#Factory Performance Concept

[carsthatnevermadeitetc]

Honda Civic Factory Performance Concept, 2008. Presented at SEMA, a prototype Civic sedan with aerodynamic improvements, super-light alloy wheels, a lighter HFP exhaust system and an upgraded HFP suspension kit. The concept offered the possibility of improving both fuel economy and performance

[alldancersaretalented]

My fav solos this year

(please send anons or something, I'm down with bronchitis in 30°C weather :()

Solos

Avery Altobelli, Epic - "Heavenly Bodies" (Rudy Abreu)

Madisyn Amos, Elite Dance Pro - "A New Life" (Mandy Korpinen & Elizabeth Petrin)

Ellie Anbarden, P21 - "Somebody Help Me" (Madi Hicks)

Hallee Anderson, Larkin - "So This Is Love" (Kenzie Symanietz)

Harper Anderson, Concept Pavielle - "Paint It Black" (Brady Farrar)

Kennedy Anderson, VDA - "Come On Dreamer" (?)

Lilly Anderson, Larkin - "Cell Block Tango" (Michele Larkin)

Belle Marie Arauz, DT Miami - "How To Feel" (Ruby Castro)

Brielle Arias, Studio X - "Black And Gold" (Lia Dominique)

Finley Ashfield, Larkin - "Fools Who Dream" (Chelsea Jennings)

Melina Biltz, Rock - "Madness" (Crystal Huang)

Sofia Cuevas, Pave - "Locomotion" (?)

Kinley Cunningham, TheCREW - "Come Together" (Mollee Gray)

Aaliyah Dixon, Summit - "Take Me Oya" (Jay Jay Dixonbey)

Kensington Dressing, Evolve - "From The Ashes" (Chelsea Sebes)

Aria Du, Yoko's - "Je M'arreterai" (Megan Ellis)

Hope Edwards, OCPAA - "Winner Takes All"

Brinley Evans, Southern Strutt - "Silent Night" (?)

Gracyn French, P21 - "Chemtrails Over The Country Club" (Molly Long)

Kourtney Gampol, OCPAA - "Steam Heat" (Rachel Miller)

Regan Gerena, P21 - "That's Life" (Molly Long)

Lily Hackney, WFDC - "I Love You" (Gianna Adianez)

Sloane Hall, Southern Strutt - "Watch Me" (Leah Evans)

Lainey Hess, WFDC - "Between These Hands" (Gianna Adianez)

Reagan Hess, WFDC - "Twilight" (Gianna Adianez)

Izzy Howard, WDP - "Over It, Scene" (Maria Konrad)

Annsley Huff, Southern Strutt - "The Swan" (Shelby Barnes)

Desa Jankes, WFDC - "Find You" (Jessica Disalvo)

Eva Jimmerson, Renner - "A Mischievous Waltz" (Jordan Pelliteri)

Tayah Klimcuk, Pave - "Slow Me Down" (Courtney Schwartz)

Lily Knopps (Club) - "Diamonds Are A Girls Best Friend" (Ashley Moffitt)

Mya Lanigan, Evolve - "Breakin' Dishes" (Lauren Herb)

Esme Lee, OCPAA - "Bring On The Men" (?)

Jillian Mahan, OCPAA - "London Bridge" (Hannahlei Cabanilla)

Savannah Manzel, Larkin - "Flowers In May" (Chelsea Jennings)

Scarlett Manzel, Larkin - "What A Feeling" (Chelsea Jennings)

Kennedy Marble, Club - "Mr. Monotony" (Jaycee Wilkins)

Taylor Morrison, DC2 - "My Discarded Men" (Tanya Emmer)

Avery Olsen, OCPAA - "Woman"

Helena Olaerts, Mather - "She Used To Be Mine" (Shannon Mather)

Roxie Onellion, Base - "Amor" (Kelly Inskip)

Addyson Paul, Pave - "The Garden" (Courtney Schwartz)

Emily Polis, VDA - "When I Go" (Jessica Malafronte)

Mila Renae, Studio X - "Voila" (Fiorella Baclit)

Dylan Reuss, OCPAA - "Favorite Crime" (Amy Berokoff)

Lola Rodi, Evolve - "Heavenly Bodies" (Chelsea Sebes)

Amaya Rodriguez, DUC Miami - "3 Breaths" (Chelsea Sebes)

Elsie Sandall, Club - "Beneath The Mask" (Chelsea Jennings)

Emma Santos, Studio X - "Have A Little Faith" (Avery Cardozza)

Berkeley Scifres, P21 - "Cornet Man" (Molly Long)

Tatum Self, Club - "Gorgeous" (Jaycee Wilkins)

Everleigh Soutas, DCDF - "Something New" (Molly Long)

Kayleigh Stoler, Enthusiasm - "Medusa's Curse"

Sailor Stormoen, Larkin - "Bloom" (Chelsea Jennings)

Kiera Sun, WDP - "Mist" (Renee Kester)

Macey Strickland, WFDC - "Heavenly Bodies" (Chelsea Sebes)

Ellary Day Szyndlar, Club - "Over The Rainbow" (Mark Meismer :()

Sylvie Win Szyndlar, Club - "Magic Within Me" (Chantel Aguirre)

Ella Venerio, DUC Miami - "Beneath The Surface" (Chelsea Sebes)

Greta Wagner, Summit - "Me And The Devil" (?)

Tinsley Wallace, Renner - "Broken Wings" (Chelsea Sebes)

Skylar Wong, Woodbury - "Just A Room" (Ricky Ubeda)

Fiona Wu, Yoko's - "Voila" (Erin Lamoyne)

Aliyah Yen, P21 - "Mink, Schmink" (Molly Long)

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

1964 Chevrolet Cheetah

Also known as ‘Killer Cobra’

The 1964 Chevrolet Cheetah – a name that evokes both exhilaration and trepidation, whispered in hushed tones as “the Killer Cobra.” This ferocious feline wasn’t your average Corvette; it was a fire-breathing, lightweight monster built to slay Ford’s Shelby Cobra on the racetrack, and its story is as wild as its performance.

Born from Rivalry:

In the early 1960s, the Cobra was tearing up tracks and stealing headlines. Chevrolet couldn’t stand the sting of defeat, so they turned to Bill Thomas, a legendary Corvette expert with a reputation for tinkering. Thomas’ mandate was simple: build a car that could devour Cobras whole.

Unleashing the Beast:

The Cheetah was a radical departure from the curvy Corvette. Forget rounded fenders; this beast was all sharp angles and aerodynamic efficiency. A lightweight fiberglass body clothed a modified Corvette chassis, powered by a monstrous 375-horsepower small-block V8. Independent suspension and NASCAR-inspired brakes promised razor-sharp handling and brutal stopping power.

Taming the Cat:

But the Cheetah was a fickle beast. Its lightweight construction and raw power made it unforgiving at the limit. Steering was twitchy, and the unforgiving suspension demanded a skilled hand on the wheel. This wasn’t a car for Sunday drives; it was a high-wire act on four wheels, reserved for experienced racers with nerves of steel.

A Taste of Victory:

Despite its wild temperament, the Cheetah tasted victory. A few privateer teams managed to outmaneuver and outrun Cobras on smaller tracks, proving Thomas’ concept had merit. But factory support fizzled out due to high costs and safety concerns, and only 25 Cheetahs were ever built.

Leaving a Legacy:

The Cheetah’s life was short, but its impact is undeniable. It proved that American manufacturers could build serious race cars to rival the best Europe had to offer. It pushed the boundaries of design and performance, even if it wasn’t always easy to control. And it cemented Bill Thomas’ reputation as a master car builder with a penchant for the audacious.

More Than a Machine:

Today, the Chevrolet Cheetah is a coveted collector’s item, a piece of automotive history frozen in time. Owning one is like owning a piece of racing DNA, a reminder of a time when cars were raw, brutal, and exhilarating. The “Killer Cobra” might have a reputation for being untamable, but for those brave enough to handle it, it offers an unmatched experience, a chance to dance with a legend on four wheels.

So, the next time you hear the name “Cheetah,” remember it’s not just a car. It’s a roar of defiance, a testament to innovation, and a reminder that sometimes, the greatest rewards come from taming the wildest beasts. Remember, the Cheetah might be gone, but its spirit lives on, a fire-breathing phantom on the racetracks of our imagination.

[circeyoru]

You Think It’s That Easy? = Requested

[Yandere Human!Alastor x Arranged Marriage!Reader]

The Request (1) + (2)

Part 2 is out, please check Masterlist for the link

I supposed that it would be heavily implied that Reader here is female, cause I can’t imagine Alastor’s time letting male and male into a marriage. Sorry to my male readers!

A friendship between families is not something to be happy about. At least, to the children of the two families it isn’t

“Darling, meet Alastor, for now you two aren’t of age yet, but in time, you two will be married.”

