#changing diff fluid

[chrissy-kaos]

I think this is pretty universal..

But fuck, I hate gear oil 🤮🤮🤮🤮🤮

That is all.

[swordmaid]

thinking about hag romance sparring 🤭 which I think is a very rare event bc god forbid astarion breaks a nail but in the off chances they do it becomes a matter of who fights more dirty bc shri’iia overpowers him in strength but he has faster reflexes and he’s very inclined to cheat. so then it becomes this fun little spar where it’s his dual daggers vs her one polearm, astarion always trying to disarm her by doing funky moves and distracting her vs shri’iia going for his shin and ankles so he trips over. then they forego the weapons and end up just rolling around the floor like kittens trying to pin each other down - which astarion does bc he has a secret third knife that he whips out and holds over her that forces her to yield and shri’iia’s like oh noooo u caught meeee. che..! whatever should I dooooo 🤭🤭😏😏 very quickly becomes foreplay and whoever was watching them spar is just like brother eughhhhh 😟😟😒😒🤢🚫🚫

[aqent8]

they need to invent a place u go to where they actually fix you up and reset your issues so if you walk back out youre the healthiest u could be at that moment

[gillionstits]

erm changes my pronouns alittlebit btw 🤭

[thejoyofseax]

Why We Can't Have Medieval Food

I noted in a previous post that I'd "expand on my thinking on efforts to reproduce period food and how we’re just never going to know if we have it right or not." Well, now I have 2am sleep?-never-heard-of-it insomnia, so let's go.

At the fundamental level, this is the idea that you can't step in the same river twice. You can put your foot down at the same point in space, and it'll go into water, but that's different water, and the bed of the river has inevitably changed, even a little, from the last time you did so.

Our ingredients have changed. This is not just because we can't get the fat from fat-tailed sheep in Ireland, or silphium at all anywhere, although both of those are true. But the aubergine you buy today is markedly different to the aubergine that was available even 40 years ago. You no longer need to salt aubergine slices and draw out the bitter fluids, which was necessary for pretty much all of the thing's existence before (except in those cultures that liked the bitter taste). The bitterness has been bred out of them. And the old bitter aubergine is gone. Possibly there are a few plants of it preserved in some archive garden, or a seed bank, or something, but I can't get to those.

We don't really have a good idea of the plant called worts in medieval English recipes. I mean, we know (or we're fairly sure) it was brassica oleracea. But that one species has cultivars as distinct as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, Savoy cabbage, kohlrabi, and gai lan (list swiped from Wikipedia). And even within "cabbage" or "kale", you have literally dozens of varieties. If you plant the seeds from a brassica, unless you've been moderately careful with pollination, you won't get the same plant as the seeds are from. You can crossbreed brassicas just by planting them near each other and letting them flower. And of course there is no way to determine what varietal any medieval village had, a very high likelihood that it was different to the village next door, and an exceedingly high chance that that varietal no longer exists. Further, it only ever existed for a few tens of years - before it went on cross-breeding into something different. So our access to medieval worts (or indeed, cabbage, kale, etc) is just non-existant.

Some other species within the brassica genus are as varied. Brassica rapa includes oilseed rape, field mustard, turnip, Chinese cabbage, and pak choi.

We have an off-chance, as it happens, of getting almost the same kind of apple as some medieval varieties, because apples can only be reproduced for orchard use by grafting, which is essentially cloning. Identification through paintings, DNA analysis, and archaeobotany sometimes let us pin down exactly which apple was there. But the conditions under which we grow those apples are probably not the same as the medieval orchard. Were they thinned? When were they harvested? How were they stored? And apples are pretty much the best case.

Medieval wheat was practically a different plant. It was far pickier about where it would grow, and frequently produced 2-4 grains per stalk. A really good year had 6-8. In modern conditions, any wheat variety with less than 30 grains per stalk would be considered a flop.

Meats are worse. Selective breeding in the last century has absolutely and completely changed every single species of livestock, and if you follow that back another five centuries, some of them would be almost unrecognisable. Even our heritage breeds are mostly only about 200 years old.

Cheese, well. Cheese is dependent on very specific bacteria, and there are plenty of conditions where the resulting cheese is different depending on whether it was stored at the back or front of the cave. Yogurts, quarks, skyrs, etc, are also live cultures, and almost certainly vary massively. (I have a theory about British cheese here, too, which I'll expand on in a future post)

So, even before you go near the different cooking conditions (wood, burnables like camel and cow dung, smoke, the material and condition of cooking pots), we just can't say with any reliability that the food we're making now is anything like medieval people produced from the same recipe. We can't even say that with much reliability over a century.

Under very controlled conditions, you could make an argument for very specific dishes. If you track down a wild mountain sheep in Afghanistan, and use water from a local spring, and salt from some local salt mine, then you can make a case that you can produce something fairly close to the original ma wa milh, the water-and-salt stew that forms the most basic dish in Arabic cookery. But once you start introducing domestic livestock, vegetables, or even water from newer wells, you're now adrift.

It is possible that some dishes taste exactly the same, by coincidence. But we can't determine that. We can't compare the taste of a dish from five years ago, let alone five hundred, because we're only just getting to a state where we can "record" a taste accurately. Otherwise it's memory and chance.

