She scuffed her toe amongst the rushes. "Needlework." "Very restful, isn't it?" "Well," said Arya, "not the way I do it."

Ha!

"Aye, and shear them too," chuckled Lem Lemoncloak.

lemon(cloak) = 🥛

... you know, for all the time they spent chasing Dondarrion and Thoros, Arya could have been at Riverrun by now.

... awww, Gendry and Arya are bonding again~ ... Gendry!!! the audacity!

Harwin took one look at them and burst out laughing, and Anguy smiled one of his stupid freckly smiles and said, "Are we certain this one is a highborn lady?" But Lem Lemoncloak gave Gendry a clout alongside the head. "You want to fight, fight with me! She's a girl, and half your age! You keep your hands off o' her, you hear me?"

Lemon(cloak) = 🥛

wait... when he says "half your age" does he mean Gendry is like, 20? legit? I though older teens, 16, 18 at most. Have i been picture Gendry as way too baby this entire time? Why did I think he was that young? Or is Lem exaggerating the age gap for effect?

"I'm sorry I tore the acorn dress too. It was pretty." "Yes, child. And so are you. be brave."

Finally, someone telling Arya she's pretty without being a creep about it. MVP Lady Smallwood!

[moodandmist]

🏃🏼☀️🐕WIP WEDNESDAY🐕☀️🏃🏼

Hiiii! It's been a long day and I'm exhausted! But I wanted to share something ridiculous with you before I head to bed. I haven't even had a chance to read anyone's shares yet today (or Sunday!! I'm so sorry), but that will be my reward in the morning!

Thank you so much for the tags today and Sunday! Love to you all! Hope you're all feeling good and loved. @fatalfangirl @bookish-bogwitch @whatevertheweather @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @facewithoutheart @captain-aralias @cutestkilla @artsyunderstudy @martsonmars @ivelovedhimthroughworse @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @confused-bi-queer @palimpsessed @technetiumai @johnwgrey @dragoneggo @aristocratic-otter @creepyspice @kherub @takitalks

Well, I started a new WIP, as one does. Because I HAD TO. Because something needed to be processed and worked out. 😆

This is *very rough* but it's a quick start. Baz sees Simon running through his neighborhood and forms a healthy lust for this golden, broad-shouldered man, and Simon of course, finds himself lusting after the tall posh bloke out walking his dog that he always passes on his run.

There we go...stick around after the share for a fun little dissection as to why this needed to be written NOW.

Under the cut for some suggestive stuff and length.

*****

BAZ

The first time was in the autumn. 

Lupa was just a puppy and hadn't quite worked out all the ways in which to terrorize me just yet. I watched her loping up and down the embankment to the pond, the cool evening air momentarily warmed by the sun’s last push before its descent. 

And then, there he was. 

Coming toward me, golden curls catching the light. He ran past with a smile and a breathy “Hi”. And, just as quickly, he rounded the curve in the road and was gone. 

I was sure he was an anomaly. Like when some beautiful bit of magic flits in and out of your field of view and you question whether you ever really saw it. Too beautiful. Too alive. A flash of lightning in an otherwise clear sky. A sunspot moving through the leaves. Here, and gone just as quickly.

But several weeks later I saw him again. And then again. Apparently he was made of flesh and blood after all. And what beautiful flesh it was. It's been nearly a year of this torment. Autumns golds and reds lighting him on fire. The cold winter days, making his breath visible to me. Spring petals falling around his shoulders.

And this, all this, would have been bad enough. It was bad enough.

But Summer, that cruel mistress and taunter of the truly thirsty, brought on the heat. I was not prepared to see him running in the height of Summer. Shirtless. Absolutely gleaming with sweat. Broad shoulders. The paintbrush splatter of freckles.

I wanted to chase him down. Pin him against a tree and---once and for all---lick the sweat from his neck. From his chest, his taut stomach. Get on my knees and run my tongue through the light line of hair leading to the band of his shorts. 

Pain blooms in my bottom lip and I realize I've had it in a death grip between my teeth as I watch him go by.

Christ, this is getting bad.

******

Now friends, just for fun, let’s do a little IRL-to-fic pipeline exercise. 

