#shameless preferences

[sunderwight]

Hualian Idol AU where instead of the statues the big reveal of Hua Cheng's longstanding amorous fixation on Xie Lian is all of his self-insert "my mom sold me to One Direction" style fanfics located in the depths of some boyband RPF archive.

[carothehotmess]

Pope Leo XIV’s first few decrees:

Every Church Must Offer At Least One Casserole Making Class A Month

If You Have To Walk Past Someone, You Must Say, “Oop. Let Me Just Squeeze Right Past Ya”

The Cubs Win The World Series (By Papal Decree)

The Cheese Goes Under The Sauce

[corpusdiem-seizethedead]

Charlie: What do you have there, Angel?

Angel: Oh, it's just a to-do list

Charlie: That's great! I should do one for myself as w-

Angel:

Charlie:

Charlie: This list just says "Husk" and it has a heart drawn beside it

[ohkate]

Mickey has better tits. But Ian has the best ass.

Thank you, season 11, for allowing us to do this very important research.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

everytime someone’s mean to debbie in s11 i just think of s1 debbie as the girl they’re saying shit about and i cry. please be nice to my girl shes like 2 months old (she’s 20)

[thecurioustale]

My New Book Is Out! | Tokens of Zeal

My new book is out!

Buy it! Buy it now!

That's right: In secret, on January 2 of this year I began writing a book of essays. Some of you may know that I have an online journal, which I created in the summer of 2003 when I was just 21 years old and have kept up with ever since. For my new book I went back to the journal and read through it, entry by entry, drawing out excerpts of interest that became conversation pieces for 81 various and sundry essays reflecting on my past life and past thoughts.

The essays are short, often very short. They are less challenging than my usual writing, I would say. My purpose was not to advance my personal frontier of philosophy and intellectual thought in 2024, or to reach a niche audience of deep thinkers, but instead to reflect sincerely on some things I've seen along the way and muse upon how my thoughts have changed and stayed the same over twenty years.

I mention this to you because I am a bit worried that anyone who reads this book might think there's not much to me as an author, and might be dissuaded from reading my works of fiction when those books eventually come out, so I'll lampshade that by adding that I wrote this book in two-and-a-half months. Make of that what you will. I told myself I wouldn't self-sabotage the book by needlessly saying negative things about it, and I am proud of it, not only the fact that I finished it at all, let alone so quickly, but of the actual contents too.

This book is "Volume 1" in a hypothetical series, as it doesn't cover the entire twenty years of the journal but only the first four months, from August to November of 2003—at which point the essays had reached "book length" (lol). So really this book is a snapshot of my life in the latter half of 2003. At that time, I was fading out of college due to financial hardship and other issues, and did not realize that I would never (as yet) return.

I have been wanting for years to go back and reread my journal, and writing a book out of it was the perfect impetus to finally do it. I think a few things stand out about the Josh of 2023:

First, my principles have remained remarkably consistent, but my awareness and understanding of the world has grown drastically, and so those same principles have led me over time to some different policy views and worldviews on some things.

Second, I was a 21-year-old arrogant block of cheese, full of hormones and self-conviction, and that definitely shows up at times in ways that I simultaneously am not proud of and yet which I admire for their sheer gall. There is something very magnetic about the old me which doesn't exist anymore.

Third, following up on that point, it was pretty inspiring and encouraging to revisit the old me, with all that native optimism and drive. I don't express those qualities anymore because life has worn me down and also because I have come to recognize that humanity's problems are a lot more stubborn and irremediable than I thought. By glimpsing into the past, I couldn't help but be cheered on by the old Josh's proud, utopian sense of human inevitability. It lifted my own spirits in the here and now!

I made the mistake of announcing the book on Patreon right after I finished writing it, i.e. back in mid-March. Then I had to wring my hands every week about how post-production was taking longer than expected. Between the irritating realities of formatting a book in software not properly equipped to format a book (never write a book in Google Docs), the complexities of my detail-oriented manner and strong vision regarding the cover design (and engaging for the first time ever with modern generative AI, and having to learn those ropes), and sustaining illnesses and other life priorities and so on, it would take me another two months in all to finally reach today, where I can now publicly declare:

The book is done! It is for sale right now. It is called:

Tokens of Zeal: Words from a Vanished Age

(Caption: Book front cover of Tokens of Zeal: Words from a Vanished Age, by Joshua Calars.)

You can buy it through Amazon in either paperback or e-book format. (I recommend the paperback version for aesthetics as it is much truer to my design vision for the book's layout and appearance, but my profit margin is actually a dollar bigger with the e-book version, so really just go with whichever version you prefer.) It is available in the US as well as in basically all the other countries that Amazon has expanded its publishing service into. If you need help finding a link to a particular version, give me a ping and I will point you there (if there is a "there" to be pointed to). This is my second published book, following Prelude to After The Hero in 2015, and the first book to be published in print.