That line was what chained you down to another without room for rejection or say. Luckily, Alastor himself wasn’t keen on the idea as well, so whenever you two were out of your parents’ sights, you two were off to do as you please

Your parents ran a successful shipping company, leading them to be absent throughout your childhood. They sent you to live with their friend, Alastor’s parents, later the idea of marrying you two was formed. Alastor’s father ran a factory, producing metal and machinary, so he was well off. There wasn’t a thing out of place, except maybe the greedy he has to money

With the lack of parents, you had to rely on yourself and you had plenty of private lessons to prepare yourself before going to going to school. You saw Alastor’s father as a sinful man that leeched off of your parents’ fame. The idea of marriage was mainly from him as well, since he wanted more compensation on top of what was given to him while taking care of you

Alastor was more of a mama’s boy, as you took notice. Very obedient to her, yet when it came to his father, he was much like a doll. You also saw his father as abusive, though he played the kind and sweet father figure when you were around, when you were out of sight, his switch is flipped. You leaned to Alastor’s wounds when you caught him reaching for a med-kit in the dead of night

The two of you made your peace with the arranged marriage after sometime spending at school. You two also thought of just going through with it since either of you found ‘love’, nor did you two want to disappoint your parents

A glorious wedding day supposed to be the best day of one’s life was a dull ceremony for you and merely a formality for Alastor. Vows spoken with the intent to break, rings exchanged as mere jellewery, and a kiss shared just as a performance on stage. Somehow, the smiles on your respective parents’ face was worth the trouble

You two moved out and lived in a mansion that was affordable. You two slept in separate rooms, nearly nothing was shared. The situation was much like a roommate. Nothing between you two suggested that there was the concept of ‘love’

Though an odd friendship of mutual acceptance and private support was formed. While you both had your fair share of friends and connections, you knew you could always rely on the other for anything because you’ve known the other your whole life and seen the ugly side of the other and accepted it

Like when Alastor’s father was accidentally killed in a factor fire and his mother passed away from an incurable disease not long after. Or your parents that died from a shipwreck while out at sea during a vacation you refused to go. During these traumatic times, while people around you two tried to claw at you, the other would protect and be a source of comfort

That’s why you two agreed to have the marriage stay in tact. It will be broken off when either one finds a partner that was ‘true love’

And that time came faster than imagined. You found that love you wanted, you didn’t tell anyone, opting to keep it a secret. You had a face to put on, so does your love. You knew Alastor would understand, in fact, he’d be ecsatic for you. Since this meant he would be free of this playing house game. You honestly figured Alastor had a lover of his own as well, since he returns home so late and would immediately head to the showers to clean before falling asleep

Everything planned for your leave, you didn’t inform Alastor and thought it was fine for you to just leave with your love. You did and none was the wiser. As a form of curtsy and thanks, you left Alastor a great sum of money, a letter of farewell, your wedding ring and signed marriage divorce papers. If he wanted, maybe you two could do on a double date?

While you were happy and dandy with the arrangement, Alastor found himself unable to go through with it when that time come. His hands crunched up the letter and he shoved away all that money. You see, he never expected it, but he fell for you in a way it wouldn’t be considered normal. You were someone he just want to let go

Starting that factory fire was easy, call it a trial. He hates his father, yes, but he also wanted to see if you’d break off the marriage since his father was the one to suggest the idea. But you didn’t and offered him a shoulder to ‘cry’ on, he realized then, that he prefered your presence other than his mother’s

“Alastor, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s alright, My Dear. Accidents happen all the time.”

“No, it’s not!” You suddenly hugged him out of nowhere, you knew perfectly well of his aversion to touch, yet you hugged him tight and provided your shoulder, “Don’t hold it in, Alastor. It’s not good for you. I’ll be right here for you.”

Slowly, Alastor returned the hug. His arms wrapped tightly against you, he let his face bury between your neck and shoulder and forced tears out. When he felt your hands patting the back of his head and soothing his back, a sickly grin formed. He likes this.

He realized his love for you when you mentioned some unsatisfactory suitors that approached you even when your wedding day was near. He killed a few and faked some accidents there. Then he had that was your parents that wanted to stop the wedding since his father was dead and you didn’t appear interested in him

So he found some people with a grudge against your family and planned an accident during their vacation. He appeared as your knight in shinning armour when those some people targetted you. He catched them away, but he just had to off them for attempting to harm you. There, after everything blew off, he offered his hand in this staged marriage as a form of support to you. You needed a husband to rely on, even though you have the money, a lady such as yourself can’t last long alone

The moment you accepted, he got to work. Rooms changed to a shared bedroom, you two would appear as a couple in cafes to enjoy meals and breaks. Everything to make it seem like you two were truly a couple instead of what happened before

Alas, his time with you was very limited. With his popular radio shows and nighty activities, he couldn’t keep up with you. But in his eyes you didn’t change much, so he continued. He noticed you were happier, but when you didn’t tell him anything, he didn’t know what was happening. He assumed you had a successful deal made or the like

“Darling! Dear! I’m home!”

But all that returned his greeting was the empty silence of the mansion.

To think you found your love without telling him. He was careful to eliminate any potential lovers of yours. How did he miss this one?! He’ll admit he was busier than usual, but he had been keeping an eye on you. What went wrong?

As dramatic as it sounded, he felt like his life was sucked out of him when he saw the papers on the table. The flowers he brought, which were your favourite, and the ingredients he brought to make your favourite meal were long discarded on the floor. He left work early to celebrate your anniversary with you and you left?

He scrambled up his and your shared bedroom, your personal belongings and stuffs were all gone. He went to his study, your files, documents, and books were all gone. He went to the kitchen, your favourite kitchenwares were gone too. His knees gave out beneath him, you truly left. You left him

“I wish you a happy life with your lover, Alastor! Don’t mistreat her! And it’s not proper to stay out too late into the night, Alastor~” Those inferno words that taunted him. He could practically hear your voice teasing him from the letter. Did you think he had a lover too? How could he when he loves (is obsessed with) you?

Blasphemy! 

The next day, ladies were eager to comfort him and console him. The news of his divorce and that he was a free man was all over town, no doubt something you did to ensure that he and his supposed ‘love’ can be together in public. He was in no mood to entertain them

Alastor buried himself in his work, radio broadcasting and killing. As much as he wanted to hunt you down and kill whoever stole your heart from under his nose, he can’t. The two of you were famous in your own rights and it would cause quite the scandal that both of you might not recover

So he took out his witchcraft book. Binding souls request both souls’ blood and hair, he had collected yours beforehand. A sacrifice, the body in front of him will do well, it was the some person that tried to copy you and earn his love

He’ll see you in Hell and when he does, Alastor will not let you go

Note: Another story that's not {Unwanted Soul}! I'll probably continue that one when all the votes are in. At least, the new plotline will be like that.

Since this request was a long time ago, I went and made it longer than others. Hope you like this one in the meantime!

Circe Y.

Other Works: MASTERLIST

Taglist:

@aconfusedwonderland

@crowleysthings

@donustellaron

@mistpurpl3

[nasa]

For the Benefit of All: Assistive Tech Developed from NASA Tech

What do modern cochlear implants and robotic gloves have in common? They were derived from NASA technology. We’ve made it easier to find and use our patented inventions that could help create products that enhance life for people with disabilities.

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, which highlights the contributions of American workers with disabilities – many of whom use assistive technology on the job. Take a look at these assistive technologies that are NASA spinoffs.

Low-Vision Headsets

The Joint Optical Reflective Display (JORDY) device is a headset that uses NASA image processing and head-mounted display technology to enable people with low vision to read and write. JORDY enhances individuals’ remaining sight by magnifying objects up to 50 times and allowing them to change contrast, brightness, and display modes. JORDY's name was inspired by Geordi La Forge, a blind character from ���Star Trek: The Next Generation” whose futuristic visor enabled him to see.

Cochlear Implants

Work that led to the modern cochlear implant was patented by a NASA engineer in the 1970s. Following three failed corrective surgeries, Adam Kissiah combined his NASA electronics know-how with research in the Kennedy Space Center technical library to build his own solution for people with severe-to-profound hearing loss who receive little or no benefit from hearing aids. Several companies now make the devices, which have been implanted in hundreds of thousands of people around the world.

Robotic Gloves

Ironhand, from Swedish company Bioservo Technologies, is the world’s first industrial-strength robotic glove for factory workers and others who perform repetitive manual tasks. It helps prevent stress injuries but has been especially warmly received by workers with preexisting hand injuries and conditions. The glove is based on a suite of patents for the technology developed by NASA and General Motors to build the hands of the Robonaut 2 humanoid robotic astronaut.

Smart Glasses

Neurofeedback technology NASA originally developed to improve pilots’ attention has been the basis for products aimed at helping people manage attention disorders without medication. The devices measure brainwave output to gauge attention levels according to the “engagement index” a NASA engineer created. Then, they show the results to users, helping them learn to voluntarily control their degree of concentration. One such device is a pair of smart glasses from Narbis, whose lenses darken as attention wanes.