Let’s imagine you are a certain person in possession of a *large* dog of a youngish age. And this dog has recently been showing the troubling behavior of barking aggressively at cyclists and runners.

Now imagine, if you will, the perfect Simon-y man, that has been running by your house for the past year. A man with whom  you shared a smile and hello the very first time he passed you. Now please imagine his broad shoulders and floppy golden hair (a la simon) and perfect pecs and tight stomach which you now know he is in possession of since he has taken up the summer routine of running shirtless, sweaty and absolutely *gleaming* and perfect.

Now, let’s just throw some chaos into this imagined scenario and say that you recently saw this gorgeous Simon runner coming up the road, this gorgeous, gleaming man, and thought to yourself, “well, standing by the road holding your dog still is a very good excuse to make eye contact and say hello”. And so, in a moment of total idiocy and evil plotting, you invite your dog outside with you. 

And friends, this very large, very terrible dog decides to go against script and instead of helping you to peacefully and flirtatiously engage this runner, *immediately* eludes your grasp, in favor of barking and aggressively *chasing* this man as he passes your house, which sets *you* running after the dog, running after this perfect, sweaty, gleaming, shirtless man (who looks understandably terrified) while repeating “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, oh my god, I’m so sorry” as he runs away saying “it’s ok, it’s ok.”

And you watch him go in absolute horror, your idiot dog finally at your side.

What would you do??

Friends, you’d put it in a fic and fix that shit. 

[doktorvelociraptor]

Dracula would’ve suffered in the modern era if he had made it this far (and wasn’t fictional)

I don’t believe he could participate in the unique performer/consumer dynamic of 2020’s culture at any level. He couldn’t even post selfies without a mirrorless camera and once he did? He would be torn to shreds by 14 year olds telling him to shave his palms and that its time for his meds at the old folks home; If a 25 year old is called a crypt keeper on tiktok? Drac has no chance.

I don’t even think anyone would pick up on him even being a vampire because the image has changed so much, and people would not be polite enough to get to know him to find out.

Not to mention he would probably immediately be funnelled into some sort of alt right pipeline because he clicked a video called “5 tips to make sure your woman respects you in your house”

And offline? He couldn’t even handle one guy with PTSD chasing him down the street with a knife. If he looked sufficiently eccentric that would be like a weekly occurrence. He wouldn’t even have to know the guy. It just happens.

[beardedmrbean]

Tokata Iron Eyes says 29-year-old "Flash" actor Ezra Miller never groomed or abused her.

Iron Eyes, an 18-year-old Lakota activist, spoke out about the allegations for the first time as part of Insider's investigation into Miller. Tokata's parents, Chase Iron Eyes and Sara Jumping Eagle, say Miller has been "grooming" their daughter since she was 12. They said that this past year, Miller left bruises on Tokata's arms and cheeks, restricted access to her phone, and verbally abused her. In June, Tokata's parents obtained a temporary protection order demanding Miller stay away from their child. 

In text messages to Insider, Tokata said that these allegations were "a disgusting and irresponsible smear campaign" against Miller, and that Miller "in multiple cases has done the right thing and stood in protection of others."

Miller has known Tokata since she was 12, when they traveled to North Dakota to support the fight against the Dakota Access pipeline in 2016. Over the next six years, Miller kept in touch with the young activist, promising to help her music career and sometimes stopping by her home out of the blue, her parents said. Over time, they said, Miller's interest in their daughter intensified. 

In December 2021, Tokata and Miller went to stay with a family friend in South Dakota. During this visit, a member of the family friend's household said she saw Tokata and Miller having sex on a bed outside. Tokata told Insider this was "so very false."

Later that month, Miller returned to the Vermont farm with Tokata in tow. On January 29, Miller and their house guests called Tokata's parents to tell them Tokata was incapacitated after having taken LSD four days prior.

Iron Eyes and Jumping Eagle flew to Vermont the next day. They said they found Tokata "out of it" and "incoherent," screaming so relentlessly that she lost her voice for several days. She had bruises on her arms and left cheek, they said, and she didn't have her phone or ID. Another person at the farm told Tokata's parents that the bruising occurred when Miller pinned Tokata to the ground and screamed at her for failing to respond to a question, the protection order said.

