#produce 101 reactions

[baenabi]

Emm... I wanna know what happened to the others performance videos of Produce x 101 "Move" "Pretty Girl" (these are the ones I noticed that aren't there anymore) bc there were two video of those performance and know when you search for them only one appears... Did Mnet deleted them or ???

[soraontop]

SORA TRIVIA

She auditioned at Cre.Ker Entertainment as a joke in 2015 with singing Adele’s Rolling in the Deep and dancing to BTS’ RUN, but was surprised when she was accepted.

Even before Produce 101, she’s always been a popular trainee— especially when her cover of Katy Perry’s Wide Awake went viral in 2014.

She has a Chihuahua named Miso that lives with her friend, the two adopted her in 2018 when they were roommates.

Her favorite idols have always been Lee Hyori, IU, SNSD, and Wonder Girls.

She is a huge Jujutsu Kaisen fan, fans have given her gifts from the show’s merch or handmade gifts.

Her Dark Moon character is named Lua, and she has the ability of invisibility and force-field manipulation.

In 2020, she left Cre.Ker Entertainment due to inconsistent promises on her debut and joined BigHit Entertainment (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon (though, just ‘a friend’ to the public’s knowledge) told her about how they were looking for female trainees for a co-ed survival show.

Her biological mother died in 2005, her brothers are all half-brothers and their mothers have either left or died.

She is not a PDA person at all, but she’s always sleeping with a teddy in her arms. (The boys do get jealous … of an inanimate object.)

She’s allergic to dogs and strawberries. Despite this, she still has a dog and eat strawberries.

Despite her closed off nature, not letting people in, she has a lot of idol friends.

Her hidden talent is that she can tie cherry stems into a knot with her tongue.

She is a brand ambassador for Gentle Monster and a global brand ambassador for Dior.

Old classmates of her have said she was well liked amongst staff and classmates alike, always willing to help with classwork and kind, encouraging words. She was also really easy to get along with.

She loves American artists like Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Sabrina Carpenter, and 5SOS. She has a wide variety of taste in music, she even likes a bit of country.

She’s been a fan of 5SOS since 2013.

She shares a birthday with Jake’s dog, Layla.

She loves space and conspiracy theories.

Her favorite features on herself are her eyes and lips.

She is close with RIIZE’s Seunghan, LE SSERAFIM’s Kazuha and Yunjin, ITZY members, (G)I-DLE’s Soyeon and Shuhua, THE BOYZ members, IVE’s Yujin and Wonyoung, and her former I.O.I. members.

Fans found old photos of Sora and RIIZE’s Seunghan when they were younger and connected the dots, fans even spotting Sora in a hat and mask at RIIZE’s debut showcase. She then later confirmed it on a WeVerse Live.

Along with the entire group’s manager, Wooseok, she has her own female manager, Hyosun, as the company thought would be best for her to have a woman she could go to and not any men.

She was on a swim team when she was younger.

She’s not easily scared by horror films, and enjoys them as long as they make her jump.

She’s the most flexible in the group.

The members she talks to the most from I.O.I. are Somi, Doyeon, Yoojung, and Chungha.

She went to an international school as her father thought it’d be more beneficial for her future.

She made her acting debut in 2010 as Jung Somi in The Man From Nowhere, where won Best New Actress at the 2010 Korean Film Awards for her role. She also played Do Kyunghee, Cha Eunwoo’s character’s sister, in My Gangnam Beauty in 2018.

She loves spicy food but can only eat so much without something to drink.

She has a low alcohol tolerance, the members have to watch her when she’s drinking.

The members compare her to a cat, similar to Jungwon, with how she denies affection and then craves it.

It’s easy to be her friend, but it’s hard to get her to open up.

She finds it funny with how much she has to say an English word in a Korean accent for the others to understand sometimes. She finds it even funnier with Jake’s accent.

She chose Sunoo and Jungwon as the cutest members.

