#holes with PU foam

[cosplaytutorial]

Ulala from space channel 5, her classic white crop top and skirt outfit? I’m new to sewing and idk how I should do it

Hello there!

This is a very timely ask because I've been off and on considering remaking my own Ulala cosplay (RIP to the one that I wore so much the fabric disintegrated) and might finally do it.

My first piece of advice is: this costume is somewhat advanced just because of the materials involved, but if you don't mind using different materials, it's not TOO bad.

I'll start with the shapes and types of patterns you should look for, because thankfully the shapes of this are easy. The top should have princess seams, likely armhole princess seams. This will get you that tightly fitted look over the bust, and you can take in the side seams and the princess seams just under the bust for a tighter underbust fit. The collar is probably a quarter or half circle -- mess with shapes on paper scale mockups until you get one that looks right.

The skirt looks like a half circle to me, but again, play around with paper patterns to get the right shape. Use a circle skirt calculator to get the measurements you need for the skirt and for your collar. (Be sure to use the waist measurement where the skirt sits, not your true waist!) These are used by taking a string or measuring tape and drawing a circle using the radius it tells you -- the waist radius is the inside of the donut and the full radius is the full length.

I'd recommend getting a pattern for gloves that have finger gussets, and basting the gussets in by hand before machine sewing. Since you're doing the white version, you can probably purchase boots rather than making bootcovers, and use a paint like Angelus leather paint for the platform.

The 5 logo can be painted on with fabric paint or ironed on with HTV. If you don't have an HTV cutter, you can do it by hand or find a friend with a die cutting machine (Cricut, etc.) to do it. If you choose to stencil, I'd recommend the freezer paper method.

Fabric is the hard part.

The way the costume is drawn makes it look like shiny PVC vinyl type fabric. This fabric is what makes it a bit advanced -- vinyl type fabrics (I'm including shiny, smooth stretch pleathers here that have the same look even if they're PU or a material other than vinyl) require some different techniques -- but switching the fabric to something less perfect for the look but easier to sew would greatly help. A shiny spandex would work if you added structure to the skirt, but you may find it difficult to sew.

I'd go with a slightly shiny but still structured woven material for a beginner sewist. A bottomweight cotton sateen would work quite well. If you don't mind something a bit more slippery but that is shinier, I'd go with a peu de soie (a type of heavy satin).

If you choose PVC, I'd personally go with something more structured than a thin stretch one, but not TOO thick because of the gloves. Order swatches when ordering online. The official costumes from the promo events when the game came out seem to be made of a similar material. (Look at those for reference!) If you go with PVC, you need to use a teflon foot or a walking foot for your sewing machine, otherwise the fabric will stick, and you need to be VERY careful about sewing and pinning because needle and pin holes will not close back up like with most fabric. I'd invest in some cheap sewing clips.

Regardless, the skirt and collar will need some added structure -- I'm looking at using fusible foam (like Pellon Flex Foam) for mine, as I just did a cosplay with fusible foam in the skirt and the shape was great. Just make sure you test it ahead of time to be sure it plays nicely with your chosen fabric.

I hope that helps! Good luck :]

—Fabrickind / Q&A Staff / Twitter

[because-she-goes]

bare boned

warnings: swearing, enemies to lovers, banter. Enjoy!

The coffeeshop quietly buzzed as she sipped her iced peppermint tea. Servers collecting delicate plates, people typing in their computers, teenagers whispering over their oatmilk-chai cold foam lattes about who was going out with who, and ofcourse the various hipsters who were simply looking at pages of Ralph Waldo Emerson as opposed to actually ingesting the beautiful literature.

Rooney exhaled, blowing her auburn bangs out of her face, and checked her watch sharply. 15 minutes late and counting. Typical rockstar fucking asshole. Some golden-rust leaves blew in from the breeze of someone entering the coffeehouse.

“Sorry, love. Couldn’t decide what outfit made me look more pretentious - figured if I am going to be interviewed for NME to may as well look the part, yeah?” Gray curls and cigarette smoke was the first thing she noticed. Then the deep, Manchester soaked voice, then came the eyes. Fuck, his eyes - chocolate brown and ocean deep.

She cleared her throat and reached out a manicured hand, “Matty, is it?” Voice silky smooth, an equally Northern accent noticeable by anyone within feet of her.

“Yes, and you’d be Rooney Atkinson if I’m not mistaken.” He shook her hand, eyes piercing her blue ones.

“In the flesh. Now, take a seat I don’t have all day, Rockstar.”

“Yes, Ma’am”

“Don’t call me that, I’m not my mother. Just call me Ms. Atkinson.”

“Deal!” His hands flew up in surrender. She looked at her yellow legal pad filled with pre-set questions… all ones he’s been asked millions of times and answerable with a google. Luckily, she’s a good reporter and had watched everything there was about him.

“So, can you enlighten me as to how you landed yourself in America, specifically New York, for this album? Jack Antanoff can travel to any studio in the world and produce the album from Zoom. You guys have made records in the UK and LA before so why New York?”

“Well, for my own self I wanted to make something unique - outside of where we had gone before. We went to the english countryside for our previous album Notes on a Con-“

“Yes, I’ve listened to it. And I’ve heard this answer before I believe, so please… an original answer, not something you’ve recycled and said hundreds of times. I’ll give you the time to think further.”

A silence falls. He takes a drag of his cigarette and leans back into his chair, wiping a hand over his face in thought. Gold cartier love bracelet, rumpled gray trench coat slung over the back of his chair, dark green button up with a hole in the collar, pressed black striped slacks she lists off in her head - fashionable and casual she internally compliments. She adjusts her posture, back straightening and shoulders squaring. Her black sweater, cream scarf and adorning necklaces complimenting the color of her not-quite-maroon hair wonderfully. He takes a quick once over at her and mentally notes how her chest rises and falls with each breath. A sideways smirk falls on his lips, she clocks the cocky “bet i could shag her” attitude a mile off.