We've got to be at peace with this. We can put in the best efforts we can, and produce things that are, in spirit, like the medieval dishes we're reading about. But that's as good as it gets.

[circeyoru]

do you only wrote for they/them reader or is it also possible for every character to just use diff pronouns for them because no one knows what they are? like depending on what they wear, most people just assume

or maybe they just take gender fluid to the next level n shapeshift or something

Check my MASTERLIST post if you want to know what I write for in detail.

Since I wrote for Hazbin Hotel fic before and currently for Solo Leveling, I have no idea if you are referring to one of those or both. Nor do I know if you have read my works to know how I write. But I'll answer here in more detail.

I write Reader/You as gender-neutral most, if not all, the time. I don't recall using "they" or "them" when referring to the Reader, because I'll use some form of title to keep the gender-free quality for readers to interpret without issue. Reader wants to be a male, then he or him. Reader wants to be a female, then she or her. Reader can't decide, then use the title I given. No issue at all. I just don't want to limit and label the Reader as one type.

The title issue is the base setting for the Reader. I'll take one of my more popular series from both fandoms.

In Hazbin Hotel, there's {The Collection of Overlords}, where Reader is set as the dark character of the universe and ruler of Hell. I remember saying in the story that Reader has no gender at all. But I still never used they/them, that went to my other OC in the same series. Some readers pictured themselves as female or male, no issue since it doesn't change the story at all. There are some characteristics that I will set in stone. And this Reader design has the power to shapeshift. In a way you can call it gender fluid. Just that when I need a character to refer to Reader, I use a title and this story has a number of titles for me to use because I designed Reader that way. Examples (I need to reopen my works to find them XD): [The Collector], [True Ruler], [Silver] In Solo Leveling, there's {The Only Reason}, where Reader is set as a research or higher-ranked manager in a world where A-Rank and above Hunters go crazy from mana overload then needed to be locked up. Here, Reader definitely has no mention which gender was set, nor did I put an indication. I used the title [Personnel 002] to define Reader when needed.

That goes for the clothing as well. Unless it's a symbolic meaning to the clothing, then I won't decide on one for the Reader. I know at time I say a type, but nothing too fixed. There might be implications, but that's just about it. I remember saying "formal attire" for the Reader in {The Collection of Overloads} and outright outlining Reader's clothing in {The Only Reason}, but both are contributed to the Reader's setting, then Reader's personality/role, respectively.

I mean, when you're using the "x reader" hashtag, you commit to it, right? From my view, if you put a lot of defining characteristics on the Reader design, then why not say that it's an OC or use the x OC tag? I have no guarantee that all my readers are of the same gender or they want to be that way, I'm just trying to make my works suitable for people to enjoy them. It took a lot for me to change from using he/she/I pronouns to you pronouns because I used to do OC writings.

All in all. I don't tend to use he/she/they pronouns if I can help it. I'll stay with only using you/your ones. Else, I'll put a label title on Reader to compensate.

But if you (anon) are talking about my replies in the comments, then... I don't know what to say... Sometimes I reply without much thought or in the moment and sometimes I just couldn't be bothered to mask it. It's just a comment... Not the actual story.

PS: How I even tag this?????

[tboy-fuckpuppy]

Intro and DNI!!

Hey i’m haze (or whatever you want)! I use he/xey pronouns and im transmasc. I’m a big ol’ puppy sub and this is my blog to just be a horny little slut.

IM AN ADULT (19) IF YOU ARE A MINOR GET OFF MY BLOG!!!

Dni includes the normal stuff (racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, etc.). No ED blogs, can’t think of the rest of it but just use common sense pls. NO MINORS!!! DO NOT INTERACT WITH ME IF YOU ARE UNDER 18 OR ARE AN AGELESS BLOG!!!!!!

Yes, I have a girlfriend. Yes, she knows about this blog. She’s okay with me flirting and fucking around with my moots. Nothing has changed. Please send me horny asks (esp dom transfems <3) Also send me fantasies or rape threats I love those ;)

This blog is T4T and faggy!!! Don’t put me on your lesbian blogs or anything i am a FAGGGG.

Kinks/limits and more below the cut!!

Kinks (favs in pink)

Praise oml i’m such a slut for it

Puppy play :3

Degradation and humiliation

Sex while high/intox kink

Light pain and biting

Bondage

Crying and being loud during sex (forgot the word for this)

Forcemasc my beloved <3

Somno by beloved <3

Boots / leather daddy’s

Knifes <3

Edging!!

Overstim my beloved <3

Breeding (not pregnancy tho)

Orgasm control and denial

Age diff

CNC

r@peplay

Limits

No scat, piss, other bodily fluids

No serious pain

No guns

No ageplay

No detrans

I’ll add onto this as i go i guess :3

#milo puppy talks Me talking about smth/my posts that aren’t just reblogs

#puppies pics :3 Pictures of me ;)

My ask box is always open for fellow puppy subs or doms looking to play and moots are welcome to dm whenever :3

[chrissy-kaos]

No super cute post today! I’m out working on the race car! Got the brake fluid changed and new EBC pads/rotors on all 4 four corners! Now I’m about to do a transmission/diff fluid change! Don’t forget to nut and bolt check while under the car!