With Engenes, she finds their reaction when she flirts with them funny, but she also loves seeing their reactions when she ‘rejects’ someone (i.e. affection, fans asking her out, etc.) so she picks and choose how she responds to certain things.

After I.O.I. but before ENHYPEN, she had a YouTube channel named Sorabae where she posted make-up videos but the channel has been inactive since 2019.

She can play the piano, but hardly ever plays anymore.

Her persona in front of fans and her actual persona were very different for a while after debut. She didn’t know how to act in front of fans, especially after debuting as the only girl. She slowly started to get more comfortable around fans in the beginning of 2022.

For the majority of her career, including I.O.I., she had a ‘Golden Girl’ image until she gradually changed and allowed herself to let go of things. ENHYPEN have hinted towards this, saying how much she’s opened up to them and more comfortable. She’s also often said how she’s no longer the same girl.

She likes teasing fans more than feeding into delusions, flirting with them and taking it back with a joking snarky comment or saying a comment that had a double meaning and acting as if she had no idea what she said really meant.

She has a small appetite and always ends up giving the rest of her meals to her members.

Her favorite drink is a mocha frappuccino.

Out of everyone, she probably keeps most of her personal life to herself from the fans.

Her favorite dessert is cheesecake.

She prefers fall weather over the summer.

Along with Jay, she cooks the most in the dorm which she doesn’t mind.

She hates waking up early, but she does it to make sure everyone eats.

In an old middle school picture of her on a field trip, Sunoo is seen photobombing behind her with a peace sign.

She knew Heeseung, Jay, and Jungwon before debut as they were all trainees under BigHit.

She was best friends with a fellow trainee and contestant on I-Land, Lim Chaeyeon. The two were both expected to debut in the final line-up until Chaeyeon was eliminated in the last episode, leaving Sora (and Iseul before she left) the only girl(s) in ENHYPEN. This has started rumors of I-Land being rigged, especially with how seemingly neither girls talk anymore.

Both of her upper and lower lobes and her antitragus are pierced, as well as her left industrial and right helix. She plans on getting her right industrial done when her first is finished healing in a few months. She also wants to get her belly button pierced.

She thinks “tattoos are sexy.” (Dark Blood Fancall 230530)

If she wasn’t an idol, she’d probably have a career in the medical field.

reply to join taglist!

[doberbutts]

hey can i ask you a question about this post of yours? (tumblr.com/doberbutts/731905953004437504)

in your response to the weird anon, you linked this al jazeera article/video (aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/19/what-hit-ahli-hospital-in-gaza) and said that it's "saying it probably wasn't intentional and it probably was a missile that originated in Gaza." however, i watched the video recently and it seems to me that what it says at the end was that the claim that it was a gazan misfire was false. am i just misinterpreting it?

(to be clear, im only talking about the first paragraph of your answer to the anon in that one post, not about any of the posts or any of the people harassing you)

It's like. Right there in the article. Al Jazeera does not think it was a misfire and believes it did originate in Gaza but was shot down by Israel's Iron Dome, which I also fielded as a possibility. Israel says it was a misfire of a missle coming from Gaza. The CNN article I read that morning discussed both possibilities. In either case, yes, it was probably not an intentional hit and was probably a missle that originated in Gaza, because that is the commonality between both sides.

When you are dealing with a huge potential for propaganda, the best course of action is to find what remains consistant no matter who tells it. Those two things- that the hospital was simply guilty of being in the way and not an intentional target, and that the missle seems to have originated from somewhere in Gaza- remain consistant even in pro-Palestinian news. The other thing that remains consistant is that Israel told the hospital to evacuate- but the 'why' changes based on who says it and that is harder to prove.

This is like. How to Not Fall For Propaganda 101. You cannot take snippets and social media posts and headlines and just run with them. You have to actually investigate what is being said and who it benefits by saying it.