“I thought you were in a hurry… Rooney” He dares, dark eyes piercing her - she shivers in her seat and shakes her head to knock herself back into reality. “And if you must know, I was going to move to the city after the pandemic… I looked at apartments with a girl. Fell even more in love with the city after that broke apart so figured if I was already there - why not have George join me for a bit. Adam and Ross could fly there to record their bits when the lyrical shit was done.” She jots the answer down and takes a sip of the tea that had left a pool of condensation on the table near her. This was gonna be a long day, she texted her assistant and asked to cancel her appointments for the afternoon.

“Not anymore, hot shot. Keep talking.” She practically spit back at him.

“About myself? I’d love nothing more.” He fucking winks. Fuck him.

Matty was running late, he pulled a hand anxiously through his hair. Fuck, where was this coffee spot? There were a million in London that all looked identical. He stumbles upon a sign that reads “Rise Up” with a little sunrise cartoon and mug of coffee. Finally, he yanks the heavy door open, golden leaves spin around his ankles. Autumn in London is something unlike anything else in the world. His favorite season: the season of socks with sandals, scented candles and knit sweaters. He breezes in and the smell of roasted coffee beans hits his nose like a tidal wave, looking around like a lost puppy for the redhead Jamie had mentioned. What magazine was this for again? Rolling Stone? Pitchfork? No, it was NME wasn’t it? And her name fuck what was her name… “Rooney Atkinson” he remembers reading on an email.

Like he manifests her into existence at the mere thought of her name, he sees the ginger checking a watch. Oh he’s fucked, he thinks. Both for being late and because she is simply ethereal looking. It was as Persephone herself had come down and landed on Earth to inspect her mother’s harvest. God, he runs another hand through his curls.

He walks up to her and quickly apologizes for the tardiness - like a schoolboy walking in late to homeroom. He feels her eyes rake over him, he smirks. They exchange introductions and remarks - she makes a comment about not being her mother.

He hears her equally northern accent ask him a question he knows he has answered at least 1000 times in this promotional cycle. He offers the staple answer in response, but hears her voice interrupt him halfway through his shpeel. He lights a cigarette and makes a point of looking extra handsome while taking a drag of it. He, once again, notices her eyes glazing over him and admiring his outfit. Matty takes the opportunity of her eyes being averted to scan over her - the sweater and scarf combination contrasting against her burgundy hair. He smiles at her fashion sense and how she looks so comfortable and warm in the tad-bit oversized long sleeve .

Remembering the interruption, he gives the real answer to the question - the answer he’s been hiding from the press for ages out of respect to his ex-girlfriend. Once he’s finished he recalls her saying she had other places to be… he double checks and the point is shot down immediately.

As if he was imagining her saying that, she brushes it off without giving him a minute to deny her earlier plans. The singer is asked to keep talking… he thinks of a comment that might fit will in her article and in with his whole Truman Black persona and throws in a dashing wink. He sees her visibly shudder. Fuck him, he’s a goner, but he knew that the minute he layed his eyes on her.

[adhesives122]

Gap filler Foam

Pu foam spray sealant find application in the case of Construction/ industrial demand and also within and around your homes. So we thought, why not list out some of the ways you can use it around the house? So this article will now list out some of the ways to apply gap filler foam that you may have never thought.

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Securing fragile compenents in a Box for transportation with gap filling PU foam

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Conclusion

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[acf-lab]

What kind of foam is Aosolite?

Aosolite is an innovative foam material with a unique open cell foaming process that gives it remarkable breathability and antimicrobial properties, which are especially prominent in applications such as shoe insoles. A few of the key benefits of Aosolite are analyzed in detail below:

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As you can see, Aosolite, as an innovative foam material, is particularly suitable for making high-performance insoles and other products that require good breathability and moisture absorption due to its excellent breathability, strong water absorption and anti-odor function. It not only significantly improves the wearer's comfort experience, but also helps to maintain foot health and minimize various discomfort problems caused by prolonged wear.

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[lazilyloudbird]

How to stop the running water in the basement area

How to Turn Off the Water Supply When Utilizing Polyurethane Foam for Waterproofing When dealing with water intrusion, it is essential to control the water flow before applying waterproofing materials like polyurethane foam (PU foam). Here’s the step-by-step process to ensure a successful application: Drilling: Before applying any waterproofing products, drill the necessary holes for the…

[jewelryjuncky]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: New Balance 608 Women White Pink Leather Lace Up Low Top Sneakers Shoe Size 7.

[picasso-app]

Pokemon : Krabby & Kingler

Why define Krabby as a 'River Crab Pokémon' and make its Pokédex entries say that they are most commonly found on beaches, where it burrows in the sand to create a hole to live in? Okay, Krabby is perfectly able to live in freshwater, but that is not the point. One could argue that beaches can be found along lakes and rivers as well, but most people associate a beach with the seashore, so I'm going to assume that the idiots at Game Freak don't have such a different thinking process. Aside from that, Krabby is not an interesting Pokémon in the slightest. The most notable thing to mention about Krabby is that it creates foam from its mouth, which it uses to shroud its body in order to make opponents think it is bigger than it actually is (which I'm sure is the trait of a certain real-life crab, just like its disability to walk sideways when it loses a pincer). Never mind its ability to regenerate its pincers when they get damaged during battles; some real-life crabs - you guessed it - can do the exact same thing.