Tokata told Insider she took "a microdose" of LSD and that the bruises were a result of self-harm following a close friend's death. She added that some of the bruises may have occurred when her parents "violently dragged" her out of Miller's house. (Jumping Eagle said Tokata was not "dragged" at any point.)

Oliver Ignatius, a longtime music collaborator of Miller's, said he witnessed what he described as Miller's "verbally abusive" treatment of the 18-year-old in both Hawaii and Vermont. In Hawaii in March, the actor confiscated Tokata's phone "for her safety" and pressured her to change her name to Gibson, Ignatius said. Tokata told Insider she goes by both Tokata and Gibson and came up with Gibson herself.

At the Vermont farm in May, Miller again hid Tokata's phone from her and at one point screamed obscenities at her for wearing makeup, Ignatius said. He recalled Miller saying: "What the fuck are you doing? Putting on this fucking clown paint?"

Tokata said she was never screamed at. "That was queer dialogue about a badly applied rouge on my part, which I appreciated," she said. "I think the fact that a catty comment made by a queer person about makeup being considered abuse is actually quite homophobic rhetoric."

Over the past six months, Miller has been driving around the US carrying at least one gun and wearing a bulletproof vest, paranoid about being followed by the FBI and the Ku Klux Klan, people told Insider. Tokata said the vest was "a fashionable safety measure in response to actual attacks and received death threats."

Tokata's mother said she and her husband have been motivated to sound the alarm about Miller, who they say has a pattern of targeting and grooming vulnerable young people.

"Our primary concern is the safety of our daughter," Jumping Eagle said. "We want other people to be warned."

[pizzacentral]

2023 ANNUAL FAVORITES

Hello! Welcome back to my annual year-end list of favorite things. I think it was actually a really strong year for new movies, music, and games, so I'm going to get to the point fairly quickly here. It was a year where I was lucky to have a good amount of time to take in new media, and I am thankful for that. Here's what I enjoyed most!

As always, any media that was widely released in the calendar year 2023 (that I personally consumed within the calendar year 2023) was eligible. This was ranked on January 1st, 2024, and remains unchanged since then (no matter what I end up thinking about it in the future.)

Favorite Films

I watched 105 movies that were widely released in 2023 this year, up from 96 in 2022. 67 of those were in a movie theater, up from 40 last year. Actually, streaming movies slipped through the cracks more this year, as I prioritized watching films in one sitting instead of in chunks during my commute to work.

It was pretty difficult to make a top twenty-five list this year, least of all to cull it down to ten, so it is with apologies to everything else that I present my favorites. By the way, if you'd like to hear me talk about these movies, give Cinema Bums a listen.

10. Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé

9. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

8. Eileen

7. How To Blow Up a Pipeline

6. Oppenheimer

5. BlackBerry

4. American Fiction

3. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

2. The Killer

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3

Favorite Records

I feel like I listened to less records this year than I'd have liked to, but when I look at this list, I know pretty much all the words to every song on every album (and had to cut probably five others that I felt the same way about). So that's not bad!

10. KAYTRAMINÉ - Aminé and Kaytranada

9. In the End It Always Does - The Japanese House

8. the record - boygenius

7. So Much (For) Stardust - Fall Out Boy

6. The People's Champ - Quinn XCII

5. GUTS - Olivia Rodrigo

4. And the Charm - Avalon Emerson

3. Desire, I Want To Turn into You - Caroline Polachek

2. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan

1. Something To Give Each Other - Troye Sivan

Favorite Songs

As always, any song on one of my Favorite Records was not eligible to be included on my Favorite Songs list. I've probably listened to singles and playlists more than records recently, and the shortlist for this category was over a hundred songs long. That list may have contained some more adventurous cuts, but these were the ones that meant the most to me.

10. "Psychedelic Switch" - Carly Rae Jepsen

9. "Ant Pile" - Dominic Fike

8. "Coping On Unemployment" - Del Water Gap

7. "ALÉRGICA" - Paty B

6. "Even When I'm Not With You" - Pierce the Veil

5. "All Dogs Go To Hell" - Chase Rice

4. "A&W" - Lana Del Rey

3. "Outskirts" - Sam Hunt

2. "Dance the Night" - Dua Lipa

1. "Co-Star" - Amaarae

Favorite TV Shows

Probably not as great of a year for the handful of TV shows I watch as 2022 was, but I think the top three here are really good!

