#the glands

[arcticfoxfacts]

GIANT DAY - “Psychedelic pop duo of Derek Almstead (The Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, The Glands, of Montreal) and Emily Growden (Faster Circuits, Marshmallow Coast)”

New Elephant 6 release, being the first in years to release on the E6 label!

[tuuneoftheday]

The Glands - livin' was easy

[mywifeleftme]

119: The Glands // The Glands

The Glands The Glands 2000, Capricorn

A few months ago, I wrote about how, despite its quiet, whenever I put on Kath Bloom and Loren Connors’ Moonlight as background music it draws attention. The Glands’ self-titled is the opposite in that no matter how often I sneak it on while hanging out with someone I think would love it, it eludes notice. To be fair, I don’t know if I’d’ve given the Glands the time to sink in either if the table hadn’t been perfectly set for me by the ripple of retrospectives that followed bandleader Ross Shapiro’s death in 2016, and I suppose this is me trying to set that table for you.

Obscure and obscurantist (?) alt rock band with skewed pop sensibility from Athens, Georgia (a thriving vertical in this series); “one sun-dappled aw-shucks anthem after another, strung together with yarn and masking tape” said Pitchfork; “bounces, rolls, grooves, lulls and sways—sometimes simultaneously” (Aquarium Drunkard); “ebullient hooks, hot, hazy guitars and diagonal epiphanies” (Rolling Stone); “Whenever I talk, it makes me realize what a dick I am” (Ross Shapiro).

Shapiro had a voice pitched somewhere between those of fellow southerners Alex Chilton and Tom Petty, and as with his friend Ira Kaplan’s band Yo La Tengo, wrote songs that at first seem affably slack but with further listens reveal themselves to be the work of a gifted tinkerer. Even the most direct numbers have their perfectly weighted flourishes, like the way curtains of reverb briefly descend over rocker “Straight Down” to give the album’s sole killer guitar solo something textured to slash a path through. Calling their ramshackle debut Double Thriller was a great joke, but across 19 tracks (on the vinyl edition) their second and last album The Glands is its own kind of production triumph, something like the magnum opus of a group of guys who’ve dedicated their lives to understanding what makes an album sound great but not slick. The sounds of the wider world are in here, be it the baggy ‘90s dance-inflected “I Can See My House From Here” or the electronica-lite “Breathe Out,” but they’ve been rejiggered into something wobbly-but-working that feels native to the homespun weirdness Athens is known for.

Shapiro loved using old-timey stock phrases in his lyrics (“lay down the law”; “laughing all the way to the bank”; “when the man says jump / Johnny says how high?”), not so much to subvert them (though his slightly effete drawl does do that) as to acknowledge they’ve grown heavy with memory like old woolen quilts. They’re the words that murmur in your ears as you drowse with a black-and-white movie on, the way people talked when things seemed simpler, the things they said to keep them that way. Like the best allusive lyricists, you’re not going to pull anything coherent from the words, but there’s room to feel at home in the gaps they suggest.

Like I’ve said, I’ve been trying to make “Lovetown” happen with my friends for a while, and “Fortress,” and “Livin’ Was Easy.” Take a listen when you have time to sit with them, and help me out, will ya?

119/365

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Halloween prompts year 2 day 10

Danny groaned, blearily raising his head from the nest of blankets and pillows he had made in his apartment. He had smelled something strange.

Something strong enough to wake him from his sleep. Danny got up and stumbled to the front door, cursing his luck for getting a fever so soon into his interdimentional road trip.

Peering out of his open doorway he saw a little kid shivering in the cold, badly hidden behind two trash cans in the mouth of an alley. Danny didn't think twice. In fact he didn't think at all. It wasn't uncommon for an Omega to smell a child who didn't have the scent of another Omega on them and immediately claim that child as thier own, and seeing as his home dimension had exclusively Omegas...let's just say there's a lot of drama in family court and a lot of laws pertaining to this.

So of course the next thing Danny knows is that the kid was bundled up inside his very soft and comfy makeshift nest before Danny passed out.

For the next week Danny had this mysterious fever and he acted like a parent on autopilot, barely conscious as he instinctually cared for the little boy. He made them food and cut them up into tiny bits to feed his baby and if it was handfoods like pizza rolls or sandwich triangles, Danny would hold him in his arms and rock his back and forth, humming softly as his child ate.

Eventually his heat ended (note that omegas from his world don't have heats, they don't have alphas and so they don't even know what a heat is) and Danny was very surprised he has a child in his house. But he and the baby are very emotionally attached to one another. When Danny asked what the little kids name was (and man this kid was little) the kid stared at him in the way little kids do before muttering the world "Clone" followed by what sounded suspiciously like a serial number.

Danny decided, nah. His kid now. Sucks to be the bioparent cause Danny doesn't wanna share.

Somewhere in the city, the bats were freaking out. They had raided a lab and discovered not only had one of them been cloned, but the clone had escaped and no one knew where it was. Cue panicked parental frenzy.