So what about Krabby's evolution ebravoapk? Well, Kingler's Pokédex entries only underpin my theory that the beaches mentioned in Krabby's entries are actually located at sea because Kingler usually lives along the edge of oceans. So, even though Krabby's classification as the 'River Crab' Pokémon is not strictly incorrect as it can actually be found along the edge of rivers, 'Crab Pokémon' would have sufficed. These kinds of inconsistencies really bug me for some reason. What doesn't bug me is Kingler's flavour. This Pokémon's claws, especially it's larger left one (Kingler's name is actually a portmanteau of two crab species, namely the king crab and the fiddler crab, the latter of which actually has a larger left pincher), can pinch with a crushing strength of 10,000 horsepower and are even able to pry open Shellder and Cloisters diamond-hard shells. The most interesting thing is that Kingler's left pincher is a hindrance as well: it is so large and heavy that Kingler can barely lift it, it causes balancing and aiming issues, and it causes Kingler to become fatigued quickly from continuous use.

Fortunately, this claw doesn't get in the way in competitive play. Well, except when you say that its claw actually makes Kingler slow, but its base 75 speed is not that bad; plus, there are Pokémon that are much slower than Kingler, so this is hardly a valid argument. Even though a Scarved, Jolly-natured Kingler might be an option within the Smogon tier it resides in (the unofficial PU tier), this comes at the expense of some of Kingler's strengths. Its magnificent base 130 attack stat allows it to hit HARD, so might as well make the most of it by running an Adamant Kingler with a Life Orb, the Hyper Cutter ability (prevents the opponent from lowering its attack somehow) and the moves Agility and Swords Dance. Agility raises Kingler's speed by two stages, while Swords Dance does the same with its attack stat and Knock Off and Crabhammer (the strongest physical water-type move in the games, which can only be learned by the Krabby, Corphish and Clauncher lines) provide for excellent type coverage. Superpower might also be an option, should you want some more type of coverage, but be cautious, as this move lowers Kingler's attack and defence stats and those are undoubtedly its best stats.

Kingler is blessed with three outstanding abilities, but as mentioned previously, Hyper Cutter is the best one. Shell Armor prevents it from getting critical hits, but its low special defense and HP might make it useless, and Sheer Force removes additional effects of certain moves in exchange for a little more power, but the only good physical move Kingler learns that benefits from that is Rock Slide, which it isn't gonna use anyway. Well, at least not in the competitive scene.

More fan art of Kingler. And here's the thing: I actually like Kingler's strength, design and flavour and I would love to use it in a playthrough once. Should that happen, a Sheer Force Kingler with Swords Dance, Crabhammer, X-Scissor and Rock Slide might be a good option, considering that Kingler probably won't outspeed half of the Pokémon it encounters and thus won't make opponents flinch all that often. Sheer Force is Kingler's hidden ability, however, so it might be a difficult task to get one with that ability, but even without it, Kingler makes for an excellent Pokémon that hopefully won't disappoint me. For now, I'll give Kingler 4.5 stars, but who knows how much I'll like it in the future after using it once. Who knows...

[anantradingpvtltd]

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[proofingwatersg]

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Remediation and consolidation of the soil Subsidence issues may be addressed by increasing the Soil's mechanical qualities, which can be done by grouting.

Open Soil may be impregnated with bentonite and cement grout. The process of grouting cracks in a rock formation is usually carried out sequentially from the top down.

Filling up holes to prevent further subsidence, sinking, or depressions caused by surface deformation

Grouting using a tube-and-manchette to strengthen the underpinnings and foundations of bridges against lifting (the tube-a-manchette is first sealed in place, followed by grouting via a double-packer located over discreetly positioned valves within the tube-a-manchette)

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[joontier]

Subliminal in Scrubs | V1; report iv 

pairings: dr. jeon jungkook x female reader

chapter rating: NC-17 | genre: humor, romance

warnings: swearing

word count: 2.5k

g/n: Send me your thoughts?

[taglist] @nottodayjjk @ditttiii​ @zeharilisharaban​ @btsbunny07​ @turquoiseandplaidinautumn  @aamxxrii @codeinebelle ​

Subliminal in Scrubs (the records) |  navi. | m.list

Your phone blares at exactly 6:45AM, and a memetastic image of Chohee lights up your phone screen as you’re brushing your teeth. When you swipe to answer the call, you don’t even manage to get a word in when Chohee chatters you out of your sleep-deprived soul.  

“Just as practiced, I’m punctual, and you’re late.”  

Garbling out a reply about how it’s still five minutes prior to your agreed time, you tap your toothbrush loudly against the sink, likewise spitting out the foam from your mouth. “Fine, just hurry because I’m starving!”  

Being the gold-hearted person that she is (although that fact is not known to the public), your best friend had offered you a ride to the building where you’re scheduled to take the Korean Medical Licensure Examination today.  

The moment you settle yourself on the passenger seat, she greets you with a cheery “Good morning!” - one that was too cheery this early in the morning, and all the more way too cheery for a certain Kim Chohee. The two of you share a look and you lean in for a hug. “Hey, we’ll do just fine, okay? We’ve been studying our asses for this.”  

You don’t let go at once, looking up at her with a kissy face. She pushes your head backwards with a disgusted expression, keeping your face at an arm’s length. With an unattractive snort, you lean back in your seat, laughing your ass off at your poor attempt to lighten the mood.  

“Seriously, _______, I know you’ve been lusting after me for years even when you’re well aware of my ‘strictly beef’ diet,” Chohee states, dusting your imaginary germs off her shoulder. Turning on her Benz’s engine, she checks her reflection on the rear-view mirror before driving off.  

With both your hands occupied with the sandwiches you’d ordered from Subway, you use your pinky to connect your phone to play some Mozart via bluetooth. You try not to talk much about the test, knowing it will only cause unnecessary anxiety on both your ends.  

As Chohee leans towards you, you tilt her sandwich in her direction, letting her take a bite from her sub. “Hey, what’s an abscess again?”  

“Isn’t that more commonly known as boils? Built up pus within or below the surface of the skin?”  

Kim Chohee chokes on her BLT.  

“Pus?” she repeats, swallowing her bite with great strain. “Seriously? While I’m eating a sandwich? Couldn’t you be more subtle perhaps?”  