(Brownie points to who can guess the size of this socket 😜)

[sialaterornever]

6 and 9 for the ask game, for any character you'd like!

6. How does your oc feel about labels? Theirs, or in general?

Ooooh this one I'll go with aodh gephelon my silly for the seiiki city :D

aodh for himself doesnt really like. give a damn about labels. it gets their use and respects them, but doesn't really care about them for itself. like, yeah, he uses it/its pronouns, but he doesn't really identify as anything particularly.

this also applies to its sexuality! he kind of just says he's bisexual because he's never really had any relationships ever, romantic or otherwise, so he just says he's bi just to get the question over with.

(yes, even friendships :pensive:)

i sincerely doubt he's going to give himself a proper label any time soon.

in general he still doesn't care, but he refuses to ask for details about what a certain label means. it can and will learn only through osmosis. actually i think he just says he's bi because that's the first label he learned about and decided to use it just cuz. yknow?

9. Are there cultural or lore specific aspects to their identity? If applicable, does their species affect it?

ok diff oc time! gonna answer for my main oc/sona, sia llaneig!

c!sia primarily identifies as fluidflux because of what they are! he's an alien called a pirinori that can basically shapeshift into species that they've absorbed the dna of, and their culture doesn't really have gender to begin with. they don't have male or female, the closest thing would be the Inside and Outside pirinori. i dont have names for them yet. thinking maybe Outside pirinori can be called the Hearth and the Inside the Fuel? Something like that

anyways basically how pirinori reproduce is that one or more pirinori goes inside the other (because their body is essentially this clay-like material without any fleshy organs or fluids) and the cores (basically their "main organ" that has all the functions of all of our organs combined into a ball) inside all the pirinori lose the protective shell that, well, protects it. the Inside/Fuel pirinori (which can be multiple) focus on creating children, which i dont really have fully fleshed out yet but whatever. the Outside/Hearth pirinori has to protect all the cores that are inside it and the other pirinori(s) involved to keep them safe and provide them energy. the more pirinori involved inside one will mean it takes longer to make children & puts more strain on the Outside/Hearth pirinori.

these roles aren't inherently born, though some pirinori are just better at guarding/creating than others. so, there's no real concept of gender.

c!sia because heavily influenced by human cultures and aspects after accidentally crash-landing on the planet, and liked the idea of just... changing their identity as they saw fit. similarly to her body. of course, just because he may choose one or more sets of pronouns doesn't mean they choose to look like it.

(they have, several times, shapeshifted into different genders (human and otherwise) in order to take advantage of different perks that they get)

as for sexuality, sia doesn't fully understand it because of the whole pirinori stuff. she doesn't see herself as either an outside/hearth or an inside/fuel pirinori and has no plans on making more pirinori, so she's kind of just unlabelled at the moment.

c!sia's also not really a self-insert since i myself am not fluidflux lol. he's kind of just like. a guy that i know.

[jmflowers]

Pls talk abt the diffs between st19 and GA. Would love to read your TV production nerd language!

Well, only took me 10 days to finally find time to get to this… my apologies, anon! I hope you're still interested.

I took notes during episodes 20x02 and 7x02 of Grey's Anatomy and Station 19 respectively to formulate my answer to this, but I should disclose that I have not been an avid watcher of Grey's Anatomy in about a decade. Despite my education in technical film and television production, anything stated here is my own opinion. Art is subjective and I absolutely do not have all the answers.

Let's start with Grey's…

So, from when Grey's first premiered in 2005 until the 10th season, the show was shot on film. That fact lends a lot to the stylistic formula of the show, which is not something you ever really want to change. (Fans arrive for a certain feel, thus a production bible is created that is adhered to for - hopefully - the entirety of a piece of work.)

I think it's most obvious in the coverage of scenes; shots are long and flowing, often moving around subjects as they converse with each other. By shooting this way, they would've protected themselves from needing to reset as frequently and it makes the editing process a lot more seamless. Also, in my experience, it just makes it easier to translate a director’s vision from set into the editing room.

(In film school, a lot of people will take a million different angles of a scene, all in little snippets, because it guarantees you'll have what you need for an interesting edit. However, if you work a bunch of continuous shots of the scene, actors get the opportunity to really immerse themselves in it - resulting in better performance - and the final edit has fewer possible iterations of what it could look like. Why don't students do this? Firstly, it's harder - more risk of having something in the background that will screw things up, more challenging to cut together if you have to remove a singular moment, harder to keep steady if you're not comfortable with stabilizing equipment or don't have any. Secondly, professors don't often encourage it because a lot of people are really terrible at camera operation if they're not trained properly.)

Anyways, all that to stay is Grey’s has this really fluid style to how they shoot. Nearly every shot is moving in some way, whether it’s a dolly, a pan, a tilt, etc. Let it be said that they are really, really good at this formula.

Another component of this is wider angle shots so that the characters can be continuously moving – think of those classic hallway walking scenes as a prime example. Allowing the actors to really move in a space helps to build tension without needing a bunch of little cuts and camera angles. This means there are some scenes in the show that only have one camera angle present before it moves onto the next scene, which isn’t super common in my experience.