Anti-Gravity Treadmills

A NASA scientist who developed ways to use air pressure to simulate gravity for astronauts exercising in space had the idea to apply the concept for the opposite effect on Earth. After licensing his technology, Alter-G Inc. developed its anti-gravity G-Trainer treadmill, which lets users offload some or all of their weight while exercising. The treadmills can help people recover from athletic or brain injuries, and they allow a safe exercise regimen for others with long-term conditions such as arthritis.

Wireless Muscle Sensors

Some of the most exciting assistive technologies to spin off may be yet to come. Delsys Inc. developed electromyographic technology to help NASA understand the effects of long-term weightlessness on astronauts’ muscles and movements. Electromyography detects and analyzes electrical signals emitted when motor nerves trigger movement. Among the company’s customers are physical therapists developing exercise routines to help patients recover from injuries. But some researchers are using the technology to attempt recoveries that once seemed impossible, such as helping paralyzed patients regain movement, letting laryngectomy patients speak, and outfitting amputees with artificial limbs that work like the real thing.  

To further enhance the lives of people with disabilities, NASA has identified a selection of patented technologies created for space missions that could spur the next generation of assistive technology here on Earth.

Want to learn more about assistive technologies already in action? Check out NASA Spinoff to find products and services that wouldn’t exist without space exploration.   

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[beaddie]

AMARANTHINE - Dr. STONE

sum☆: "ᵉˡᵉᵍᵃⁿᵗ! "𝙰𝙼𝙰𝚁𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙷𝙸𝙽𝙴 (adj.) undying, immortal, eternally beautifulIn which Stanley Snyder, Xeno Houston Wingfield, and (Y/N) Ambrose were trapped in an unexpected stone world that had been petrified 3,700 years before. However, they were 'infiltrated' by some foreign brats all of a sudden.Of course, they don't give up without a fight, do they?

warnings: all characters are 18+!!! violence. language. FICTION!! don't like it? scroll away!! first ever post on this app. english is not my first language, so ugh.(Dr. Stone x Reader)(Dr. STONE : New America City Arc) MANGA SPOILER

(CHAPTER 7)Z=155: Science is Elegant

"<Yes, indeed. sniping is the most elegant scientific way to do battle!>"

Xeno declared, a subtle smirk playing on his lips. He gestured with a flourish, emphasizing the word "elegant," as if dissecting the very concept of warfare. He continued, his voice a low, confident hum,

"<We avoid a messy confrontation, and eliminate the key target in short order. Thereby bringing an end to the war while incurring the fewest casualties.>" He leaned back in his chair, the picture of self-satisfaction.

Meanwhile, aboard the Perseus, Luna, clad in a stealth suit that blended seamlessly with the ship's interior, moved with practiced ease. Her mission: locate Dr. Taiju. She subtly activated her comms, sending a coded signal to Stanley, confirming her readiness to begin her investigation. The signal was a quick burst of static, almost imperceptible, but Stanley, perched high above in his sniper's nest, received it loud and clear.

Below, in the makeshift command center, Carlos watched the live feed from Luna's camera, his brow furrowed with concern.

"<Kuhhh! Of course Miss Luna snuck in no problem! The bad guys are probably head over heels for her,>" he exclaimed, the last part delivered with a nervous chuckle. He wasn't entirely sure about the "head over heels" part, but he knew Luna's beauty was a powerful weapon.

Max, standing beside Carlos, shared his anxiety. "<Kahhh! Curse that Stanley for exposing Miss Luna to danger like this!>" he growled, clenching his fist. He paced back and forth, his worry palpable.

"<But this sniping plan…>" Max muttered, glancing up at Stanley's distant position.

"<I wonder how long we'll be here…?>" Carlos finished, his eyes mirroring Max’s apprehension.

High above them, Stanley peered through the scope of his rifle, his focus laser-sharp. "<Which one is he? Which one is Dr. Taiju…?>" he murmured to himself, scanning the crowd below, searching for the telltale signs that would identify his target.

Back on the Perseus, Minami, her voice amplified by the ship's communication system, addressed the enemy forces, her tone a mix of defiance and diplomacy.

"And that's the gist of it! We're out to revive all of humanity! We were hoping to have your cooperation, of course," she announced, the message broadcasting across the airwaves.

"Obviously we won't surrender and serve under you, but…we're always open to a civilized discussion!!"

Inside the Perseus’s makeshift bridge, Ginro peeked through the doorway, a confused expression on his face. "Can the enemy even hear what you're saying?" he asked.

"Radio broadcast," Homura replied curtly, not bothering to look up from her own task.

"I figure it's worth putting out there, at least," Minami added, shrugging. "Though we don't know what sort of person Dr. Xeno really is."

Meanwhile, in the factory, (Y/n) leaned against the doorframe, her gaze fixed on Gen, who was performing some minor task nearby. Her stare was intense, unwavering, and Gen felt it like a physical weight.

'Ahh~….I should be happy that the lovely woman is staring at me,' Gen thought, sweat dripping down his temple, 'but I can't – she can clearly see right through me!!'

He tried to appear nonchalant, but his every movement betrayed his unease. He avoided (Y/n)'s gaze, his eyes darting nervously around the room.

Xeno, seated at his desk with headphones on, his back to the pair, spoke without turning around. "<Now dear, stop staring at Mr. Gen, he might already be dead if you continue to do so.>"

'Yes, please…!' Gen thought, sighing in relief as the oppressive gaze finally lifted.

"<I suppose…>" (Y/n) replied, closing her eyes briefly. A whirlwind of thoughts swirled through her mind. '<Tsk, an amateur magician, eh? You may fool Xeno with your pretend façade, but to me, you don't. And Luna? I have doubts about her. She can fool anybody, yes, but anyone can fool her easily too. Maybe they're going to trick her into something right now in exchange for information.>'

And just as (Y/n) suspected, a plan was indeed unfolding to deceive Luna.

"<Hello, again. Luna, was it? My name is Senku.>" Senku said, his voice smooth and confident. He extended a hand, unaware that he was unintentionally cutting off Luna's shocked expression. Luna was taken aback. Dr. Taiju, the science leader of the Kingdom of Science, was unexpectedly…charming?

'<This charming Senku is quite unsettling,>' Luna thought, her mind racing. '<He's probably gonna take his time to ask about Dr. Xeno in some roundabout way!>'

Kinro and Yuzuriha, standing nearby, exchanged nervous glances. 'He's playing it up,' they thought simultaneously, sweat dripping down their foreheads.

"<I need info on Xeno. Tell me everything you know. Now. Quickly.>" Senku’s sudden shift in demeanor, his charming facade dropping away to reveal a sharp, demanding edge, startled everyone.

Yuzuriha, Kinro, and Kirisame abruptly stood up, their faces etched with concern. "Senku!"

Senku, his attention now focused on Ryusui, who had just arrived with Francois, waved them off. "What? The interrogation was going well," he replied, crossing his arms.

Ryusui, however, had other ideas. He pulled Senku aside, explaining his strategy. "As we need the young lady to open her heart to us," he suggested, "please make use of Bar Francois." Francois, standing nearby, placed a hand on their chest and bowed, happily obliging.

"The trick to winning someone over is fulfilling their desire!" Ryusui declared.

"I do not know what Master Luna desires, but we can venture a guess," Francois suggested.

"Hmph, how about…the last thing that anyone'd say they hate…" Ryusui hinted.

"Ice cream!!" The word hung in the air, a beacon of sugary hope.

Inside the lab mobile, Senku quizzed Ryusui. "You got data to back that up?"

"Sure, my research as a desire specialist!" Ryusui replied confidently.

"It's true – I can't imagine there's much of an anti-ice cream faction out here," Minami added.

"You'd gotta be nuts to have anything against ice cream!" Yo exclaimed, his eyes glazing over as he daydreamed of frozen delights.

Senku launched into an explanation of the ice cream-making process, as he and Francois began preparing the treat. "The ingredients are exceedingly simple," he began. "Milk." He held up a carton. "Sugar." He displayed a bag. "And in place of gelatin…we'll use kudzu powder to achieve that smooth, velvety mouthfeel."

"Vanilla essence makes the difficulty skyrocket," Senku added.

"I remember, I had a hard time using it for Valentine's Day," Yuzuriha shared, a nostalgic smile gracing her lips.

"Since vanilla beans don't grow in the U.S., we gotta synthesize the flavor with science!" Senku explained, holding up a test tube and a copper wire. "Wrap copper wire around a test tube…stick a piece of iron inside…hook it up to our cellphone's high-voltage battery…and switch it on!!" Ginro stared at the setup, his eyes wide with fascination.

"Whoa, it's glowing purple!"

As the "ice cream making" proceeded inside the lab, Luna couldn't resist peeking through the window, her curiosity piqued.

'<What are they up to? Hm…?>' she wondered.