Equally just as surprised as she was, you narrow your eyes at her. “We’ve been studying medicine for the last six years! It shouldn’t be a surprise by now...and besides, we’ve heard and see a lot worse too...Would you rather have me say purulent exudate then? And waste my precious saliva on a six-syllable word rather than the common term for a liquid form of inflamm-”  

“Okay!” Chohee throws an arm up in defeat. “Sheesh _______! Don’t I deserve at least some gratitude for driving you to our exams?”  

“Plus we’ve already seen a cadaver too, which was supposedly one of the peaks of our med-student lives! What’s all this hype about some viscous mass on the surface of the skin?”  

Your best friend peeks at you from her peripheral vision, absolutely mortified. You love it.  

“Can you please remind me how we became friends in the first place?” Chohee shakes her head and increases the volume of the player as the droplets of rain start pouring down the windshield. “Anyways – I was meaning to ask the histological meaning of it.”    

“Oh, right,” you nod, recalling your notes, “well, it’s a localized collection of neutrophils and necrotic debris. Basically, it’s a suppurative inflammation which is associated with pyogenic bacteria and characterized by edema fluid admixed with neutrophils and necrotic cells. Staphylococcus aureus usually produces abscesses because it’s coagulase positive and coagulase helps the production of fibrinous material that localizes the infection.”  

As soon as you finish, silence takes over the car, and suddenly, a sniffle comes from Chohee’s side. With a matching frown, you best friend looks at you with shiny eyes. “Oh _______, what would I do without you?”  

With still half an hour to spare, you decide on relieving your bladder first before all the toilets get occupied later a couple of minutes before the actual exam. You take your time with it, even managing to put some effort in fixing your hair in clipping your fringe back so as not to eliminate all distractions possible during the exam.  

While looking through the large panel windows on your way back from the comfort rooms, you spot a familiar face – the last person you’d want to see on such an important day. Perhaps your prayers weren’t loud enough to actually reach heaven.  

There Jeon Jungkook was at the end of the hall, walking like a newly-canonized saint in all his glory. Most (if not all) of the female onlookers stare at him as he passes by, with Jungkook seemingly unbothered by their unwavering attention. You aren’t one for exaggeration, but these women look like they’re willing to worship the ground he walked on.  

Your nerdy, anti-Jeon Jungkook ass quickly hides beside a nearby locker, not wanting to be ‘graced’ by his presence, just as some girl coined a few moments ago as she headed to the toilets with her friends, collectively gushing over the boy.  

The popular kid turns to his right and you swore you’d never prayed harder and faster than any other time in your life. Your room assignment was just the one by the corner...and if he could just make a few more steps and head straight to the next classroom a-and...nope. It’s official. The universe loved shitting on you.  

Jungkook enters room 132, the very same numbers indicating your room assignment for the licensure exam. You ball up your fists in your spot by the lockers, releasing all your pent-up frustration in the simplest and least violent way possible: a long, tedious exhale.  

Gathering up all your self-control, you re-enter the classroom with an inward grimace, desperate to not have Jungkook’s eyes meet yours. He’s looking for a seat, and with all the back rows already occupied, he’s stuck with picking one from the first two rows.  

He’s already stood near the seat you’ve picked and you bore holes into the back of his head with your fake telepathy, silently ordering him to pick a chair on the other side of the aisle instead.  

Just as you had not wished for, Jungkook plops his huge ass backpack on the chair next to yours. You tread back to your seat as discreetly as possible, avoiding his gaze at all times as he rummages through his military backpack. What the fuck is in that thing in the first place? You won't be surprised if he manages to pull out a whole microwave inside – and yet funnily enough, he can’t seem to own a single damn pencil.  

As you were minding your own businesses (hopefully it stays that way for the rest of eternity), you catch the other students discussing surgical cases last minute.  

“Hey, which artery is the one for transection for an epidural hematoma?”  

“Was this the kid that got hit by a fastball in the head?”  

“What happened?”  

“Poor boy got hit in the temporal area during a baseball tournament. Remained conscious during the rest of the day but during the same evening he gets a severe headache with vomiting and confusion. When they got to Severance he got scheduled for immediate surgery for epidural hematoma.”

“That sounds awful…”  

“I’m not sure which artery it was again though…”

If that were the case...then it’d be the transection of a branch of the middle meningeal artery...but then you wouldn’t want to answer that out of the blue and get mistaken for being too snoopy…

Instead, you reach for the bottle of water by the legs of your chair, likewise hearing the same answer coming out of Jungkook’s mouth in a whisper. Huh. You raise a brow. Well, there was a major chance he knew the case since he came from Yonsei too, just as you had speculated from some of your roommates who seemed like they came from the same school after mentioning Severance Hospital.  

The group continue discussing their answers when this girl, who had an obnoxiously unnatural high-pitched voice, approaches Jungkook.  

“Jungkook-oppa?”  

Oppa? OPPA?!

You wanted to throw up. This girl looked at least two-three years older than him. At the least. Guess Jeon was really more of a fuckboy than Chohee would ever admit. “We were just discussing something and we’re really unsure of our answers, maybe a smart oppa like you would know?”  

With as much discretion as you could muster, you adjust in your seat, leaning a little bit towards their conversation as you eavesdrop like the nosy person that you are.  

“The surgery was a transection of the meningeal artery,” says Jeon nonchalantly like it’s the most basic thing in the world, still scrolling through his phone. Silence ensues after that. That’s it?! He’s not even going to bother explaining-  

Jungkook exhales as he puts his phone down. “Epidural hemorrhages result from a rupture of one of the meningeal arteries, as these arteries supply the dura and run between the dura and the skull. Plus you said temporal area right?” he asks, facing one of the guys.  