5. Loki (Season 2)

4. Ahsoka (Season 1)

3. Poker Face (Season 1)

2. The Last of Us (Season 1)

1. I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (Season 3)

Favorite Video Games

These are all for the Nintendo Switch. In 2024, I hope to finally play Persona 5 Royal on Switch, then finally get a Steam Deck and play Marvel's Spider-Man, and then get a Switch 2 when it comes out. Maybe those plans are kind of in conflict with my plans to spend more time writing.

5. Vampire Survivors

4. Suika Game

3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

2. Metroid Prime Remastered

1. Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Favorite Theater

I thought this would be fun to add as its own category this year, since I live in New York City and have somewhat okay luck at winning the lottery for shows!

5. Shucked (Broadway)

4. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Broadway)

3. Camelot (Broadway)

2. The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window (Off-Broadway)

1. Danny and the Deep Blue Sea (Off-Broadway)

Assorted Favorites

Stop Making Sense (Remastered Theatrical Run and Remastered Album)

Joe Pera: Slow and Steady (Comedy Special)

Blank Check's 8th Anniversary Live Show

"Ana Fabrega: One Hour" (Live Show)

To a T Reveal Trailer

Movie Trailers: Somebody I Used To Know, Past Lives, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Maestro

That's all for this one. Happy New Year!

[alljamesbondgames]

The World Is Not Enough (PS)

Original Release: 2000

Developer: Black Ops

Publisher: Electronic Arts

Platform: PlayStation

While Eurocom made the N64 version of The World Is Not Enough, Black Ops – the developers of Tomorrow Never Dies – still made the PlayStation version. From playing the games, it doesn’t seem like there was any cross development or sharing resources, both games were developed completely independnatly.

While TWINE on PlayStation is a first person shooter, it still feels a lot like Tomorrow Never Dies. The HUD (which I still can’t see properly) and controls from the previous game are still here, with the developers still not taking advantage of the PlayStation’s analogue sticks. I could create an dual stick FPS-like setup, but without the ability to look up and down (without manual aiming).

The game stars off in the bank but the layout is very different. You go up a lift and then down an oddly long corridor with a lot of cameras – these are a massive pain to shoot due to the game’s shoddy controls and I just gave up and accepted the extra guards. One thing also evident is that the levels in this games are small “rooms” with short loading screens when going through doors, which make the levels feel disjoined.

After this, you get some long clips from the film, as it skips through the attack on MI6 headquarters and we go and chase the assassin down some short, narrow London streets. At the end of this level, the game automatically selects the grapple watch to fire at the hot air balloon. This watch isn’t used to help level design, but instead just triggers cutscenes.

Next up is the game’s skiing level which is just really odd. You have full control of Bond’s movement, but his acceleration has been altered. You awkwardly shoot some enemies and start going own a slope – for around 4 seconds. Due to the game being made of lots of tiny areas, you need to go through a pipe and load the next area, so you get the awkward controls and none of the fun of actually going downhill for a decent amount of time.

Next up is a level that the N64 game skipped, as Bond infiltrate’s Zukovsky’s laughably small casino. This is both the best and worst level. There’s only a few room and your mission is to win money at blackjack, which is more enjoyable than the actual game. I did nearly have to restart this mission due to an NPC blocking a patch.

You also have to use Bond’s credit card lockpick to open a door, which is neat the first time but is used far too much and the animations for it are far too long.

Next up is this game’s stealth level. This takes place entirely inside Elektra’s house, as you “stealth” by running and punching guards. There are a few items you can turn on to distract them. The level design for this mission is just bizarre, as the house doesn’t feel like a house due to its nonsensical layout and completely lacking a front door.

You skip from here right to infiltrating Renard’s men, who are trying to steal a nuke. This level feels really strange as you have to sneak past guards (having to punch some out) as you sneak into an area where you were invited into.

Another mission that wasn’t in the N64 game (apart from a multiplayer level) is Elektra’s pipeline, as you try to reach a bomb. You have to shut off the oil and rescue hostages to reach another part of the facility, then protect Christmas Jones as she fixes an oil pipeline maintenance vehicle.