Inside, the ice cream production continued. "Stinks like a swimming pool!!" Minami complained, pinching her nose.

"Or like a photo-copier, I'd say," Ryusui added.

"That's ozone you're smelling," Senku confirmed.

"I thought we were trying to make ice cream?! Wanna get us back on track?!"

"Take bay laurel extract…boil it in our old friend sodium hydroxide…and infuse it with the ozone we just made…to get…vanilla essence!" Senku declared, combining the ozone and sodium hydroxide, producing a sweet-smelling mixture.

"Just like that?" Minami asked, incredulous.

"Smells…sweet!" Homura agreed, unable to resist the enticing aroma.

Senku then poured the mixture into a container filled with the other ingredients and placed it in a larger bowl of ice. "Stir well as the ingredients chill." As they sprinkled salt on the ice, Francois addressed Taiju, who was diligently stirring the container.

"Adding salt to the ice drops the temp a few dozen degrees," Senku explained.

Luna, still peering through the window, spotted Dr. Taiju. '<There's Dr. Taiju! I have to get near and point him out…!>' she thought, moving closer. Nikki intercepted her, blocking her path.

"<Not so fast. Since you're hurt, you better get some rest,>" Nikki suggested, her arms crossed protectively over her chest. She gave Luna a pointed look, subtly conveying that she wasn't buying Luna's act.

"<Th-thanks, I'm okay!>" Luna stammered, her agitation barely concealed. She tried to brush past Nikki, but Nikki stood firm.

A few minutes later, the ice cream-making process reached its culmination. Francois, with a flourish, poured the finished ice cream into a pre-chilled, icing-like container, then expertly swirled it onto a crisp cone. A triumphant announcement echoed through the lab:

SOFT-SERVING ICE CREAM, ACQUIRED!!

A buzz of excitement filled the air as everyone was offered a cone. Luna accepted hers hesitantly. As the first lick of the icy treat touched her tongue, a wave of nostalgia washed over her. The familiar sweetness, the creamy texture…it was a taste from a world lost. Tears welled up in her eyes, a mixture of bittersweet memories and the simple pleasure of the ice cream.

After a moment, Luna, her voice still slightly choked with emotion, turned to Senku, who was perched on the lab mobile's roof, gazing up at the star-studded sky. "<That electric stuff…how'd you use it to make vanilla?!>" she asked, her curiosity piqued.

Senku looked down at her, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. "<There's always a workaround for whatever we're lacking. Humans have been persevering like that for two million years,>" he replied. He paused, then continued, his voice taking on a more passionate tone.

"<Getting to the root of the raw elements that make up this world of ours helps us create stuff we got no business having. That's the sweet side of organic chemistry.>"

Luna, still holding the half-eaten ice cream, looked at it thoughtfully. Senku’s words echoed in her mind. Then, as if snapping out of a trance, she remembered her mission.

'<Nope, nuh-uh. I'm supposed to be into intellectual types! And Dr. Taiju is their science leader, right?!>' she thought, her resolve hardening.

She turned back to Senku, forcing a smile. "<J-job well done, with this! To borrow Xeno's favorite word, it's really…>" she paused, searching for the right word.

"<Elegant,>" Luna finished, Senku's eyes widening slightly.

The word hung in the air, charged with unspoken meaning. Senku stared at Luna, a look of stunned realization on his face.

"<Luna, is Dr. Xeno…a former NASA scientist?>" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Luna blinked, surprised by the question. "<How'd you know that…?>" she replied, unknowingly confirming Senku's suspicions.

A tense silence followed. Ryusui, who had been observing the exchange, looked at Senku expectantly. "Well? Who is he?"

Senku remained silent for a moment, lost in thought. Then, finally, he spoke, his voice filled with a mixture of surprise and revelation. "When I…started making rockets…Dr. Xeno was my science mentor." He placed his hands on his hips, his gaze fixed on the stars, the weight of the revelation settling upon him.

[little-one-eyed-monsters]

It's Wednesday, and I'm watching Domundi, GMMTV, and Boss of MeMindY (poor guy) run interference on the shenanigans that unfolded during Songkran via twitter (X).

Aoftion's out here trying to make fans believe that Domundi actors' sexual proclivities are not part of the fanservice they asked them to do (once more, fanservice reeling its ugly, homophobic-adjacent head to bite all of the people who profit from it), even though it's quite obvious that they asked their ships to amp up the flirtations while attending the festivities in pairs. Dudes went a little too far, and now fans are threatening to boycott the upcoming shows because they find the chemistry too "manufactured" and "fake".

GMMTV is in the same boat but heading in the opposite direction. As their ships tend to be less sexually-risque and more branded, fans are now asking why some of their actors went WITHOUT their partners for Songkran, and why most of them were seen heavily drinking and partying with other people instead of their ship SOs. They instead want more fanservice, but in more chaste settings.

And Boss is drifting in his small sailboat, dealing with the wave of fans accusing him of having the AUDACITY to celebrate Songkran with his friends and not his ship partner Noeul (God forbid those two are not entitled to lives of their own), for having videos on the internet of him dancing with someone else at the festival, and for kissing one of his friends (or maybe an SO-- it's his private life my dudes) on the cheek. It got so bad that Noeul's manager had to film and post Boss and Noeul being lovey-dovey after Noeul's set at the festival, just to calm the fandom down.

Meanwhile, Starhunter is out here trying to make their ships buddy up, but people are so used to the shenanigans that very few seem to care, the Change 2561 boys are out here quietly preparing for the release of Pit Babe 2, Idol Factory remains mostly absent from the festivities, Headliner Thailand is keeping their people's social media presence strictly professional (as a new company, it's crucial that they don't attract any unwanted attention), the BOC team celebrated their Songkran's individually, and our fave independent boys are minding their own business (Yin and War promoting skincare and chilling at their houses, Up travelling to China with friends, Poom spending Songkran at his family home, Billkin promoting his new project and PP Krit on vacation). Did I miss anyone? Sound off in the comments if I did.

I say to my like-minded friends that fanservice in the BL industry is leaning towards a more tongue-in-cheek, humurous, and genuine concept in 2025. Actors are doing these flirtations with a deeper sense of self-awareness for what they are, what they're selling, and what boundaries they should set for themselves and their fans. Most of them now play off of the fun and the natural chemistry that comes with deep, comfortable friendships, instead of making fans believe that the ship itself is real, and that the actors are dating. They also eschew the branded pairs now more than ever, knowing that the longevity of their ships will depend only on the reception of the fans, just like any other acting job.

In turn, fans are asked to manage their own expectations about their favorite ships, and to respect the actors' privacies. In an age where entering the LGBT genre is the fastest route to getting any recognition in the Thai entertainment industry, everyone and their sibling is scrambling to star in their own queer show. This means that regardless of their personal lives and preferences, these actors are expected to perform just the right amount of fanservice with their costar. But not too much, as to look fake, and not too little, lest they attract unwanted controversy.

In other words, no matter how fun fanservice looks in 2025, it still remains deeply homophobic. It must be so exhausting, to deal with everyone's expectations of your career.

Moving forward, I hope these actors can be judged in the future for their talent--what they bring to the industry, and to their genres. Not by how sweet they are to their costars, or how many people they've dated.

[P.S. Daou and Offroad were just having the time of their lives out there. Did people care? Maybe. Did Daou or Offroad care? Absolutely NOT 😅)

[gasgasdaily]

The little French car that could, the Renault 5. Top to bottom: Normal Renault 5 - Renault 5 Turbo - Renault 5 Turbo Maxi

After the Alpine A110's string of victories during the rallies of the 1970s, Renault wanted to make a car to compete in the newly established WRC rules but the A110 is too old to compete in the new rules so Renault went and scour for their new machine and the Renault 5 landed on their tables.

The Renault 5 was initially built to replace the Renault 4 as the econobox concept so it was built as a FWD car and a hatchback, just like the Mini. It launched in 1972 to the general public and even came with a variety of engines from the 782cc i4 NA for the entry model to the 1.3L NA i4 for the top range model.

However, Renault still didn't have anything to compete with and after watching the short wheebase Lancia Stratos shred its competition to bits during the 1970s, Renault decided to copy Lancia but they had a massive problem as the standard Renault 5 would be impossible to compete against the Stratos as its FWD thus they couldn't pump that much power into the drivetrain even if they wanted to. To remedy that, Renault asked Gandini who was at Bertone for help and Gandini stepped up to the task.

He instantly took the basic Renault 5 and ripped it apart. He instantly widened the wheel arches by alot and swapped the drivetrain from a FWD to a RWD and to add a little more "spice", he even asked Renault to put the engine in the rear, behind the driver rather than at the front. Renault did that and then to add even more "spice" added a new 1.4L turbo i4 into the new shell and called it the "Turbo 5" and set it ready for homologation.