Not to say that they don’t utilize closeups – Grey’s is a drama so it’d be kind of weird to not make use of closeup shots for the showing of emotion. However, the closeups seem to predominantly occur in the OR. My guess as to why that is would be in helping the audience differentiate who is who (as well as what they’re feeling), since part of their faces have to be covered during operations, but that’s pure speculation on my part.

And beyond all of that, Grey’s is visually still a drama. A lot of moments occur at night. Scenes are often darker, with more focus on backlighting than clear illumination of character faces. I find their blacks a lot stronger, which is probably something to do with their colouring.

There’s also just fewer action-packed moments, since the story often takes place with people just talking, so there doesn’t appear to be as much of an editing technique called “cutting on the action”. Which, honestly, makes sense if they’re filming longer takes. (Shoutout to my prof who constantly gave triple-take homework and made me completely ridiculous about cutting. on. action. You broke me, my dude.)

Conversely, Station 19 has a very different formula…

As an action drama, that was never shot on film, S19 adheres to a completely different bible. One that they rewrote after season 2 (I think? When did the voiceover intros stop?), you’ll probably notice, when they decided to veer a little further away from their identity as a Grey’s Anatomy spinoff.

The first thing I always notice is that a lot more of S19 scenes happen during the day, since the unspoken law of most episodes is that they begin as the team is coming onto their shift first thing in the morning and then stretches through their 24-hour. Scenes are just brighter and more illuminated – more of the sunlight streaming in windows and less of the visible nighttime cityscape you’ll notice in Grey’s. I also really love that they usually begin this time period with the characters at home, whereas Grey’s seems to have episodes finish with that.

Light is also obvious in how things are coloured on S19. Their blacks don’t seem as dark in the final colouring, which may have something to do with the navy blue of their uniforms. It also just feels like there’s more white present on their sets? But that can’t possibly be true because Grey’s literally takes place in a hospital.

Anyways, S19 fully subscribes to the shooting and editing style of an action production. Scenes have lots of coverage (they utilize over-the-shoulder shots which don’t happen as often in Grey’s), there are lots of quick cuts in the edit, and their shots are overall steadier or static with less of the flowy movement that Grey’s has. They also use a lot more closeup and tighter framing, focusing on cowboy and up – unlike the Grey’s formula of a full-body shot. (A cowboy shot covers from the middle of the thigh to the top of the head, ie. you would be able to see the cowboy’s gun in its holster… anything above that is a tighter framing.)

And S19 loves a montage. I can’t say for certain whether Grey’s still uses those, or if they ever really did, but S19 leans into a zero-dialogue montage edit for storytelling. Which I don’t find super common, as I think some people believe it’s a little too artsy or stylistic, but I think is a really effective way to get a plot point across sometimes. Do we really need to know exactly what they said or is it enough to see that they were smiling when it happened? Film and television are visual medias and fanfic writers everywhere are grateful for the gaps in the story that they get to fill in with their own headcanons. (I said what I said.)

I’m sure there’s lots more things I could probably point out on why Grey’s Anatomy and Station 19 complement each other while looking like they could be from completely different universes, but that’s all I wrote down while watching them both live. Hopefully my film theory professor and my screenwriting professor are proud of me for this analysis.

Thanks for the question, anon! Always here to answer and talk nerdy if anyone ever has any more.

[wakeupfreanz]

Jennie for the career ask game please

1. She’s planning to put out at least one solo album and ig probably enjoying the creative freedom and control she’s got over her releases. She could releasing some baddie-type songs but also something more ballad-y

2. For future prospects she would want to have her fingers in many diff pies. Makeup/brand collabs, variety, maybe a fashion line, more acting projects for sure. Who wouldn’t after YG 💀 But idk if she’s gonna launch other artists from her label?

Let's see what the tea is, because lowkey Jennie is much more charismatic and intelligent than some people will give her credit for.

Serious music career?: 7oP, 8oS, maybe to likely not. I can see her releasing music, but it might not be the main thing she promotes to keep her money up frankly

What will she do then?: 2oS, 8oW, 10oW, KnoP. Being honest? Jennie is likely to continue social media and making appearances, modeling. But none of these things are 100% her passion. She knows on the inside that potentially being a mother and house maker is what she wants the most, but she has a terror of actually exploring it seriously. Not "working" for things is scary because it depends on things that can go away, fade, or change. So thus, I can definitely recommend that Jennie seek some counseling for any issues, especially if they effect love and relationships for her to feel fulfilled in life sooner than later.

My recommendation: I think the socialite, influencer vibe is for her. Not just because she's a pretty it girl, but because she's a business woman in the most feminine way possible. It might not necessarily require her to slave over numbers to figure out what leads her in the right direction. I can barely describe it besides her being very charismatic, like a "true" socialite, literally like putting lighter fluid on a fire to make it burn brighter and longer. It's maybe not the most necessary, but everyone knows that they should have it "just in case", you feel me?

[blackr23]

240918

Rollingstoneuk p2

“The festival in Hyde Park is so huge,” says Changbin, who writes and produces for the group and is known for his lightning-fast rap verses. “I cannot wait to see the reaction of the fans, and how the Stay in London are going to welcome me.” 