[jadewritesficshere]

👉👈 what about Omega!Steve turning to cuddle Alpha!Eddie. But Steve is pupped up, heavily pregnant, and it takes him awhile to turn. He would huff, and sure maybe he's breathing a bit heavier then normal, but that's his pup!! His and Eddie's!! He loves being pregnant!!!

But then he goes to wraps his arms around Eddie who's half asleep and-

His stomach is so round and full he can no longer be flush against Eddie's back, can no longer cling to him and wrap his limbs around him. And he doesn't mean to tear up, he really doesn't.

Eddie can immediately sense the shift in Steve's scent and hears him sniffling. He turns wide eyed, heart beating fast out of concern," What's wrong?!" And Steve is just staring at him with the saddest pout and the biggest wettest eyes.

"I-" "is it the pup? Are you in pain? Whats-" "I can't hold you!" Steve whines.

And Eddie....

Eddie laughs. Steve clicks his tongue and glares, which Eddie is immediately apologizing between chuckles. "I thought something was wrong!" Eddie smiles, hand on Steve's cheek. "It is!" Steve scowls.

"Roll over Hot Mama," Eddie taps Steve's hip. "I wanted to lay on this side.." Steve sighs. Eddie shrugs," No issue."

Eddie gets up and walks to the side Steve is on, lightly pushing and helping Steve go to Eddie's side of the bed. Eddie crawls in behind him and wraps his arms around Steve, pulling him back so he's flush with Eddie's front. Steve can't and doesn't want to stop the chirp he lets out. "Better?" Eddie whispers, kissing Steve's cheek. "Better."

[serpentface]

There are three hyaenids found within the Imperial Wardi region- the hisippate, the highland hyena (kyniche na chennandi), and the scrub hyena (kyniche). (None are actually related to the king hyena).

The hisippate (name is close in meaning to 'stinking one', sometimes instead called '(wild) ant-dog' ('kulichin-wannaukoma')) is very distantly related to the other two. They are small, mostly solitary animals that sleep in burrows during the day and emerge to hunt at night. They are almost exclusively insectivorous, and their diet consists primarily of termites and ants that are lapped up with a long, strong tongue. The hisippate has a wide range, with their populations being highest in grassland and savanna regions with a high density of termites.

They are named for their foul smelling anal gland secretions, which are used to mark their territory and can be sprayed short distances to repel predators. Their highly visible black and white coat (which is erected in threat display) indicates them as not worth the trouble of eating. This is partly an honest advertisement of its chemical defenses, but may function as mimicry of a substantially more threatening native badger that can spray with great accuracy at distances of up to 10 feet (while the spray of the hitsippate is untargeted and only potent within a meter of the body).

The highland and scrub hyenas are the most numerous and successful predators within the region, with their populations having exploded in the past several centuries with the decline of the Wardi lion. Both live in matriarchal clan structures with strict dominance hierarchies, maintained not by individual size and strength but by highly complex networks of coalitions. All members of a clan can reproduce, and young inherit rank positions just beneath that of their mothers. Most males eventually disperse, entering into new clans at the very bottom of their hierarchy. They exhibit no obvious sexual dimorphism, and females often can only be differentiated from males by the shape of their pseudopenis.

The scrub hyena is most widely distributed and can be found throughout most of the region in a variety of lowland habitats, faring best in savannah and open grassland with high populations of grazing ungulates. This species is distinguished by well-defined spots and stripes and a sparse mane, though their coloration varies by individual and population, ranging from reddish to pale white-brown. Their clans can number upwards of a hundred individuals in the most prey-dense territories, though most are smaller.

The highland hyena is unique to the northwest of the region. As the name suggests, they have specialized into surviving in higher altitude climes, but can also be found in the remaining pockets of surrounding forest (and once had a much larger range across the former northern forests). Their spotting is often less visible than their lowland relatives, though their base coloration is similarly variable. Their clan sizes are substantially smaller than the scrub hyena, as they inhabit regions with much lower prey densities.

Both are closely related (whether they are subspecies or separate species would be subject of debate by taxonomists) and can produce viable young. Heavily hybridized populations are common where their ranges overlap. Scrub hyenas appear to breed more readily with dispersing male highland hyenas than the reverse.

Hyenas occupy an overall minor space in most of the Wardi cultural sphere. They are noted negatively as man/corpse eaters, but are generally regarded as intelligent and powerful predators and avoid the stigma attached to man-eating scavengers. In most cases they are not ascribed much significance in comparison to the venerated lion or the massive and intimidating king-hyena, mostly being relegated to a threat to livestock and potential danger to lone travelers.

Many urban areas in the province of Godsmouth (including the outer unwalled portions of the eponymous city) have unique practices of not only tolerating but actively inviting scrub hyenas into urban spaces. These urban hyena populations have been genetically semi-isolated from their wilder counterparts for several centuries. Rather than hunting large prey, they fill similar roles to feral dogs in the urban landscape as cleaners of refuse and killers of pests, and benefit from their species being culturally regarded as powerful predators rather than lowly scavengers. They notably predate on the considerably more reviled feral dogs, and keep their populations much lower than other parts of the region. Their role is regarded as both a physically and spiritually cleansing force, with their presence neutralizing polluting elements (while not being sacred in of itself).