“The artery involved is usually the middle meningeal artery - a branch of the maxillary artery, as the skull fracture is usually in the temporal area. Since the bleeding is of arterial origin, symptoms are rapid in onset even though he seemed normal for a few hours. If they didn’t bring him to the hospital that same evening, he could’ve had tentorial herniation and would have eventually died.”  

As much as you hate to admit it - you’re beyond impressed. Chohee always stays true to her word, but it doesn’t change the fact that he was still a jerk for clearly cutting the line at the subway.  

The girls coo over him, praising him over how cool he looked by explaining his answer. Jungkook settles back on his seat like he hadn’t just perfectly given an on-point pathological explanation for a neuro case.  

The group continues their review, until they’ve come to another question they’re unsure of. “Jungkook-ssi, would you know where the rupture of a berry aneurysm of the Circle of Willis would likely produce hemorrhage?”  

With only ten minutes left, you’d usually be preparing yourself mentally but this group and Jungkook’s intervention has you all ears once more. Nothing wrong with some last minute review, right?  

“It’s the subdural space.”  

Wow. Okay, quick and close but wrong. Impressive wit though.  

You open your mouth to say something but you hesitate as it dawns on you that you really aren’t part of this group and you’re not the one being asked. Jungkook not missing a beat gets a collective ‘ooh’ from the group, who’s clearly impressed at how quickly he’s answered the question.  

Meanwhile, your conscience is making you contemplate on your earlier hesitation with the voice of the angel on your right shoulder telling you it isn’t right to let the wrong answer pass just like that, especially on a day like this. The devil on your left, however, tells you otherwise. You go with the former.  

Amongst their murmurs of mutual praise for Jungkook (you bet this man is rejoicing inside with all the attention he’s getting, despite looking nonchalant), you take a deep breath and say the correct answer, voice coming out louder than expected.  

“Excuse me?” another ‘spectator’ says, jutting her chin towards you.  

“I said,” you look up at her, “it’s actually the subarachnoid space.”  

“Are you sure?” she retorts.  

Seriously? Just because you’re not some fuckboy jock who smolders at all boobed humans means you can’t be sure with your answer?  

“Hey! I know you!” Someone exclaims from the side, causing everyone to turn their heads toward him, “You’re the foreigner valedictorian at SNU!” Similar to their earlier praises directed towards Jungkook, the same dudes marvel at your most recent accomplishment. You give a shy smile in return, quietly thanking the stranger for the sudden confidence boost.  

“Jungkook-oppa is also the valedictorian at Yonsei.”  

Well, that didn’t last for long...somebody has always got to rain on your parade. You won’t allow this girl though, not today.  

You purse your lips, collecting your thoughts first before explaining it to them. “Subarachnoid hemorrhages, although they are much less common than hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhages, but the former are...more often than not...resultant of a rupture of a berry aneurysm.” You pause momentarily when someone drags his seat closer to yours, “Go on please.”  

“Right, um...berry aneurysms are most commonly found at the Circle of Willis, usually by the junction of the communicating artery and the cerebral artery. Chances of rupture increase with age and cause marked bleeding into the subarachnoid space and produces severe headaches.” The same dude earlier blinks at you, urging you to explain further, “uh...additional symptoms may include vomiting, pain, stiffness of the neck, and papilledema. Death may follow rapidly as well.”  

A few from the people gathered around your seat clap their hands, along with compliments and offers along the lines of marriage and organ swaps.  

Someone mentions seeing the proctor approach the room and the group immediately disperses, everyone rushing back to their seats as quickly as possible. A middle-aged man enters, tells everyone to bring out their pencils and place their stuff by the platform, then momentarily leaves for the restroom.  

Jungkook fishes through his bag, turning each pocket inside and out over and over again. There’s no way this kid actually-- “Shit, where did that pencil go?” he murmurs, going through his bag once more. Looking away, you bite your lip to stop yourself from snickering. Jeon Jungkook is definitely on a different level.  

As expected, your entertaining seatmate calls you and asks for a pencil. With a deceivingly enthusiastic nod, you retrieve a pencil from your case just beside your chair. Your life after meeting Jungkook at the subway had finally led to this moment. He clears his throat and you figure it’s signaling the coming of another obnoxious comment.  

“Oh, I’m sorry, this wasn’t meant for you,” you look at him with the most apologetic look you can muster. Then you look at him, down then up, just as he had done back in the library, you smile widely before winking at him, making him hand your extra pencil over to the guy sat next to him, “Thanks, babe.”  

Jungkook scowls hard and you rejoice inside your head, making sure that your face doesn’t register the slightest bit of jest. His  scowl however, does not last for long. “Hmm, you’re the girl from the library, right? Smart and feisty...maybe you are my type after all,” he murmurs, tongue poking his cheek. You scoff loudly, scrunching your face in disgust. “No thank you.”  

“Oppa,” the girl’s shrill voice calls him one more time and you face forward to freely roll your eyes. If you aren’t mistaken, there’s even a hint of mild annoyance on Jungkook’s features. “Don’t mind her, oppa. You can have my extra pencil instead.” She tsks. “Some people just don’t know when to quit.”  

At least she got something right this morning: you don’t know when to quit. 

© joontier 2021

[arcticdementor]

I have to begin this column by admitting that “Biden” (note: when in quotation marks, I refer to the “collective Biden”, not the clearly senile man) surprised me: it appears that my personal rule-of-thumb about US Presidents (each one is even worse than his predecessor) might not necessarily apply in “Biden’s” case. That is not to say that “Biden” won’t end up proving my rule of thumb as still applicable, just that what I am seeing right now is not what I feared or expected.

…

I think that both of these grossly oversimplify a probably much more complex and nuanced reality. In other words, “Biden” surprised many, if not most, Russians. That is very interesting by itself (neither Bush, nor Obama nor Trump ever surprised the Russians – who knew the score about all of them – in any meaningful way).