“It’s been so long since we have been in London,” says HAN, who during the group interview slouches in a relaxed pose with his mass of tousled messy hair covering his eyes. Even though his slight frame is sliding further and further down his chair, he pipes up every now and then to add his opinion. “Being there [in London] is something I am really looking forward to, but also the festival which we’re going to perform is such a huge event for me,” he says.

Lee Know plans to revisit some London landmarks after he came to the UK capital on his own in May. “I went briefly for the Gucci show in London, and I saw Big Ben during the nighttime and I was very struck by it,” he tells me in a softly spoken voice. “So, I want to see it again, and also want to visit London deeply.” He confesses there wasn’t time for much else on his recent visit apart from a session in the hotel gym, which at least had a decent view.

Non-Stay readers will have noticed Stray Kids popping up with more frequency of late as the group embed themselves as a global household name. Last year, they performed ‘S-Class’ at the VMAs (also picking up an award on the night in the process), and were spotted hanging out with Dua Lipa, Anne Hathaway and Paul Mescal at fashion shows in London, Paris and Milan. In a fairly bleak music landscape, K-pop groups like Stray Kids let us revisit the halcyon days of 90s and 00s high-energy MTV, with all the big-budget technicolour music videos and huge world tours that came with that defining era.

Not content with the mortal realm, SKZ even made inroads into the Marvel Cinematic Universe when the group’s music was featured on the Deadpool & Wolverine soundtrack. Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds returned the favour by featuring in SKZ’s music video for ‘Chk Chk Boom’. And then there was that novel interaction with former Avenger Chris Hemsworth when he ran into the group at the MET Gala in NYC and proceeded to physically lift several band members off the ground. “I just picked them up, gave them cuddles,” Hemsworth said of the moment. “I love them. They were just a bundle of energy and joy, and I was like, ‘I love you guys.’”

“The last person that Chris picked up was me and after that, he gave up: ‘Gotta stop now; he’s heavier than my hammer,’” quips Changbin. As the buffest member of Stray Kids, the group often joke about his physique.

Despite the group constantly orbiting the earth for various obligations that are carefully scheduled down to the minute, music remains the beating heart of Stray Kids. Masterminding creative concepts for each album, they are sextuple threats who can sing, dance, rap, choreograph, write and produce their own music — all skills that have been rigorously honed and sharpened by the unforgiving K-pop trainee system. Officially, the octet is split into three sub-units called ‘RACHAs’. 3RACHA, consisting of Bang Chan, Changbin and HAN, takes care of most of the writing and production; DANCERACHA, comprising Lee Know, Felix and Hyunjin, takes on choreography duties; and VOCALRACHA is made up of Seungmin and I.N, the designated lead singers. (There are unofficial units bestowed by the fans, including the affectionately named ‘PABORACHA’ — ‘pabo’ means dumb or foolish in Korean — whose esteemed members are Hyunjin, HAN and Lee Know, known for their chaotic and silly behaviour.)

RACHAs aside, band members’ roles can be quite fluid due to their multi-disciplinary training. Felix has co-written ‘Runners’, an English-language track on the new album, and Hyunjin wrote ‘Cover Me’ for their last EP, ROCK-STAR. It is entirely dependent on several, ever-changing factors.

Lee Know, for example, increasingly takes on more vocal roles in songs: “It’s always different according to what song we’re doing, and it depends on the schedules as well,” says Bang Chan. When it comes to songwriting, Bang Chan explains how if the group are on a tight schedule, they will gather beforehand and decide who does what. “Then, during our schedule, while we’re on the road and during our free time, then that’s when we get time to edit it,” he says. “So, it’s always different.”

Changbin adds, “When there is a tight schedule, everyone tries to do their own work. As for title tracks, three to four members have to meet up and do the work together. As far as individual work [goes], everyone can ask for help from other members.” Fans often witness the process when the band shares behind-the-scenes footage in the studio, with 3RACHA guiding members singing and rapping in the booth, meticulously tweaking their creations to make sure every element is just how they want it, collaborating on ideas and moulding the track as they go.

Felix explains that it’s a similar situation with the dance routines and concepts, “When it comes to performance, we always send our feedback about what we feel about the choreography, and we always try to match up to what is the best performance for this song. We talk about it with everyone too, as everyone is performing.”

Stray Kids’ sound has always been very experimental, spanning several genres, and ATE continues their sonic exploration. “It’s quite different to what we’ve done before, but we’re always open to new stuff,” says Bang Chan. As their mini album, ATE feels more grown-up, with the band having shed naivety from their lyrics. For instance, ‘I Like It’, an R&B track infused with trap-pop, explores the idea of a situationship: “I hope we don’t make a hasty mistake / Let’s take a long step back,” they sing. It’s a lyrically grey area that K-pop, which loves to deal in absolutes, doesn’t tackle often. ‘twilight’, written by HAN, slows things down, with a sparkling piano intro that sounds like it belongs in a Studio Ghibli film. The track cascades into a smooth, jazz, Bossa Nova style that examines the combustible nature of love, looking at what remains when an initial spark has burned too bright and been lost in a blaze of lustful glory, leaving only ashes behind.