By 1980, Renault started to build the Turbo 5 for sale to the general public and it was tuned to 160hp which doesn't seem like alot but it was the most powerful of the Renault 5 variants. In race form, Alpine/Renault pushed the car to make 180hp and did well. By 1981, Renault had upgraded the design with more aggressive aero packs to homologate it for the new Group B rule and to increase the engine displacement to 1.45L for smoother power delivery and named it the "Renault 5 Turbo 2". By 1983 and with everyone being quicker, Renault upped the power of the 5 Turbo 2 the Turbo Maxi where it went to 250hp-350hp depending on courses.

But, despite how well the Renault did, by 1982 and with the oncoming of the domination of Audi with their concept of AWD, all the 5 Turbo can do is dominate on tarmac courses like Tour de Corse or Monte Carlo but that's it as on the dirts, the Audi dominated. Regardless, Renault kept pushing and trying but by 1984, Renault knew the gig was up and everyone went towards AWD and by 1985, pulled the plug and not issue factory support anymore and let privateers do their work with the Renault 5 Turbo Maxi. Despite Renault's Group B failures and gradual loss of footing into rallying even for privateers, some of them took it to the circuits and they actually performed rather well and in 1987, even clinched the French Supertouring Championship.

It might not be the best rally car built nor was the right car for the wrong time, it is still a legendary vehicle.

[azfellco]

Crowley before The Fall

Ok, so I love angelology, it's so interesting to me and is one of the main reasons I found out about Good Omens.

We all know Crowley used to be an angel and helped build some nebulas, but that was it from season 1.

I found interesting this comment from season 2

"You'd have to be a throne or a dominion, or above".

- Muriel (S2E6 07:32)

Crowley had access to the files, meaning he was a very high ranking angel, let me explain:

In christian catholic angelology there's 9 chorus (types of angels) divided into 3 ranks (being the 1st rank the highest) so we have:

1st rank

• Seraphim

• Cherubim

• Thrones

2nd rank

• Dominions

• Virtues

• Powers

3rd rank

• Principalities (Here's Aziraphale)

• Archangels

• Angels

Considering the duties from the 1st rank and dominions (from the 2nd rank) I consider Crowley was a throne, here's why:

- Seraphim are the caretakers of God's throne, continuously singing "holy, holy, holy", they have 3 pairs of wings and they use one of the pairs to cover their faces from the light of God. "The Burning One".

- Cherubim protect the entry into the garden of Eden, and they continue to guard holy spaces where God dwells and Heaven and Earth overlap. "The One who Blesses". (Aziraphale has the characteristics of a Cherub, but I'll explain that on another post).

- Thrones hold the throne of God, they're depicted as great wheels containing many eyes, and reside in the area of the cosmos where material form begins to take shape. They mete out divine justice and maintain the cosmic harmony of all universal laws.

- Dominions help keep the world in proper order, they're know for delivering God's justice into just situations and help angels in lower ranks stay organized to perform their work well.

"Let there be matter, let there be gravity, let there be everything from pages 11 to 3,000,602 inclusive".

- Crowley (S201 01:10)

"I wasn't the original concept designer, but I worked very closely with upstairs on it".

- Crowley (S201 02:10)

Crowley: Gravity, it's, umm... A thing that happens when objects are pulled together. In this case, they're all pulled downwards because the earth is the largest thing around.

Jim: Why?

Crowley: Honestly, I don't remember. Seemed like a good idea when we were all talking about it.

- (S2E3 16:35)

Crowley made the nebulas Elephant's Tank, Carina and Horsehead (with Saraqael); also helped create the star factory (universe).

Also, at The Fall, some angels from every chorus fell, so it would be no surprise if a throne fell as well.

[rdng1230]

Random Thoughts about the Ricken book Pt. 1

“I am the youngest son of renowned performance artists Bob and Grace Hale, known collectively as HumpDumpster, though I have sought for decades to distinguish myself from their intellectual shadow.” Starting off strong here with a healthy dose of wtf. But I do think it makes so much more sense why Ricken is the way that he is.

“I am a friend to birds, the earth, the arts, the elderly, the destitute, and the upset.” I can't remember the exact quote but this is phrased exactly the same as one of Ms. Casey's "Your outtie is _____" statements. Which could mean nothing....

“Statistically, your reaction almost certainly fell into one of five categories, and figuring out which one is deeply instructive in determining your You.” It's giving the "Just group off the numbers and put them in the bin" although there are four bins not five.

So we now know the peanuts exist in universe. and not sure if "Caesar Augustus invented democracy" is a serious timeline change or Ricken being stupid.

“my conception and birth took place in a small theatre behind a defunct perfumery in Western Oregon, as part of a nine-month performance art piece originated by my parents titled “Smells Like Afterbirth, F**ker.” woooooboy. Ok so we know that Oregon exists in this timeline, or is Western Oregon the state??? We know that our characters live in a state abbreviated as PE, and the lumon video stated more countries than there are.

“Though I cannot remember my birth performance, the knowledge of it has always brought me great joy. Knowing that a version of me, even one I don’t recall, brought meaning and profundity to so auspicious a coterie of persons, infused into my young life a deep sense of purpose.” Again, it is now very easy to figure out why the innies latched onto this so hard.

“HumpDumpster moved on to new pieces, including 1992’s critically lauded “Cheers, F**kers,” in which they held a Boston bar at actual gunpoint for 36 hours, leading to a quasi-substantive prison term. This and other endeavors led to long stretches where I was alone, and it was in these silent periods that a grim and intrusive resentment — of my parents, my lineage, and even myself — began to take hold.” I wanna know who actually wrote this. Was it a writers room thing? was it a group effort? But yeah again, explaining why Ricken is the way that he is.

It actually frightens me that Koko the signing Gorilla exists in this universe. If Lumon lays one manicured finger on her I will throw hands.

“I put my head very near the wig and noticed that it emitted a dull hum. Perhaps the dear lady had also lost a hearing aid, which had become caught in the wig and was now fritzing in the dew. It was at this moment that I felt my wife place a guiding hand upon my back. “Okay Ricken, honey, that’s a beehive,” she whispered affectionately. Almost sensually.” I audibly cackled holy shit. I can hear this in Devon's voice so clearly, she has suffered more than Jesus. Leave your husband babe, I promise I'll treat you right.

“In my defense, I’d never seen a non-industrial beehive before. I’d interned in a honey plant as a young scholar, but wild bees were as foreign to me as the lush hills of Belgium. I couldn’t help but laugh at the misshapen nest, so divorced from the perfectly constructed factory hives I’d come to know in my youth.” Goddamn, Lumon out here gettin' the bees too.

I delighted in how they darted hither and thither, thoroughly convinced of the dire importance of their work. How like human beings they are, I thought. It was only upon later reflection that I realized this observation was not merely hilarious, but devastatingly profound.” Local man discovers the concept of empathy, more at 11.

Wow, Gemma really was the only person nice to this guy huh? :(

Sister Act also exists....

ok PA exists as well

“I myself ascribe to no defined religion, though certain experiences endow me with a potent sense of the divine: Holding my wife’s hand as we fall asleep.” WHICH IS WHY YOU BETTER TREAT HER RIGHT OR I WILL

And that brings us to the beginning of chapter 4. I need a drink.

[hirocimacruiser]

I normally associate Mazda's old M2 division with building versions of Roadsters and the AZ-1. I hadn't known about this FD3S RX7 based M2 1020 . Translation of pages below.

M2 1020

Be the first!!

Extreme downforce and traction

It's finally out! Or more accurately, it's finally out!

This is the Infini RX-7 built by M2. Its name is 1020.

The concept is to combine sportiness and comfort that is on par with the Type RZ.

This time, since it was a prototype, I only did a quick run. Still, it was in the 9-second range.

This is no ordinary product. Can you wait until it is released on the market in the fall of 1994?

report: Satoshi Saito

Photo: Toshio Homma/Manabu Kanegami

A quick run at Tsukuba in under 9 seconds!

Original Tuned RX-7

The RX-7 itself is so extreme that it can be called a tuned car. In other words, in exchange for increasing the potential of the car as a sports car, it cuts off drivers below a certain level. It is a super high-performance car, but it is not made for everyone.

This is one of the proud things about owning an RX-7, but it also makes tuning a car like this extremely difficult. I've had over 10 tuned RX-7s, and every tuner I've talked to has said it was easy to tune.

I have never heard of such a thing.

In the midst of all this, Mazda's tuning factory, M2, has announced the release of a tuned car based on the RX-7 called the 1020.

"It's still in the development stage, so please don't drive it at full speed," I persuaded him, but I brought it to the Tsukuba Circuit and test drove it. Of course, I couldn't do a full-speed time attack, but I did a good job of driving a two-seater.

With a little push I was able to get a 9 second time. I felt like I could easily get a 7 second time even in this condition.

Of course it is. The M2 is made up of some of the most prominent members of Mazda's sports car development team. The M2 is made by the creator of the RX-7, who is essentially tuning it himself.