The “City of Walkways” is a single level in this game, and feels far less dynamic, with the helicopter fight being extremely dull and then it’s onto another chase level, which coincidentally involves a bomb being placed in a train station (this time in Istanbul instead of London).

After Bond gets captured, you get to see a lovey, large room with big windows transform into a tiny room in a dungeon. The film footage and game design don’t match in any way whatsoever and I don’t know why they included the torture chair – they could have omitted it and it would have seem like Bond had moved to the next room instead.

You need to go back and forth then fight a few bosses. The first requires you to unload a few rounds from your assault rifle, the second is immune to all of your weapons due to “special armour” (he’s wearing a suit) and you’re told that you need to throw his explosives back at him. Headshots don’t do anything and the game gives you a grenade launcher, which also does nothing. You can only kill him by throwing his own pipe bombs. It’s just odd.

The final mission is on the submarine as you chase Renard. You have to navigate a really strange room filled with toxic barrels. When you reach Renard, you have a boss fight – but not against him, but against a reactor instead. There’s no flooding, and then you run back through the level.

The ending to the level isn’t locked away this time, however there is a secret video if you complete the game on the highest difficulty – which is just the sex scene from the end of the film. There are a few cheats to unlock, but there’s no multiplayer.

It’s amazing just how different these two games are, with the N64 version of the game being a much better game all around. The PlayStation version is stiff and disjointed.

[qocsuing]

Why Biden’s China Reset Is a Bad Idea

Why Biden’s China Reset Is a Bad Idea

Now is not the time for the United States to pursue détente with China, as the Biden administration has been trying to do for several weeks now. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held intensive talks with senior Chinese official Wang Yi in Vienna in mid-May, followed by a flurry of U.S. attempts at engagement in the military and commercial fields, as well as at the presidential level. Today, a secret visit by CIA Director William Burns to Beijing in May also became public.To get more news about china sucks, you can visit shine news official website.

The administration’s logic seems to be that if the United States pursues sustained, high-level outreach with Beijing, it will be able to find common ground on divisive issues in trade, climate, and security policy after a prolonged state of hostility between the two powers.

The general consensus in Washington seems to be that this is wise, not least because the United States needs Chinese goodwill to eventually bring Russia to the peace table in Ukraine. That’s what European allies have been telling the administration for many weeks. There also appears to be a political calculus: Going into an election year, U.S. President Joe Biden may reckon that he will need Chinese President Xi Jinping’s assistance with Russian President Vladimir Putin if, as some on his team appear to fear, Ukraine underperforms in its counteroffensive and American voters balk at the prospect of a protracted conflict. The prize for Biden could also be gains in trade or climate policy.

The problem is that Biden’s logic is all too transparent for Beijing. For more than two years this same U.S. administration has emphasized China as the top threat to U.S. national security. By suddenly shifting to diplomatic engagement a year from an election, the administration is signaling that it needs a diplomatic deal, even if it means chasing after China to get it.

If this all sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve seen it before. When Barack Obama entered office in 2009, his opening move was to try to reset relations with Russia in order to support the U.S. focus on Afghanistan. To pay the Kremlin for the courtesy, he canceled plans to install missile defense in Poland and the Czech Republic. When Russia responded by invading Crimea, Obama ramped up engagement with China instead. On the White House lawn, Xi pledged not to militarize the islands of the South China Sea—and then did precisely that. Biden is following a similar path. After coming to office, he tried to broker a thaw with Putin in order to focus more attention on China. To create space for the maneuver, he waived sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, slow-rolled military aid to Ukraine, and delayed a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the White House. True to form, Putin responded by upping the ante, this time with an invasion on a much grander scale.

These examples suggest a consistent, if questionable, philosophy of détente: Approach an adversary from a position of palpable neediness, make upfront concessions to gain goodwill, and settle for an uncertain political deliverable that lies in the future.

Adversaries see the flaws in this approach and use them against the United States. Biden has been trying for weeks to get Xi to take a phone call, to no avail. The same dynamic has been playing out in senior military channels, where the Chinese just turned down a meeting request from U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. Meanwhile, Xi courts U.S. allies in Western Europe who want to bring the Ukraine war to an end and return to business as usual. The net effect is to up the pressure on the United States to seek a thaw—and raise the floor price of any eventual deal in China’s favor.