My strictly personal guess is that there is some very serious infighting currently taking place inside the US ruling class. Furthermore, that serious infighting is not about core principles or even strategy – it is a dispute over tactics only.

We have to keep in mind an old truism about outcomes: John F. Kennedy once said that “victory has a hundred fathers, but defeat is an orphan” and he was right. When any group seizes power and effectively controls its interests, all is well, and everybody is busy consuming the proverbial milk and honey. But when this group suffers a series of humiliating defeats, a typical cascade of events begins:

Finger pointing: everybody blames everybody else (but never himself/herself)

Hindsight wisdom: “if I had been in charge, this would not have happened!”

Infighting over quickly shrinking spoils of war

A collapse of the centralized center of authority/decision-making centers

Generation of subgroups, fighting each other over their sub-interests

In other words, following many years of extremely weak presidential administrations (since Clinton, imho), it is hardly a surprise that infighting would take place (in both parties, by the way). In fact, an apparently chaotic set of uncoordinated, or even contradictory, policies is what one should expect. And that is exactly what we have been observing since 1993 and this dynamic has been getting worse and worse with each passing year).

…

That being said, there are some observations which might be helpful when trying to at least (indirectly) identify who are the main groups fighting each other.

The hardcore, really nutty, russophobes are still here, especially in the US media which seems to be serving not so much “Biden” as much as some “crazies in the basement” kind of cabal. Next to the legacy ziomedia, there is an increasing number of US/NATO/UK military officials who are foaming at the mouth with threats, warnings, complaints and insults, all against Putin and Russia. This is important because:

The “Zone A” media has comprehensively and very effectively concealed the very real risks of war with Russia, China and Iran. And if this was mentioned, the presstitutes always stressed that the US has the “best military in the history of the galaxy” and that Uncle Sam will “kickass” anybody he chooses to. If the people of the USA were informed of the truth of the matter, they would freak out and demand that this path to war be immediately abandoned and replaced with a meaningful dialog.

US/NATO/UK authorities have talked themselves into a corner where they have only two outcomes left: they can do what the US always does, that is to “declare victory and leave”, or they can force Russia to protect her borders on land, air and sea and, thereby, face a major military humiliation delivered by Russia.

Truth be told, during the recent naval exercises UK and US officials made a lot of threats and promises to ignore Russian warnings, but in the end, they quietly packed and left. Smart choice, but it must have been painfully humiliating for them, which is very dangerous by itself.

…

There will be many more NATO exercises in the Black Sea in the future. Ditto for USN operations off the Chinese, Iranian or DPRK coasts. This (always explosive) combo of ignorance, arrogance and incompetence could result in a major war.

LAnother option is the terminally delusional UK government (supported by those Brits who still have phantom pains about their lost empire and, of course, by the largely irrelevant 3B+PU gang) might do something really stupid (say, like this) and trigger a war with the DPRK, Russia, China or Iran and then the US would have to move to defend/save a British Navy which is mostly a joke (at least by Russian or Chinese standards). The main problem here being that the USN is also in a terrible shape and cannot compete against Russian and Chinese standoff weapons (I mean that literally, there are currently no defenses against maneuvering hypersonic missiles! The only exception would be the Russian S-500). The latter two nations, by the way, have joined into an informal and unofficial military alliance for many years already; check out this article and video or this one for a recent update).

But opposite, de-escalatory developments are also taking place. First and foremost, “Biden” seemed to have “farmed out” the “Ukrainian dossier” to the Germans and washed Uncle Shmuel’s hands from it. If so, that was a very slick and smart move (which is something we have not witnessed from any administration in decades!). I highly recommend this translation of a most interesting article by arguably the best Ukraine specialist out there, Rostislav Ishchenko.

Ishchenko goes into a lot of interesting details and explains what “Biden” apparently just did. Frankly, the Germans richly deserve this full-spectrum mess and they will be dealing with the consequences of this disaster for a long time, possibly decades. In fact, the Germans are stuck: they want to be the Big European Leader? Let them. After all, the EU politicians, led by Germany, did all they could to create what is now often called “country 404” – a black hole in the heart of the European continent. Germany is the biggest economic power of the EU? Good, then let the Germans (and the rest of the EU) pay for the eventual reconstruction of the Ukraine (or of the successor-states resulting from the breakup of the country)! Russia simply cannot foot that bill, China most definitely won’t (especially after being cheated several times by the Ukies) and the USA has absolutely no reasons whatsoever to do so. I would even argue that chaos (social, economic, political, cultural. etc.) in Europe is probably seen by the US ruling class as highly desirable since it 1) weakens the EU as a competitor 2) justifies, however hypocritically and mistakenly, a “strong US presence” in Europe and 3) gives NATO a reason (however mistaken, misguided and even immoral) to exist

The US is protected from the fallout (immigrants, violence, extremism, etc.) of the Ukrainian disaster by distance, the Atlantic, a much stronger military (at least compared to anybody else in NATO). The US can print money in any way it wants and has no interests whatsoever in the (dying) Ukraine. If Ishchenko is right, and I agree with him, then there is somebody (possibly a group of somebodies) who is a lot smarter than anybody in the Trump Admin and who figured out that the Nazi-occuppied Ukraine should be an German/EU problem, not one for the US.

There is, of course, also the pessimistic analysis: the US is on the retreat everywhere, but only for the following reasons:

Regroup, reorganize, buy time to develop some kind of coherent strategy

Focus on each adversary separately and prioritize (divide et impera at least!)

Re-analyze, re-plan, re-design, re-develop, re-train, re-equip and re-test pretty much everything in the US armed forces (which have not been shaped by any rational force planning in decades)

Those who believe the strategic retreat theory (I am not personally discounting this version, but I do not see enough evidence – yet – to endorse it either) typically add that “the US only left Afghanistan to hand it over to the Taliban/al-Qaeda and unleash them against “soft underbelly of Russia”. Now, that is utter nonsense, if only because Russia does not have a common border with Afghanistan.