If you do read it, first of all thank you! It's an honor that you would take the time. Second of all, I would love any feedback you care to offer. That's not a platitude either; feedback is hard to come by and I really would be interested in anything you have to say, good or bad. You can e-mail me, DM, reblog this, drop an ask, or tag me in an independent post. Whatever you like! Feedback will help me greatly when I eventually get around to writing Volume 2. And feel free to leave a review on Amazon, whether good or bad (though hopefully you enjoy the book); I am told it pleases The Algorithm. But most of all, if you enjoy the book, tell someone about it! Your word-of-mouth is currently 100 percent of my advertising budget, lol.

That's all. I wrote a book; it took four-and-a-half-months; it's done now; and it's the first time I've ever gotten to hold a book that I wrote in my hands as a physical thing, and that's pretty neat.

[ebenelephant]

everyone on this app is really pro body positivity until it comes to comparing the uk and us versions of a show

[chososcamgirl]

@aozui

[superbellsubways]

thinking about making a sideblog for doodles or things i just dont wanna post over here for 6k+ people to see bc it can be #embarassing

[silent-idea]

I need to follow more blogs, so like/reblog if you post about:

Tv shows:

The X-Files, Ted Lasso, The Simpsons, The Witcher, Grey's Anatomy, Station 19, The Umbrella Academy, Lucifer, Shameless, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Wynonna Earp, Schitt's Creek, Orphan Black, The Good Place, Gilmore girls, Doctor Who, Good Omens, Sense8…

Art

Journaling

Movies

Books

... and more (check out my blog to see what else I post about) 😊

[rosegoldendaydream]

THE FUCK YOU MEAN THEY BROKE UP

[errantgoat]

Astarion playthrough thoughts so far (finished Act 2)

The original content is there (mostly in Act 1), but I'm not sure if it warrants doing an origin run, considering what you lose when Astarion's not in the companion role. Basically you get a Tav with Astarion reskin, pretty much.

One thing that made it a little worth for me so far is that with all the small comments he makes, it did make me notice how eloquent and proper his speech patterns are...there's definitely some old- timey english slang in there as well. It's adorable.

but other than that

Someone summed it up better than I could.... Without Tav being there to give a damn, Astarion's playthrough feels super lonely. There's no reactivity with his questline when it comes to companions, they make no comments or even acknowledge any 'milestones' of his personal quest. (And they DO SO when he's a companion, seems like a real oversight.) Everything is handled so very privately, scars on his back are an inner dialogue starring the narrator in Act 2 for ef sake. At this point I'm not sure why he should choose the redemption route when nobody seems to care about anything concerning him at all, the LI included. :( It just makes me feel like he pretends to be a better person that he is, which in turn feels super sleazy, because he doesn't even try to canonically do that as a companion. :P

I'm planning on finishing Act 3 because my completionist soul wouldn't let me stop. BUT at this point I'm just doing it to be free of this game. XD This is it. The end. Next playthrough in 1-2 years time I SWEAR to GODS.

[mandy-faith-502]

Just finished shameless for the first time and, my god have I been missing out.

Spent the past few (don’t even know how long it took me to get through it) weeks doing basically nothing besides going to work and watching shameless.

[ohkate]

Hi Kate!

I so agree that so many scenes were cut short. And I’d also have loved more of the scene of them in the apartment. What would you have liked to have seen happen if the scene was longer? 💖

Hi there!

The writers spent too much time turning every difference of opinion between them into a fight or a mean-spirited joke. Time that could have been spent on seeing them actually happy. I hated that through so much of this season they would default to making Mickey the punchline, portraying him as some sort of clueless southside caricature (I mean, really - acting like he'd never seen people jogging before? Even if they didn't jog on the southside making him act like he'd never seen it was so obnoxious. I despised when they made Mickey appear dumb or Ian to appear to love Mickey less).

Anyway your ask had me thinking about this for a while today and it inspired me to write this little one-shot. Enjoy!

Property Values

Ian and Mickey lay side by side on the perfectly staged bed in the west side apartment, staring up at the high ceilings. 

"I think we should do this," Ian replied, turning his head to look at Mickey.

Mickey's hand drifted over, rubbing slowly against the front of Ian's jeans. "Do what?" he asked with a suggestive smirk.

Ian managed a laugh but he made no move to stop Mickey's wandering hand. "Rent this place."

"Are you kidding?" Mickey shook his head, rolling onto his side to face Ian properly. "I thought we were just coming to check out the pool?" His fingers traced higher, toying with Ian's belt buckle.

“They aren’t gonna let us fuck in here Mick,” Ian said, a smirk forming despite himself.

"Hey they told us to take our time and get a feel for the place,” he reminded Ian, pulling his belt open. “I’m definitely getting a feel.”

Ian snickered. “We're supposed to be apartment hunting," Ian told him, but his voice had gotten weaker as Mickey's hand dipped beneath his underwear. 