The band’s bread and butter, though, lies in creating anthems, and both ‘MOUNTAINS’ and ‘Chk Chk Boom’ on this album fulfil that brief, with winding low electronic sounds and thundering choruses that are designed to be chanted back at them by the masses when they perform on stage.

Often the group will experiment with sound effects in their music. ‘ITEM’, a tune from their last album 5-Star, references the iconic Pac-Man video gamein its lyrics, and Bang Chan, Changbin and HAN played around with the production, lacing the song with retro arcade sounds. It has now become a popular track with the fanbase.

Following the popular K-Pop model at the moment of releasing new material almost biannually, Stray Kids won’t have time to dwell on this album for long. “We’re already working on new stuff,” explains Bang Chan.

I offer the idea of an acoustic album as something new for them to try, and the idea elicits a chorus of ‘oohs’ from them.

“That would be fun and another challenge for us,” says HAN, sitting up, his interest piqued.

“I would love it!” Seungmin pipes up enthusiastically, visibly animated at the prospect. “I play the guitar these days! I’m practising!”

“Too loud,” interjects Felix, jokingly. “When I am sleeping, I’m like ‘This guy!’ (Laughs) But he’s a good guitarist.”

“I would love to perform acoustically,” muses I.N, the combination of his mass of bleached blond hair and black turtleneck channelling Andy Warhol. The youngest member of the group has one condition, though: “I would love it to be an acoustic song that I myself wrote for the occasion. If I were to imagine a song with all the members, that we have already released, whilst I play the piano, it would be our song called ‘Stray Kids’ from the new album.” The song looks at their journey as a band and the legacy they are striving to achieve together.

“The strongest friendships are honed with fights. now we can say our bonds are stronger”

— Changbin

The twin concepts of teamwork and togetherness are the bedrocks of SKZ. Their joint determination has been vital to their success. The gruelling trainee process, where wannabe pop stars train for upwards of 10 hours a day, six days a week for an indefinite period, comes with no guarantee that you will debut. This means that when a band does make it, they must be focused on their goals in order to maintain an upward trajectory.

Once debuting, it is customary for a group to live together. This makes life easier with their schedule, but it means that the members of SKZ are literally spending 24 hours a day with each other.

“It’s almost eight years since we started, and the trainee years, so it’s been almost a decade since I have been living with these people,” explains HAN candidly, not shying away from addressing the complex dynamics of a large group in such an intense environment. “Sometimes we have differences of opinions and sometimes we have conflicts, which is totally normal, but at first, I felt like they were my companions as they shared a dream and a goal to work together. Then that relationship turned more into friends that you keep for the rest of your life, and now it’s changing again. It’s almost brotherly [now]; they feel like blood [relatives], and when we’re together, it feels like it’s obvious to stay together. [And] sometimes, when we haven’t seen each other for some time, I miss them. It’s been a wonderful relationship to share.”

“I had zero difficulties living with the members, as since I was a student, I used to hang with the hyungs [big brothers],” Lee Know offers. “It was not hard for me at all — it was enjoyable.” As the second oldest of the group, he’s often much more measured when they’re all together.

Seungmin can’t help but crack a joke when I ask what it was like getting to know each other so quickly at the beginning and living in such close confines with each other. “Terrible,” he says with his dry delivery and wry smile, making everyone laugh. There is an element of reality in what he is saying. The group are very open when it comes to discussing their disagreements with their fans.

[gingerlee-holds]

Pokerants: Gorebyss

im using a random pokemon generator, i think i might stick with that moving forward. i had a little trouble getting to five problems about them but i got there in the end! just had to do a bit of stretching but my physical therapist says thats healthy. anyways uhhhh i love you guys

today is Gorebyss, this fella! #0368

this is what i gleamed from the 'dex:

they live in the southern seas at extreme depths, their body withstands enormous water pressure, and they're unharmed by ordinary attacks due to its body structure

they insert their thin mouth into prey to drain the bodily fluids, they feed on seaweed between rocks, and their body color becomes vivid after feeding

they have a light pink body color, which becomes more vivid in springtime or with rising water temperatures, and in Alola, it's almost blindingly vivid

its leftover prey meat sinks to the seafloor to become food for other pokemon

and now, screaming time

firstly, the Dex states that because its body can resist high water pressure, it can resist a lot of attacks. this is friggin ludicrous, genuinely- deep-sea creatures are not plated in heavy armor, thats not how that works at all!! look at the blobfish!! if you tried to stab that thing, it would die hilariously quickly, especially if above water! deep-sea fish have flexible bodies and soft tissues, which is to say, they gotta be squishy!! the bottom of the deepest trench on earth, the Mariana Trench, has over 1000 bars of pressure, which is like 100 african elephants balancing on your head. the one thing you dont wanna be down in the deepest parts of the ocean is rigid, because you'll get crushed like a soda can - you gotta be squishy, so that when youre crushed by the pressure, you can continue living.

also,,, quick sidenote, why do Gorebyss have seashell bras? look at the picture again, why does the Gorebyss have two seashells on its thorax??? do they have fucking boobies under there?????