The development concept is also ambitious. It should be faster on the circuit than the Type RZII.

It's also a comfortable sports car that makes long-distance driving a breeze.

This is the RX-7 before the minor change. The exterior features a front bumper and rear spoiler, as well as a lightweight carbon bonnet with an air bulge (this will reportedly be made of aluminum for sale). The wheels and tires are BBS aluminum wheels with 235/40ZR17 front and 255/40ZR17 rear.

The car is fitted with Pirelli P-ZERO tires from Japan. The damper is an M2 tune based on a high pressure gas shock.

The intake and exhaust system remains standard for now.

It is highly likely that the car will be tuned with M2 tuning when it goes on sale. This is a reasonable tuning method, but it will have a larger intercooler and muffler tuning.

I wonder if this will be done.

Looking at the interior, the carbon kevlar bucket seats.

I thought they were the Recaro seats used in the RZ, but they are actually original to the M2.

Contrary to appearances, it's easy to ride

I always get nervous when test driving the RX-7 because its high performance requires precise handling.

However, right after the pit exit, "This car is very fast.

I could sense that this car would be friendly to drivers. This was evident from the very supple stroke of the suspension. Despite the use of high-pressure gas shocks, the initial roll was supple, and the ride felt like it would obey my commands. There was no bad habit of the RX-7 of cutting too much in response to steering inputs, and the steering felt natural.

I tried to step on the accelerator hard when exiting the corner, but it started to slip.

The braking performance was at a fairly high level, and the way it moved was slow. I think this was largely due to the characteristics of the Pirelli tires. After making sure that there were no sudden changes in behavior, I gradually raised the base and started with the "Zhou". I was told that the brakes were equipped with prototype pads, and the effect was in proportion to the pressure applied to the pedal, so the good controllability was also a reassuring factor.

The damper settings have not yet been finalized,

therefore, from the second lap onwards, I consciously increased the cornering speed and found that the setting was a little on the underside.

If you don't load the car fairly firmly into the corner, you will feel the slip angle increase from the middle of the corner. Even when drifting in medium-speed corners such as dunlop corners, the rear feels like it is being pressed down from above, and the front and rear tires slide diagonally.

In terms of grip balance, it seems like the rear is better than the front.

At first glance, the 1020 is fitted with flashy aero parts, but these are the results of wind tunnel testing, and are intended to increase downforce. There is still room for further refinements, so the detailed data doesn't mean much, but the lift coefficient at the rear is said to be negative.

This may be what's working. Surprisingly, I could clearly feel the downforce in the final corner and in the high-speed corners from Dunlop Corner to the second hairpin. In terms of balance, the rear downforce is greater than the front, and it feels like the rear tires are being pressed down. There is clearly a greater sense of contact with the ground for the rear tires.

In the final corner, perhaps due to the damper settings, even if you let off the throttle midway through the corner and try to tail out the rear, it was stiff.

It grips firmly and doesn't slip.

Due to the strong downforce at the rear, the handling is somewhat understated, so it is highly likely that the suspension, including the springs, will be further tuned before it goes on sale.

The next thing is the engine. It is powerful enough as it is, but as you go around the track the engine heats up and the power loss becomes noticeable. In that sense, it would be good to have a larger intercooler and, if possible, a larger radiator. And if you make the exhaust system, that is, the muffler pipes, thicker, you can definitely increase the torque across the entire range.

Lastly, the body rigidity of the pre-facelift RX-7 seems to be lacking compared to the current model. When I asked how they would deal with this, I was told that they were considering installing a roll cage.

The car is already stable and fast enough as it is, so there are high expectations for the performance of the completed M2 1020.

PIC CAPTIONS

The exterior design of the M2 1020 is more aggressive than the 102, but it is not just a case of flashy aero parts; it is an aerodynamic body that has been created through repeated wind tunnel testing. 3● The front bumper has a larger opening for a more powerful design. This also improves the cooling effect. The lip spoiler is likely to be enlarged in the future to increase front downforce. 4● An air bulge opens up into the bonnet. It mainly serves as an air outlet to release heat from the engine compartment. Incidentally, the bonnet hood will be made of aluminum at the time of release. 5● The two front seats are bucket seats. They are made entirely of Kevlar and are original to the M2. They provide excellent holding power. Incidentally, it will also be fitted to the Roadster M2 version to be released in the spring of 1994. 6● The steering wheel around the instrument panel has been changed to a new Momo product, but everything is normal. I would like to see a boost gauge and oil temperature gauge added. 7● The extra-large rear wing is fixed. 8● The tires are Pirelli P-ZERO, 235/40ZR17 at the front and 255/40ZR17 at the rear. They have excellent grip performance, but at the same time, they are characterized by a slow start and are easy to control. They are a tire that can be enjoyed not only on the circuit but also on winding roads. They match well with the car.

[grapebritain]

Jax is not an npc

I've seen the idea of Jax being an npc being floated around after ep2's release, which while i ADORE this idea in concept (as some parts of it explain certain parts of his character )that doesn't mean that this is the answer as to why Jax is the way he is.

Jax is a self absorbed, sarcastic, and non-serious character who seems to know far more than he actually should so far with what we've seen. He is the only human who has broke the forth wall , not just once, but twice, and has a very performative 'vibe' to him. Like he's on some sort of stage a bit like Cain does. Due to this, and with the plot of episode 2, people have drew the conclusion that this MUST mean Jax is an npc which, eventho it is deffo plausible , there are several reasons why i do not think this is the case, and people are trying to jump to conclusion too quickly to find an explanation to these questions.

1.Pop culture reference

Jax in episode 2 makes an offhaded joke about Charlie and the chocolate factory, a popular piece of media that most people do know about. It seems pretty insignificant but boy is this a really important detail.

With the recent release of other teasers of the next episodes that are yet to come, in terms of copyrighted media showing up in the game, we can see that Cain INTENTIONALLY makes off branded versions of popular parts of our world such as McDonalds and other fast food brands

So for Jax to make a pop culture references, the names would likely have to be inaccurate from the actual piece of media, being...well...off branded versions of them. The fact he literally uses the accurate name "Augustus Gloop" adding an "ed" on the end for comedic effect shows that he HAS seen or heard of the actual piece of media, which would be impossible if he was an npc.

furthermore, say even the offbranded version was due to glitch themselves not being able to use actual brands in the show visually (which is also highly likely), the implication that Cain made an ai that was aware of these sorts of things is almost nonsensical considering that gummigoo didn't know anything outside of the established plot he needed to serve his in game purpose. When another npc doesn't even have a visual memory of his own mother, something closely linked to the established motive of an npc, why would Cain give an ncp knowledge of random pop culture reference for no reason ?

i would say this is a pretty strong point to put the argument forward Jax is not an npc.

2.NPC's immersive feature

this point is a little less strong, but is still a very important one to make.

I think people are forgetting that Gummigoo is intentionally meant to be far more immersive compared to pervious ai. We are going on the basis of Jax being an ncp , based on how intelligent Gummigoo is, which with the timeline we have, would not exactly work out that way.

Obviously, Cain establishing that the ai SHOULD be more immersive, doesn't mean it will be, but if we take into context the episode prior, it does actually seem to be somewhat more advanced in a way than it wasn't before, dialogue being a bit less generic and more fluid . With the consideration this is only Pomni's second adventure, and the ai already seemingly at least, being far better than the last, that could imply that going back a couple of adventures before Pomnis arrival , this ai was much more primitive.

Looking at when Jax arrived could give us some idea of how good the ai was at the time, and with gooseworx establishing jax arriving before zooble (who already seems to have grumpily adjusted to the world) , i would imagine that Jax, if he was an npc, would be far less advanced then he currently is and much more one dimensional as a character to hint at him being an npc....which brings me onto my next point.

3."Jax is violent and impulsive " argument

I've seen the occasional argument that Jax being violent and impulsive could be an argument for him being an npc. He realized he has no purpose, so started being violent and uncaring of the world around him, but this argument completely disregards the fact that...the human characters kind of have that 'reality shattering' moment too. Pomni does, which is why she can relate in the first place to Gummigoo.

All of the human characters have to come to the scary realization that, they are stuck here. Stuck in a fake world. Most of the characters draw closer to each other people that are real because of this as some form of comfort such as Pomni and Ragatha, but Jax is own person, and different people react differently to different situations. Jax just happens to react in a rather emotionally distanced way to the seriousness of the situation.

He seems to be the most emotionally immature character, so it makes complete sense as to why he would react in an immature manner. Not to mention he is the youngest out of all the cast, and may have been even younger when entering the digital circus.

When an emotionally immature, impulsive , frankly not very morally amazing person is told they can basically do whatever they like with little to no repercussions to their actions, what are they going to do? Cause chaos of course, which is exactly what Jax does.

he even more so causes chaos by breaking one of the only rules he's can't break, the whole keeping everything family friendly.