The Godsmouth hyenas show little fear of humans compared to their wild relatives, though their activity peaks at nighttime hours to avoid close contact. They are sometimes raised from cubs to be fully tamed (though are not truly domesticated) and used as guards or to assist in hunting (Godsmouth's designated dog hunters notably have traditions of keeping hyenas). This practice is essentially exclusive to the province of Godsmouth- hyenas rarely establish semi-urban populations in other parts of the region, and those who do have considerably greater fear of humans, usually sneaking in under the cover of night to feed on scraps and fleeing from encounters.

The status of hyenas varies in the other groups native to the region. For example:

Hyenas have a generally favorable status to the Cholemdinae, who have traditionally reckoned them as highest among predators, noting their stamina and intelligence. Body parts of hyenas are ascribed the ability to increase the wearer's stamina, and amulets carved from hyena bones are often worn while persistence hunting. Children born while hyenas are heard crying are considered to be strong and very likely to survive infancy (and will often be given names referencing the animals). The apparent androgyny of hyenas is allegorically attributed to the creation story- the first beings were dual-sexed, and split into male and female halves as part of their punishment for the theft of fire from the sun. The hyena escaped this punishment by digging into the underworld to hide and getting only its once long, luxurious tail chopped off (which was sticking out from the hole).

((TANGENT: The South Wardi have more recent common cultural ancestry to the Cholemdinae than to most of the other groups assimilated into the collective Wardi nationality. The notion of hyenas once having long, flowing tails that got chopped off in some mishap still appears in South Wardi animal folktales))

They have a largely disfavorable reputation to the Hill Tribes, and are generally regarded as gluttonous and brutish in nature. The Highlands have a naturally lower density of wild ungulates, made far lower by most grazing pasture being occupied by livestock. This causes hyenas (and other large predators) to more frequently predate on domestic animals, and thus places them directly in conflict with herders (and also makes them common rabies vectors). They are readily culled when found in proximity to villages. Hyena pelts are generally considered worthless, and culled hyenas will often be fed whole to livestock guardian dogs and their pups in hopes of teaching them to be fearless towards the predators. Were-hyenas appear in folklore- among the southwestern Hill Tribes they are most commonly the accursed spirits of cannibals, while in the northeast they are malicious witches who learned secret arts of transformation and take on these forms to wreak havoc upon their enemies.

[reality-detective]

The Pineal Gland - Barbara O'Neill 🤔

[glittergummy]

How exactly do cybertronians cool off when they’re overheating?

[itsapmseymour]

Have you ever realized that for some of us, you're our Robin Williams?

[chaoticpostcollectionstuff]

okay but why are Hannibal Lecter's overactive cowper's glands a tag on ao3. where did they come from

[emolionsrawr]

buck: *slams his phone down on the table*

bobby: what's wrong kiddo?

buck: well chris' favourite animal at the moment is penguins and i was googling penguin facts so i could tell him about them when me and tommy take him to the zoo on saturday

bobby: and that made you slam your phone?

buck: well as i was googling penguin facts i found a picture of their mouths... bobby they have teeth going all the way down their throat, well actually it's not teeth like we have them they're backward facing flesh spines that help guide the fish down

bobby:... what the heck?

buck: yep! it looks terrifying! but a fun fact i did find was did you know the earliest penguin fossil was found in 61.6 million year old antartic rock! about 4-5 million years after the mass extinction of the dinosaurs waimanu manneringi stood upright and waddled like modern day penguins, but was more likely in the water, some fossil penguins were much larger than any living penguin today, reaching 4.5 feet tall!

bobby: oh wow, i think chris is gonna love that fact kid

buck: they also release air bubbles from their feathers which cuts the drag on their bodies, allowing them to double, and triple their swimming speed and quickly launch into the air

bobby: that's amazing buck, what else did you learn?

buck: well-

*alarm rings*

buck: damn it, tell you in the engine dad! *runs to the engine*

bobby:

bobby: did he just-

eddie: yeah, he did

bobby: *tears up*

[lonelyslutavatar]

I was so caught up in the gender euphoria that is Martin Blackwood that for a moment, I forgot that I lived in a world where bras and skirts were "female-coded"

[totally-not-peter-parker]

I think biting people should be more socially acceptable

[jadewritesficshere]

Just thinking about s4 but when Alpha!Eddie grabs Steve to shove the bottle against his neck, he doesn't realize Steve is an omega and accidentally scruffs him. And Steve is just boneless, kinda goes down. And Eddie isn't expecting deadweight and almost falls ontop of Steve but realizes what's happening (let's just say he's fought off a few bullies who scruffed members of his pack). He immediately drops the bottle and holds onto Steve, who tries to scent Eddie. Just shoves his face into Eddie's neck and nuzzles it, lets out a purr unintentionally.