secondly, it sucks the body fluids out of its prey like a spider or an insect. a wha? a wha??? it sucks??? this is a good opportunity to tell you about the types of feeding habits fish in the real world can display! 1, there are the surface feeders, which eat food off of the surface of the water - these are the bettas and guppies and such. 2, there's the bottom feeders, which eat leftover debris, like catfish. 3, the herbivorous fish that eat plants (algae aren't plants, they're protists which is the catch-all category for the creatures that are too weird for taxonomists to deal with), these are fish like Crossocheilus oblongus. 4, there's the weirdos who eat algae, like Bristlenose Pleco, aka, those fuckers they keep in the aquariums who suck on the walls lmao. and 5, there are the hunters, like tetras and barbs. "sucking the bodily fluids out" like a goddamn mosquito is not one of those five!!

thirdly, the Gorebyss vividly changes color in warmer water, like one of those hot wheels cars. alright. fish changing color is something that happens in the real world, but its uncommon and usually a result of other factors, not just temperature. for instance, cuttlefish (while not being fish) change color to camouflage into their surroundings using cells called chromatophores. cuttlefish are cephalopods though so a flounder's coloration might be a better example. some fish use bright colors to attract mates, or warn predators away (like lionfish! poison dart frogs also do this, its called aposematic coloration!). a creature becoming brighter in warmer waters is more characteristic of some types of shrimp, but even then its not a vivid change like the pokedex describes

fourthly, the pokedex states in the beginning that the Gorebyss feeds by sucking the body fluids out of prey, (which may be why its name is a combination of 'Gore' and 'Abyss' ooo very dark very edgy) but then later on it states that it uses its long tubular mouth to feed on seaweed between rocks. which is it, pokemon, because those are two very different things! in nature, function always comes before form, which is to say, an animal's natural appearance is only ever because it serves a role. a mouth adapted to sucking bodily fluids (pokemon are cowards and can't say the word 'blood') and a mouth adapted to eating seaweed are very different! for instance, take a look at that picture of the Gorebyss again, look at its mouth, then close your eyes and picture Dory from Finding Nemo. pretty different, right? dory is a pacific blue tang, and blue tangs get most of their food from eating seaweed in coral reefs. those two mouths, Dory and the Gorebyss, couldn't be more dissimilar!

and fifthly, the specific detail that, when the Gorebyss finished slurpin up the juices from their prey, the carcass just falls to the seafloor to be eaten by other pokemon is a bit simplistic, i would have liked to have gotten more specific details on what happens next. yes this is pretty nitpicky but i wanted to get it up to five so leave me alone. once a marine organism dies, the scavengers (we call em detritivores in the business) get to it first: these are crabs, starfish, and the aforementioned bottomfeeders! then, it begins to decompose thanks to algae and bacteria. the food web, especially the ocean floor food web (which is overlooked too much) deserves to be recognized for its vast complexity! tell me about the bottomfeeders goddammit!!!!

[react-js]

React JS

Unleashing the Power of User Interfaces: A Guide to React.js

In the ever-evolving landscape of web development, creating interactive and dynamic user interfaces is crucial to delivering engaging online experiences. One technology that has risen to prominence in this domain is React.js. Developed by Facebook, React.js has transformed the way developers build web applications by providing a powerful framework for building modular and reusable UI components. In this blog post, we'll delve into the world of React.js, exploring its core concepts, benefits, and practical applications.

Understanding React.js:

At its heart, React.js is a JavaScript library that focuses on the efficient rendering of user interfaces. It employs a declarative approach to building UI components, where developers define how the interface should look at any given point in time, and React takes care of efficiently updating and rendering the UI when data changes.

Key Concepts:

Components: In React, user interfaces are constructed using components - self-contained, reusable building blocks that encapsulate both UI elements and the logic to manage their behavior. Components can be nested within each other, forming a tree-like structure that represents the entire user interface.

Virtual DOM: One of the most powerful features of React is its Virtual DOM. Rather than directly manipulating the actual DOM, React creates a lightweight virtual representation of the DOM in memory. When there are changes in the data or state of a component, React calculates the difference (also known as the "diff") between the previous and current virtual DOM states, and then applies only the necessary updates to the actual DOM. This process greatly improves performance and minimizes unnecessary re-rendering.

State and Props: State represents the dynamic data that can change within a component. Props (short for properties) are immutable data that are passed from parent to child components, allowing for dynamic content and customization.

Lifecycle Methods: React components have a lifecycle, consisting of phases from initialization to rendering, updating, and unmounting. Developers can tap into these lifecycle methods to control behavior at various points in a component's existence.

Hooks: Introduced in React 16.8, hooks are functions that allow developers to add state and lifecycle features to functional components. This enables a more concise and readable code structure, promoting the use of functional components over class components.

Benefits of Using React.js:

Modularity and Reusability: React's component-based architecture promotes modular development. Components can be reused across different parts of an application or even shared between projects, leading to more efficient development and easier maintenance.

Performance: By employing the Virtual DOM and selective rendering, React minimizes the performance overhead of constantly updating the actual DOM. This results in faster, smoother user interfaces, even for complex applications.