This seems to be his way of coping with the situation and seriousness at hand, brushing it aside and acting impulsively instead because he knows full well he couldn't do this in the real world, it also keep him emotionally distant from everyone else, which seems to be an intentional move by him as he doesn't go to Kaufmo's funeral despite briefly seeming upset about the matter.

He cares in his own weird way, but he refuses to show that to the rest of the cast (unimportant but i wanna add as well, it is common for men to be emotionally closed off due to the idea vulnerability for men esp is a bad thing, which ofc it is not ).

Which also builds up off my pervious point that despite his exterior, Jax isn't one dimensional or flat as a character, which if he was an old ai npc he probably would be 1d, and we wouldn't have this small moment of slight care from him, despite still trying to stay distant.

Final thoughts

So what about the forth wall breaking? him owning keys to all the rooms? Well quite honestly, i don't think we know enough about him or anyone to fully know why Jax is the only one to do this. It could be for some deep lore meaning, or it could be simply he is the comic relief character so is the one to do this more consistently than the rest.

Personally, i DO think it's something deeper, what that deeper thing is yet is something i'm sure will be explored in future episodes, but rn, i think jumping at the first thing is not an amazing idea (eventho it is a super interesting and exciting one).

Just thought i'd share my feelings as this is the only theory i've seen around rn abt my fav stupid purple bunny.

[gothhabiba]

What people miss with regards to the Jordan Neely/Daniel Penny story is that Penny didn’t choke him out because he’s a bad person. He did it because of socioeconomic factors which made him desperate. The alternative to him being found not guilty would be him going to prison, and that wouldn’t have been justice. Penny needs to be treated with grace and care in this undoubtably troubling time for him

I think my scambaiting post must be going around because I'm getting some asks about it. I'm mostly just deleting them if they're not interesting or instructive, but I think this one actually might be.

My OP made a gesture at a materialist analysis which should be performed. This material analysis would have to do with the flow of money, labour, and resources as it actually exists in the world: the extraction, extortion, and theft of raw materials; the purposeful, violent destabilisation of entire regions by the military arms of the USA, Canada, Europe &c. to force people to work for pennies, so that labour will be incredibly cheap compared to what it would cost if performed by most citizens in the imperial 'core'; and other measures that are taken to ensure that value flows from colonised nations to colonising nations. (These measures also include the devaluing of institutions in the 'periphery' such that advanced degrees from certain countries are simply worth less than others; and the restricted ability of those in the 'periphery' to travel or migrate across borders with the freedom afforded to those with imperial citizenship.)

So certain people are in a situation where structures and enforcers of power have made them poor and desperate on purpose so that they can be 'superexploited' at a level beyond that experienced by most people in the imperial 'core'. This is the purpose of imperialism, and it's the purpose of the concept of 'race.' People work in factories for very little money, because the imperial periphery is supposedly only good for the production of raw materials (fabric; t-shirt blanks; assembly of parts of electronics &c.); the design, the artisanship, the packaging, the 'refining,' the making of the chocolate bar from the cocoa, everything that confers 'value' to the item, is done in the imperial core, and that increased 'value' / sale price is added to the GDP of the country in which the product is completed.

In fact this 'raw material' is not 'raw' at all, and it also invovles design and artisanship—but the people of the 'third world' cannot 'design' anything and they cannot be 'artisans'—nothing they make can be labelled as 'handmade' or 'hand-sewn' even if it is literally made with their hands—because they are not considered as people in that way.

But that's the product realm. In terms of the internet (even setting aside the physical materials, space, energy, water &c. required to maintain the internet):

Things (such as Amazon's failed "Just Walk Out" thing) are advertised as "artificial intelligence" despite the fact that thousands of people in India are forced to do work that is tedious, time-consuming, and often horrific and traumatising (consider content moderation!!) in order to make them work. Their material conditions—which are created and maintained, in the most violent manner imaginable, on purpose in order to force them to do this work—render many people desperate enough to take these jobs.

If there are people, who are reachable online, who at a baseline are making a hundred times what you are making, whose currency has incredible purchasing power where you live, and you can get some of that money—if you can work for yourself this way, obviously you're going to do that. This happens because there's money to be made in it. If people can set up an operation and train hundreds of people in how to do this, and take most of the profits and still provide a salary that's attractive to people because of how high the margins are, then obviously that's going to happen. This is just, the concept of capitalism. If there is a way to make money doing something, someone is going to be doing that thing.

Material analysis is looking at the world as it actually exists, in order to figure out how materials, labour, and value are 'flowing' on local and global scales, as a means of determining why things happen the way they do. Like, on a base level, that's what it means to analyse something—to try to figure out why it happens the way it does.

This anon, in sending this ask, didn't understand what any of this meant, or didn't want to consider it, or something. They were unable or unwilling to consider a different lens than that of personal desert, personal merit, and innate personal badness / criminality. The concept of trying to understand where money is, how it moves and why, as a base level of knowledge necessary to understand why there is money to be made in doing certain things, doesn't compute to them—so they have to move things back into the realm of personal desert, and act like I'm saying that people who commit acts of interpersonal violence "deserve" to be allowed to commit that violence as long as they're going through something, whether or not the thing they're going through created the necessary circumstances for, or has any other direct relation with, the act of violence being committed (basically "some people commit violence to cope").

All of that is kind of typical—it's very normal for people to act like asking them to consider people in the 'third world' as actual human beings with human things like "circumstances" and "motivations" and "thoughts" that influence their actions is tantamount to spitting in their grandmother's face.

But what's most interesting to me about this ask is how, in order to dismiss the idea of material analysis as necessary to understand why things happen and to reassert an interpretive framework of individual criminality, anon uses the idea of interpersonal racial violence as something that we can all agree is caused by innate criminality and not by material factors. As if by comparing scamming to this act of violence, it emphasises the innate criminal personality at the root of both acts. As if, obviously, we can all agree that people who commit this kind of violence are just evil demons who "deserve" to be locked up—so saying "the material fact of present-day colonialism creates the conditions for this kind of scamming" is tantamount to saying "we shouldn't lock criminals up in prison." If the latter statement is unthinkable, then so, by comparison, is the former.

Except that this concept of "the criminal" as being a specific "type" of person who uniquely does and deserves evil, and who needs to be locked up in a cage for the good of the rest of society, is exactly what I am, in fact, intending to question. I think the anon would be surprised to learn about the vast body of work (I mean texts, but also direct activism) conducted under the heading of "prison abolition."

[soaringsummerbird]

Unfortunately, the enstars narrative has a lot of limitations baked in to the gacha visual novel medium. One that always bugs me is that the side characters are usually literally invisible. It would be too much of an investment to create models for insignificant characters, so instead they often have to shout at us from off screen, then be awkwardly interpreted by the canon idols. It's always immersion breaking imo.

This situation used to bug me in particular in regards to Knights. The Knights frequently reference their junior members, and state opinions on their growth. The characters are invested in their juniors, and it feels like we're meant to be too. But none of these junior Knights have a face or even a name, so how can I care about them when they're literally invisible? It feels like an essential part of Knights identity as a unit, but the awkwardness of them being nothing but soundboards (if anything) made me resent the concept. I often just disregarded the junior Knights entirely when reflecting on the unit.

But lately I've changed my mind. The more I thought about it the more I liked the concept of there being more than 5 Knights? I see Knights' role within the in universe industry as the most mass-produced generic boy band of all the units (positive, I find that concept compelling). They're one of the big 3, and they most often sing songs about chivalrous romance — easily palatable content that appeals to general audiences. They are the closest thing enstars has to, say, One Direction. They are factory produced homogenous idols — in the form of an entire order of chivalrous Knights.

So I like the idea that there's back up Knights on standby just off screen. The idea of them effectively having understudies makes the five idiots we do know even more impressive performers by association. Leo, Kasa, Arashi, Izumi, and Ritsu are the best of the best. They're the headliners for one of the most popular units in the industry, and their egos are deserved.

And I like the idea that if one of the named Knights had a Tatsumi incident and got a debilitating injury... then they would be replaced in a nanosecond. I think the other four would be upset and try to protest, but I dont think the industry executives would give them a choice. Knights are too profitable to be out of commission. If Arashi breaks her ankle, then she's out, and one of those invisible backup boys is instantly in. That's how I like to interpret Knights anyway. Cutthroat, because they can't remain on top if they aren't.

Anyway, my point is it's a shame those understudies aren't "real" characters. In a traditional anime they could at least have faces and names. I like the unique dynamic they give to Knights, at least in my interpretation of them. With the eclectic units, it's impossible to imagine any of their idols being replaced. Who could replace Shu or Mika? Natsume or Sora or Tsumugi? Keito or Kuro or Souma? You can't just slot a stranger into their place. Their personalities and passion are what shape their units.

But there must always be five pretty palatable dancing Knight boys. So that's why they keep extras. Just in case.