Beijing’s behavior shows an understanding that all of this is ultimately about power. Effective détente is not a byproduct of sweet reasonableness but a hard-nosed pursuit of the national interest. It is backed up by the potential, in the absence of a political breakthrough, to inflict damage to the other side.

[mstrickster]

What are the Ducks favorite amusement park rides?

Sorry for the long wait, anon. I have been dealing with burnout a bit. Also I rethought all these and I am basing most of them around the rides at Valleyfair cause that's a Minnesota staple. Anyways, let's break this down.

I want to start with Guy cause I feel like he would be the stereotypical romantic. His favorite ride is either the Ferris Wheel or The Tunnel of Love. He prefers to go with Connie. However, he did also ask Jesse to accompany him once. No one knows what happened during the ride and neither will say.

I feel like Jesse loves the bumper cars. Charlie is his favorite target cause Charlie is equal parts annoying and lovable. However, he has also been known to attack anyone who gets close to him. Another person he likes to go after is Guy. Guy will usually laugh and chase Jesse around for a bit.

Averman's favorite ride is 100% the fun house especially the house of mirrors. He likes to hide and jump out to freak out the others. Also he just loves all the bizaar tricks and surprises. He also will talk about horror myths while going through the funhouse. Goldberg refuses to go with him anymore for that reason.

Adam is a not a big rides person. I fully believe he gets dizzy and will throw up on rollercoasters and thrill rides. Therefore his favorite ride is the Antique cars. This is a ride where you leisurely drive around and take in sites. I feel like Adam would like it cause it's relaxing and he doesn't often get a chance to relax.

Russ is a thrill ride lover. Although he won't turn down the chance to ride any of the coasters they aren't his favorite. His favorite is the swings. At Valleyfair it's called the North Star. Basically those rides where you are on a swing set that spinning you in a circle. He also likes to argue it takes more guts to ride that because you just have the one bar holding you down. He is right of course.

Portman and Fulton are all about the rollercoasters. Actually they prefer anything that goes fast and has them screaming. They're favorite ride is Wild Thing. They will go on it repeatedly. They're second favorite is Steel Venom. They saw the two spikes on the coaster and fell in love.

Julie is pretty much fearless when it comes to rides. However, her favorite is definitely the Power Tower. This is like the Tower of Terror. She loves the feeling when the ride gets to the top before it rockets down. She also loves the bumper cars cause she can get any aggression out. She goes after Goldberg.

I don't think Connie has a favorite. She will try anything once. She does like to go with Julie on Power Tower and Guy on the Ferris Wheel. However, that's more apart of who she's going with rather than the ride. If she had to choose she would choose any ride where all the Ducks are able to go together.

Kenny is very competitive so his ride is the go carts. He totally picks a certain car so he can go faster. He and Luis will share a car. Kenny drives and Luis trash talks the other drivers. Kenny loves to lap the other Ducks and gloat. It's hilarious from an observer standpoint.

Luis is another one who doesn't have a favorite. However, he always insists the Ducks go to the amusement park and the water park when at Valleyfair. Luis does have a favorite waterpark ride. He likes the Breakers Pipeline. The drop is always a thrill and the splashing makes it ten times better. He will spend most of the day on that and in the waterpark.

Dwayne is another who isn't a thrill ride person. His favorite ride is actually the carousel. He even has a favorite horse to ride. He picked them cause they reminded him of the filly he helped birth back home. He does get picked on a bit but Dwayne doesn't care. He loves it.

Goldberg is another person who favors the water park over the actual amusement park. His favorite "ride" is the Ripple Rapids. Which is Valleyfair's version of the lazy river. He doesn't go to the amusement park for thrills. He goes to try the food and relax. He will join the team on group rides but he prefers the mellow rides.

Charlie is like Connie. He doesn't favor really any ride. He just likes to hang out with his team. His Ducks. He will try anything once and has been known to enjoy the rollercoasters. However, he also will join Adam and Goldberg on the calmer rides. He doesn't care as long as everyone is happy.

Thank you for the ask!