Community and Ecosystem: React has a vast and active community that contributes to its ecosystem. This means there are numerous libraries, tools, and resources available to enhance and streamline the development process.

SEO-Friendly: React applications can be rendered on the server side, improving search engine optimization (SEO) by providing search engines with a fully rendered HTML page.

Practical Applications:

React.js finds applications in a wide range of projects, from simple web apps to complex enterprise-level solutions. Some common use cases include:

Single-Page Applications (SPAs): React excels in building SPAs where fluid user experiences are key. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram use React to power their dynamic interfaces.

E-Commerce Websites: React's modular nature is beneficial for e-commerce sites, allowing developers to create reusable components for product listings, carts, and checkout processes.

Data Dashboards: React is suitable for building data visualization dashboards that require real-time updates and interactive charts.

Mobile Applications: React Native, an extension of React.js, is used to develop cross-platform mobile applications with a native-like experience.

In Conclusion:

React.js has revolutionized the way web applications are developed by providing a powerful set of tools for building modular, efficient, and interactive user interfaces. Its component-based architecture, Virtual DOM, and rich ecosystem make it a top choice for developers looking to create modern and engaging web experiences. Whether you're building a personal project or a complex enterprise application, React.js is a valuable technology to have in your toolkit. So, embrace the power of React.js and embark on a journey to create stunning user interfaces that captivate and delight your audience.

[airkewld]

Thursday June 29th, 2023 | Airkewld HQ | Transaxle & Brakes Combo

Just got done building a #PRObuilt Performance Transaxle for a 1956 Classic Volkswagen Beetle and we installed a set of GEN 2 BAD Series Disc Brakes in a Porsche 5x130mm bolt pattern. Very cool and unique addition to the GEN 2 brakes is the cap that hides the axle nut, I love it. The PRO's paint matched the calipers in Wilwood Red and expertly installed them for the bolt-in install. The PRO's palletized the transaxle and protected the entire product to avoid damage in transit by our friends at R&L Carriers.

Special Features

PRObuilt Performance Transaxle - https://www.airkewld.com/PRObuilt-Transaxle-Performance-Short-Axle-2310-p/2310.htm - $3275.25

The BEST way to enjoy the shifting experience at a high performance level (not racing) and low RPM's at higher speeds in a 1949 through 1965 Classic Volkswagen Type 1 Beetle and Karmann Ghia is with a PRObuilt Performance Transaxle equipped with *OEM sized Short Axle/Short Spline Axles (SASS). *(It can fit others, see the Complete Details section for more information).

This transaxle is Perfect for a Performance application. Key features of this transaxle are 3.88 Ring and Pinion, overdrive 4th, along with new synchros, bearings and seals in a rebuilt SASS 12 volt platform. It comes with welded gears, steel shift forks, super diff and heavy duty side plate. All transaxles that come from the PRO's are 12 volt and do not come with OIL. The PRO's recommend this oil from LAT or this on Amazon. You will need 3.5 quarts normally. No Core is Needed.

The PRO's offer a few different transaxle's with different axle lengths. This allows us to fit wheels with different offsets onto cars where as they wouldn't normally fit. So it is recommended you pick out your wheels first, run it by the PRO's to see what axle length makes sense, then choose a Cruiser application, (Freeway Flyer) or Performance application (not racing but more aggressive driving).

GEN 2 BAD Series Rear Disc Brake Conversion - https://www.airkewld.com/Classic-VW-Rear-Disc-Brake-Kit-4700G2-p/4700g2.htm - $1853.92 (options selected)

We take for granted a vehicle stopping in an adequate amount of time. Classic Volkswagens don't have brakes that can be counted on, time after time, at least not on today's highways when needed most. It's time to change that. It's time to install an American-Made disc brake kit that exceeds expectations every time. It's time for a set of BAD Series Disc Brakes from your friends at Airkewld. The GEN 2 set of BAD Series Brakes brings new life to a tried and true disc brake conversion. Any conversion offered by the PRO's will come with all the necessary parts to install; you will only need to supply the brake fluid and furnish the lug nuts required to fit your actual wheels.

Installation of Brakes on the transaxle - https://www.airkewld.com/Install-Brakes-on-Transaxle-9827-p/9827.htm $185.00 (including necessary parts)

Total shipped to an R&L Terminal near you (Lower 48 States) ( https://www.airkewld.com/article-a/342.htm ) for pick up, $5300+

Save some moolah with coupon code AKArmy when checking out as well. Due to a high volume of orders, 12-14 weeks is standard turnaround for this.

I am AirkewldArmy

Coming together in a community of like minded enthusiasts who have a passion for the Classic Volkswagen and learning how to build them the right way with education, candor, and safety in mind. Together…., we are the AirkewldArmy.

[riflebrass]

The last time I went to Jiffy Lube the tech there told me I had to change my diff fluid immediately. I forget how much it was going to cost but I didn't have the money for it. The guy said "Yeah if I had a Ford I wouldn't sink any money into it either I'd just run it until it died." I told the guy to fuck his own mother and never went back. Next oil change I went to some other place. Dude said my fluid was a little dirty but not bad so I don't need to worry about it just yet if I couldn't afford it just yet.