…

Coming back to “Biden’s” great retreat: if “Biden” is smart enough to hang the Ukraine on Germany, “he” is probably too smart to predicate the US foreign policy towards Russia predicated around the “soft underbelly” thingie. As for all the “fire and brimstone” threats of war against Russia, they are not impressing anybody as the Russians, the Chinese and the Iranians know that a confident and powerful country does not need to threaten anybody, if only because the actual capabilities of these country are a very telling “threat” by themselves. But when a former superpower is weak, confused and frightened, it will make many roaring statements about how it can defeat the entire planet if needed (after all, the US military is “the best military in the history of the galaxy”! If you doubt that, just listen to Toby Keith!). In other words, while in the West threats are an instrument of foreign policy, in Russia, and in the rest of Asia, they are inevitably seen as a sign of weakness, doubts and even fear.

Then there seems to be a long list of weapons systems, procurement plans and “defense” monies which have been pulled back, including the (truly awful) LCS and F-35. While it is true that the US is gradually phasing out fantastically expensive weapons systems and platforms which were also more or less useless, this show the ability to at least admit that all that talk about super-dooper US superweapons was just that, talk, and that in reality the US MIC is incapable of producing the kind of superb high quality systems which it used to produce in large quantities in the past (Arleigh Burke, F-15, Jumbo 747, the Willys Jeep, F-16, A-10, Los Angeles SSN, KH satellites, etc.). This is why the F-15X is designed to “augment” the F-35 feet (by itself a very smart move!).

Such an admission, even if indirect and only logically implied, might show a level of maturity, or courage, by “Biden” which his predecessors did not have.

Could it be that the folks at the Pentagon, who do know the reality of the situation (see here for a very good Moon of Alabama article about this), figured out that Clinton, Bush, Obama and Trump vastly over extended the Empire and now they need to regroup and “re-everything” to achieve a more sustainable “defense” posture?

Could it be that “Biden” will deliver what Trump promised, i.e. to end the useless (and unwinnable!) wars, stop caring too much about the agonizing EU, silently accept that Russia has no intentions (and no need!) whatsoever to attack anyone and focus on the biggest non-military threat out there: China. Maybe.

As far as I know, many (all?) simulations – by RAND and the US military – and command staff exercises have shown that the US would lose badly to both Russia or China. Could it be that “Biden” wants to put Russia and China on the backburner and “deal” with Iran first? The latest news on the US/Israel vs Iran front is not good, to say the least.

…

So what are we left with?

Frankly, I am not sure.

I think that there is very strong, even if only indirect, evidence which there is some very serious in-fighting taking place in the “Biden” administration and there is also strong, but also indirect, evidence that the military posture of the United States is undergoing what might end up being a major overhaul of the US armed forces.

If true, and that is a big “if”, this is neither good news nor bad news.

But this might be big news.

Why?

Because, objectively, the current US retreat on most fronts might be the “soft landing” (transition from Empire to “normal” country) many Trump voters were hoping for. Or it might not. If it is not, this might be a chaos-induced retreat, indicating that the US state is crumbling and has to urgently “simplify” things to try to survive, thereby generating a lot of factional infighting (at least one Russian observer specialized in “US studies”, Dmitrii Drobnitskii, believes to be the case: see the original article here, and its machine translation here). Finally, the state of decay of the US state might already be so advanced that we can consider it as profoundly dysfunctional and basically collapsing/collapsed. The first option (soft landing) is unlikely, yet highly desirable. The second option (chaos-induced retreat) is more likely, but much less desirable as it is only a single step back to then make several steps forward again. The last option (profoundly dysfunctional and basically collapsing/collapsed) is, alas, the most likely, and it is also, by far, the most perilous one.

For one thing, options #2 and #3 will make US actions very unpredictable and, therefore, potentially extremely dangerous. Unpredictable chaos can also quickly morph into a major war, or even several major ones, so the potential danger here is very real (even if totally unreported in Zone A). This, in turn, means that Russia, China, Iran, the DPRK, Venezuela or Cuba all have to keep their guard up and be ready for anything, even the unthinkable (which is often what total chaos generates).

Right now, the fact that the US has initiated a “great retreat” is undeniable. But the true reasons behind it, and its implications, remain quite obscure, at least to me.

I will conclude by asking you, the readers, for your opinion: do you think that the US is currently in a “contraction phase”? If yes, do you believe that this is a short-term only phenomenon, or will this retreat continue and, if yes, how far?

[ask-de-writer]

MIKHALA : Part 9 of 11 : World of Sea

MIKHALA

Part 9 of 11

by

De Writer (Glen Ten-Eyck)

17191 words

© 2020 by Glen Ten-Eyck

writing begun  2003

All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form, physical, electronic or digital is prohibited without the express consent of the author.

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Copyright fair use rules for Tumblr users

Users of Tumblr.com are specifically granted the following rights.  They may reblog the story provided that all author and copyright information remains intact.  They may use the characters or original characters in my settings for fan fiction, fan art works, cosplay, or fan musical compositions.

All sorts of fan art, cosplay, music or fiction is actively encouraged.

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New to the story? Read from the beginning.  Part 1 is here.

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A shaky hand beat the hailing drum of the Carsis Rising, “We surrender!  We can’t get a white flag up!”

“Surrender accepted!  Furl all sail.  Wait for boarders until we have done with the rest of the Secret Fleet!”

Runners brought welcome news to the Captain and the rest of the catapult crew.  The lance from the Carsis Rising had hit well above the water line and a few compartment bulkheads had been broken.  Damage Control already had the hull tight.  There were three casualties, no fatalities.  No severe damage.

While the Grandalor had been fighting her engagement, the rest of the Secret Fleet began to raise sail in an effort to get away.  They saw the ease with which the Crossover and Carsis Rising were dispatched.  