"And I'm huntin’," Mickey said, leaning in to nip at Ian's neck. "Think I caught something I like right here."

Ian's laugh turned into a groan as Mickey's teeth grazed that sensitive spot below his ear. "You're gonna get us arrested."

"Yeah, well," Mickey countered, pushing himself up to straddle Ian's hips. “That would suck. We don’t know the escape routes, we don’t know the bail bondsmen around here...” He grinned down at his husband, rocking slightly. "But I guess it’d be time well served. Besides, gotta make sure this bed is sturdy enough, right?"

"That mean we’re gonna take the place if it holds up?" Ian asked, his hands sliding up Mickey's thighs.

“Hell no. I don’t wanna live on the west side. Become one of these douchenozzles who carries a dog in a little bag everywhere they go. Seriously, I’ve seen like six people with little rat dogs in their bags since we got here. It’s like a fucking epidemic,” he said. “Dogs that small should come in a bun with some mustard.”

Ian snickered. He held onto Mickey’s hips, his fingers gripping on through his jean’s belt loops. “We aren’t like that. We’re never gonna be like that.”

Mickey paused, looking down at him as if realizing Ian was really serious.

“Yeah but this place is like that. And over time, slowly, like a virus, we would change. You’re already half-way there talking about fuckin’ tomatoes,” he said, grabbing Ian’s hands and pinning them back to the bed. “I grew up wanting to be king of the southside. Not married to some fag who wants to pay ten bucks for a cranberry ale nut beer made in some hipster’s basement. Before long we'll be wearin' bow ties and you’ll grow a man bun and we’ll talk about artisan breads. Suddenly we’re doing fucking yoga on the roof and talking to the new friends we made at our kombucha fermenting class about how we really believe in the healing power of crystals. We’d be those people who have polite, quiet sex. Then, in a moment of clarity, I’d have to do some kind of murder-suicide to put us both out of our fucking misery,” he said, resuming grinding himself on Ian’s lap to Ian’s uncontrollable growl. “No thanks. I prefer this.”

Ian mustered up all of his self-control and rolled Mickey over, pinning his arms hard to the bed the same way Mickey had done to him. 

“We need to be on our own. Away from your family. And mine. Somewhere that’s just ours. This place is cheap and it’s nice. We’ll never be those people because we didn’t marry those people, Mick. I wouldn't let that happen to us. Neither would you. We aren’t gonna suddenly want to join the neighborhood watch. We'll always be us. Except now we'll have a heated pool,” he said, grinding against Mickey as he buried his face in his neck. “And we’ll NEVER have polite, quiet sex.”

“Sometimes we’re quiet...” Mickey sighed, already feeling his resistance crumbling as Ian's tongue traced his ear.

“Only when I put something in your mouth,” Ian said against Mickey's neck. He nipped at the skin there. “Or around your throat…”

Mickey moaned.

“Pleeeeaaase?” Ian whispered, making Mickey’s eyes flutter as he licked his way back over to Mickey’s mouth. “I’m not above using sex as a weapon,” he said, his tongue diving in before Mickey could answer. 

Mickey pretended to think about it, even as his hands worked their way under Ian's hoodie. "Well, the view's not bad," he said, openly appreciating his husband above him. "And I guess we can mess this place up pretty quick. Make it feel like home..."

"Yeah?" Ian's face lit up with hope.

"Yeah," Mickey said softly, leaning up for another kiss. "But we're definitely testing this bed first."

Ian grinned against his lips. "For safety purposes."

"Exactly. Hurry up before that office chick comes back up," Mickey smirked, whipping his shirt back off and pulling at the zipper on Ian’s jeans.

“Wouldn’t wanna end up being in a bed that can’t take the abuse we’re gonna give it,” Ian said, yanking his hoodie off. “We’ll have to give it a good inspection.”

“And maybe the floors, too. And that couch. That shit looked real flimsy," Mickey said thoughtfully, as Ian leaned up to grip the top of his jeans and yank them down. "Might need to test every room for quality."

"Every room, huh?" Ian said, kissing back up his stomach, chest and to his neck again.

"Mhm. Bathroom's got heated floors. Could be fun," Mickey waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Ian caught Mickey's mouth in a heated kiss, swallowing his laugh. When they broke apart, both breathless, Ian couldn't help but smile. "So does this mean you like the place?"

 "Fuck no. I’m gonna need a lot of convincing."

As it turned out, the bed passed inspection with flying colors. And if they had to test the bathroom's heated tiles next, well…

That was just being thorough.

[m4ndysk4nkovich]

the way that in mandy’s first ever scene she stands tall and walks and speaks with such confidence, but by her last scene she seems embarrassed and more timid. free my girl she did nothing wrong

[golden28s]

my gallavich headcanon is that mickey has started multiple fights about who's sophie's dad in mamma mia and he's absolutely convinced that her dad is bill and ian still thinks is sam