[rei-ismyname]

Magneto beats up the poor

Recently, the X-Men tried to recruit the Blob and failed miserably. It was such a disaster that they provoked a war with an entire carnival, only managing to survive by brainwashing everyone. Their lack of mutant solidarity and class consciousness preordained failure, but now it's Magneto's turn. Let's see how he does.

I love Mags' self awareness of how ridiculous he looks, yet he dresses like that all the time. I suppose he fits the bill of 'costumed' performer' quite well, and he walks among them with ease while searching for the man of the hour - Fred J Dukes - The Blob.

Mags and the reader get reminder of what he can do and the Master of Magnetism is impressed. He approaches The Blob for a word but his disinterest compels Mags to brainwash him. I think. Dude is basically a wizard at this point - he can do pretty much anything except defeat five children.

He's surprised to find a mental block there - Chuck made him forget everything to do with mutants. The carnival owner steps in but Mags drops his catchphrase and yeets a cage on top of him as a display of dominance.

You know, I was sure that this 'carny battle cry' thing was bullshit and had several clever japes ready. I looked it up to be sure and 'hey rube!' is legit, among other things, a carny battle cry. The more you know. Some carnival workers rush to defend their brethren but Toad and Quicksilver beat the fuck out of them. They do a lot better than the X-Men did. Toad even manages to cheerlead Magneto at the same time.

Wanda and Mastermind lend a hand too, but the latter is mostly creeping on the former and she doesn't want anything to do with him. With the rest of the carnies laid out, Mags makes his offer. It's only slightly better than the X-Men's efforts, and The Blob responds to threats by manhandling Magneto. It's great. For once Mags actually uses his powers effectively and throws Fred around. He hits his head and the events of issue #3 come back to him.

With full possession of the truth, The Blob angrily joins Magneto. THAT'S how bad a job the X-Men did, though I blame Chuck most of all. Cyclops picks up mutant action on Cerebro and is like 'fuck! The consequences of our actions! Better summon Captain Planet.'

Magneto is quite the real estate speculator, as is his wont, so the Brotherhood hoof it to a nearby factory. As the X-Men scramble, Mags rings them up to say 'hey losers, I'm going to fuck shit up if you don't stop me! Here's the address.' That's really convenient!

The X-Men roll deep in a fucking helicopter lol, but Magneto easily destroys it. The Blob isn't especially keen on being bait for a trap, but he wants to fight the X-Men anyway so fuck it we ball. Warren goes for a helicopter blade to no avail as The Blob shrugs that shit off. It's looking good for the working class even as four more establishment lackeys bear down on him.

Beast goes down too, and Marvel Girl's telekinesis does jack shit. They're regrouping when Magneto springs his trap - hurling torpedoes at them. It's not looking good for anyone in that direction.

The asshole X-Men hide behind The Blob, who absorbs the impact and the explosion. He's dazed yet mostly physically okay but the X-Men aren't very grateful. Magneto just ... gives up super prematurely due to low morale. He probably shouldn't be surprised at that, considering he just blew up an ally. He summons the magna-car and The Brotherhood bounce.

Iceman flat out insults poor Fred, though Jean is at least polite when offering the spot on the team he previously turned down. Having been mocked, used, ordered around, beaten up, bombed, brainwashed, used as bait and betrayed The Blob is traumatized and depressed. He has zero interest in being drafted into more violence and gives up on the concept of friendship and trust. I honestly don't blame the guy as all the other mutants have treated him like shit.

Cyclops basically calls him a coward with an incredibly condescending and tone deaf saying he picked up from Chuck. As Fred Dukes resigns himself to working as a freak until death and walks away in obviously pain, Hank 'almost' feels pity. The rest of these heartless jerks don't even pretend to give a fuck as they're more worried about getting home without the helicopter. That this violent and rude press gang can casually crash helicopters without concern must be salt in the wound of someone who works for a living in humiliating circumstances.

As I said the last time the X-Men terrorised this guy, Chuck is stinking rich. Warren is even richer. The at least half a million dollars the ruined helicopter cost could set Fred up for life! He understandably didn't want to leave his only source of income to jump when Chuck says jump, but he probably would have agreed if they fucking paid him. Fred's yearly wage is pocket change to the X-Men but it never crossed their mind, either for selfish reasons or to lift a fellow mutant out of poverty. The Blob ended up turning to crime and while he might have made the choice, the X-Men pushed him towards it. Their calculus is good mutants vs evil ones but they have no idea how to approach someone who's neither. Their actions helped make him into an 'evil mutant' and his life has been miserable.

There's no irony, only sadness, in that Fred landed on his knees when Krakoa fell. Tortured and brainwashed by a prison built for Chuck, he's back to fighting the X-Men again - against his will. When Chuck fucked off into space he wasn't just abandoning his dream, but the forgotten casualties like Fred J Dukes. He could have freed him as easily as he did himself, but it didn't even occur to him to help a mutant that caught his strays. I hope he's freed soon, he didn't even do anything. He was labelled a bad guy from the beginning and everyone has been kicking down since.

[fitzrove]

!! We always talk about "euromusicals" as a cohesive concept, but too often, that just ends up meaning "the most ruthlessly commercialised musicals from the top 3 biggest and most well-known European countries". and that's WRONG actually because omg have y'all seen what is going on in lithuania ajsjsjjdd

1972 - the rock opera

After seeing the Kaunas Elisabeth production (which I liked), I was tipped off that there's an original musical featuring many of the same performers produced by the same theatre. The name ("Roko opera 1972") basically translates to "1972 - a rock opera". And it's probably one of the most meta historical shows I've ever seen!!

In 1972, a 19-year-old student named Romas Kalanta burned himself to death in protest against the Soviet regime in front of the Kaunas State Musical Theatre, which is where this musical was staged 50 years later. (He chose the spot because it's where the establishment of the Lithuanian SSR/Lithuania's de facto annexation by the USSR had been declared in 1940). His self-immolation sparked two days of mass protests also known as the Kaunas Spring, which were eventually squashed by the KGB and the local milicija (police) forces. So in 2022, for the 50th anniversary, they made a rock opera about that.

The most remarkable thing about this show, to me, is the complex intertextuality in it. For context: I was pretty surprised to learn this, but in the 1970s, LPs and even a staged concert production of Jesus Christ Superstar were a huge thing in Lithuania. In fact, the first-ever JCS production in Europe was the (unauthorised) Lithuanian concert, and the show continues to be very popular there to this day. The Soviet regime was super against countercultural Western influences like rock music so the LPs were technically not legal to own, but that didn't stop people from distributing and copying them lmao. The 1972 rock opera's main characters are a group of young counterculture hippies, and one of the first major scenes is them hyping up the JCS LP they've managed to obtain, only for a teacher to catch wind of it and break it because she's afraid they'll get into trouble about it.

And that's not all!!! The LP being a symbol of the youth counterculture as a whole isn't the only thing - the rock opera itself has so many parallels to JCS. The protagonist is basically a Jesus allegory (in the prologue, a character brings it up, saying that "he died for us". also, he was both religious and a rock guy IRL - had long hair, played guitar, stated in a school essay that he wanted to become a Catholic priest which got him into trouble with authorities...), there's a Judas character (he betrays his friends to the KGB for 30 roubles, and one of the KGB officers specifically references Judas while talking to him...) who ends up deeply regretting his actions, and a Gethsemane scene (right before the protagonist's death; the friend group covertly 'takes back' a church that has been turned into a factory to baptise a baby and do a spontaneous wedding, which is forbidden under the SSR's forcible secularisation/anti-religion policies. The Judas character's betrayal gets found out and they realise the KGB is coming -> the protagonist looks into the heavens and screams about how nothing is sacred and nothing good is possible to achieve, fake church, fake baptism, fake wedding...). The show also comments on stuff like the oppression of Jews under the regime. AND towards the end of the show there's literally a projection image of a burning cross sjjs.

So overall, the narrative device of this show is that it's Jesus Christ Superstar 1970s Lithuania AU, but also there's a literal JCS recording on stage sjsjj. It's actually really interesting overall - I started thinking about how Lithuania is statistically quite a bit more religious than the other Nordic and Baltic countries (which can be very secular), and that that's probably partly connected to the historical interconnections between religion (= the Catholic church, specifically) and opposition to the authoritarian regime. And religion and rock music being part of that opposition/resistance makes it extremely fitting to commemorate it with a JCS-style rock opera with actual JCS references jsjsj. And just the fact that when people leave the theatre after the show, they will walk out directly onto the square where the historical self-immolation happened... (This also makes the opening number/prologue really interesting - in that, almost everyone in the modern era acts dismissive of a man haunted by the past trying to remind them of what happened in 1972, walking past him and dismissing him as a drunk. So it really kind of sets the audience up to acknowledge their historical responsibility to remember and take note of what happened.)

Also, as just one more layer, one of the lead actors, Jeronimas Milius (guy in the prologue), has been in JCS productions before jsjsjs, and even took part in an ALW "searching for the next Jesus" type talent show lmao.