Ships had been dispatched against the Orca, too.  One was on fire and the other was signaling, “Distress!  Taking water!”

Now, the Secret Fleet discovered sails closing in from east and west as well.  The Grandalor and the Orca were to the south and the now deadly coral of Morgan’s Reef, nearly exposed by the Dragon Tide, was a line of treacherous breakers and foam to the north.  There was no visible escape from the death trap of swirling currents, raging surf and unyielding stone.

Several of the trapped ships raised white flags.  The Ugine and a few others promptly opened fire on them with their War catapults.  One of them fired back at the Ugine, holing her hull at the waterline.  The Ugine tried to flee north, aiming for a narrow safe passage through the reef.

The Ugine was well into the reef passage and looked to be getting away.  Out of the blue, literally, a number of Sea Hawks dove down and struck at the helmsman and any other exposed personnel with claws and beaks.  Deprived of control, the Ugine ran hard aground on the rock of the reef.  With none to keep order, panic developed and people began to abandon ship frantically.  The untended sails caught the wind and dragged the ship over onto her side.  Survivors clung to the capsized hulk of the Secret Fleet’s once proud flagship.

Mikhala, watching the attack, felt a stirring in her heart.  She was unsure how she knew it but the big, dangerous birds had been defending something precious to them. Looking about, she could not see the seaweed mat that would house a rookery.

Seemingly satisfied, the Wide Wings soared away.  Several of them peeled off from the main flock and flew south to perch in their nests in the topmasts of the Grandalor.

Deprived of their leader, the rest of the Secret Fleet now surrendered.  The captured ships were set to the tasks of rescue and salvage first.  Next, they were deprived of sails and held at anchorage while the balance of the Naral fleet was recalled for the first Emergency Gathering in its history.

In the days that followed, in spite of being at the center of the storm, Mikhala was spending every waking moment that she could be spared, down in sickbay.  Kenner Morgan had been on the Damage Control team in the compartment that was holed by the missile from the Carsis Rising.  At first the wounds had seemed slight.  Small fragments of glued Strong Skin had been driven into his arm and chest.  Severe immune reactions were beginning to develop around the alien proteins.

In the background they could overhear Doctor Corin in the next bunk bay expostulating, “Joram, I know that its only a tiny abcess!  It’s not the size that’s important.  It’s where it is.  It’s next to the carotid artery in your neck!  That abscess needs to be drained now!  It can eat through the artery wall and kill you in minutes or less.”

They heard Joram’s mulish, “I feel fine.  The thing only itches a little!  Less than an aero-plankton nibble.  I’ll be fine by tomorrow.  You’ll see!”

Mikhala looked down at Kenner and then up to Kurin.  Fearfully she said, “Joram only has one little boil.  Kenner has maybe a dozen.  If they are so worried about Joram, what are my Kenner’s chances?”

Kurin, who often assisted Doctor Corin, was trying to reassure Mikhala.  “I know that it looks bad. He will likely be on the invalid list for several weeks.  This problem happens in the boat shops fairly often, though rarely with this many splinters.  We should pull him through without much trouble.”

Mikhala looked at Kurin and said softly, “For the love of all Dragons, I hope so.  I’m just so afraid to lose him.  Finding him and this ship are the first good things that ever happened to me.  Don’t let the Dark Dragon take him, please.”

Kenner looked up from his bunk and said weakly, “Don’t fret, Love of Mine.  We stopped the Konning Captain dead in his wake, before he and his minions could do much harm.”

“They’ve hurt you, My Love. They have done too much already.”

While Kenner and Mikhala were speaking, Kurin turned to Doctor Corin and said softly, “I know that we usually just let the body absorb these fragments, Doctor. Perhaps we should drain these abscesses in his chest and see if we can get the shards out.  I think that they are probably larger than the usual shop slivers.  I’m not comfortable with how weak he is.”

Doctor Corin’s response was to check Kenner’s pulse, respiration, eye tracking and pupil response. He nodded gravely and asked, “Kenner, will you let me drain these abscesses?  We need to probe and remove the bits that are causing them.”

Mikhala drew a breath in fear but said, “Please, Love, let them try.  I’m scared that if you don’t, the Orca Whales will sing you to Dark Iren.”

Kenner took her hand and she was frightened by the weakness in his grip.  He said, “If I know one thing, I know that they will do their best for me.  Tell them to do it.”

Kurin had already got out a surgical kit.  She turned to Mikhala and said kindly, “We need you to wait outside while we do this.  We have to have a sterile area. It will take some time to prepare and then the draining and probing will take more time.  Give us an hour and a half, at least.  Go to the mess or up on deck to wait.  We will send for you as soon as we are done.  Tell the Lady that I have asked that you be excused from any duty until Kenner is well.”

They politely shooed Mikhala out and began preparations.  As Kurin had predicted, it was a lengthy procedure.  Things got complicated quickly.  First, one abscess proved to be larger than it appeared.  The sliver was narrow and long.  Removing it was a delicate job because the pus had corroded it into two pieces and the second part was deeply buried.

Another was nearly through the muscle of the chest wall.  Besides the clean pus of the immune response, there was the stench and green goo of an infection.  If it had burst to the lung it would surely have been fatal.  

As each abscess was drained, it needed to be washed clean with precisely diluted Hag venom to anesthetize, wash and sterilize the wound.  They were working carefully on a simple abscess when Mikka, the Doctor’s other assistant, touched his sleeve.

She whispered, “It’s Joram, Doctor.  He doesn’t feel well and a large bulge has developed under his abscess.”

“Dragons eat him!” Doctor Corin swore under his breath.  More clearly, he asked, “Kurin, can you continue with Kenner?”

TO BE CONTINUED

<==PREVIOUS ~ NEXT==>

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[jewelryjuncky]

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