The other piece is- how to tell truth from blatant lies. In the example of the hospital, a lot of my weird anon pushback has been relying on the idea that the hospital was instantly levelled- in fact they said that more than once as proof that it had to be Israel. However... the structures received fairly minimal damage, as the bulk of the damage was to the parking lot and cars within, and there was no instant levelling of any building. We have photographic evidence produced from many sources that show exactly that. So... if that source is relying on a lie such as "the hospital was instantly levelled" when it is very proveable that the buildings are still standing, what other things are they lying about or exaggerating?

In another example, the claim that Hamas beheaded babies originated from a handful of specific Israeli soldiers, who are already known to be an untrustworthy source. When challenged to produce evidence of this claim, both Israel and the US walked back the claim. Always ask for evidence, and if the reaction is anything besides actually providing evidence... then the claim was probably bunk to begin with. In this case the reaction was initially "trust me bro" and then "how dare you ask me to do this because [excuse]" and then "okay yeah it's not true".

Lastly, use logic. Let's say Israel did bomb the hospital. Well they missed any actual buildings and we know they have good enough aim to hit whatever building they're aiming for because they *have* hit hospitals and other civilian buildings on purpose in the past. It left a 3ft crater in the parking lot and burned up a bunch of cars. Well either that one was a dud or it was their own misfire because we also know the concussive force of their munitions should produce more damage. Ironically, that's one of Israel's arguments that they didn't do it, that if it was one of theirs the death total would be higher and the hospital would have been obliterated. Again, based on what we know of civilian buildings they've hit on purpose, we know that's not an inaccurate statement.

At the same time, what good would it have done anyone in Palestine to deliberately hit their own hospital? And, again, if they were actually aiming for the hospital... they missed because they hit the parking lot. If anyone wanted to actually hit the hospital, one of the buildings would have been the better target. And yet, all of the buildings remain standing with relatively minor damage because the thing blew up well away from any standing structure. I do find it interesting that no matter what Israel's story is- which has changed multiple times because again, known untrustworthy source, none of them that I've heard have said that it was a deliberate attack on the hospital from Palestine either. Likely because they know that there is no logical reason for Palestine to attack a Palestinian hospital, and bullshit would be called immediately if they tried.

Lastly, the reason I'm looking for commonaiity and not just picking a single source to listen to is because journalists have reported getting shot at and blown up and their media signalling ignored, and if journalists are getting targetted and killed, that means less journalists are going to show up to try and figure it out because they also don't want to die, which means there is a significantly higher likelihood for propaganda and incredibly biased reporting to spread like wildfire.

Most of this type of thing relies on a grain of truth and then spins an almost plausible lie that finishes with an appeal to emotion. I think it would benefit everyone to research propaganda and how it works and how to identify it and how to combat it from taking root in your sourcing. I also think it would benefit everyone to learn how to research and challenge sources in the first place. I remember doing this in school where any strong opinion paper had to also have an accompanying paper arguing *against* it, written by the same person, so you could better learn how to identify where you may have fallen for propaganda that you happened to agree with and thus didn't research further.

Finally,

[lol-jackles]

Hello, I’m sorry if this gets a bit long. I’ll try to edit it down once I’m done

So, I’m not saying this to downplay its importance to fans or Jared’s truly wanting to help people, but Jared was also very smart to come out with the Always Keep Fighting campaign, no? I could be talking out of my ass I this, because I wasn’t in the fandom at the time, but as well as being brave to share his anxiety/depression with fans, it also seems smart to share it on his own terms before it could be used against him. I think I’ve read on your blog that actors with MHI are often considered a liability to a production because if they “lose it” or walk off of the project, the higher ups are screwed. But, by Jared volunteering his personal information to the huge SPN fan base (and I assume some amount of press coverage), isn’t this a good way the give himself a bit of insurance? If his bosses are starting to think he looks expendable, they can’t now act on any desire to get rid of him without him or even his fans being able to turn around and call them out for discrimination.

I’m not saying these thoughts were the reason for AKF but do you think Jared had the foresight to sort of protect himself with the campaign as well, or was it all risk for him?.

I’m asking this because I read your recent response on possible reasons Jensen isn’t as sought after as Jared post SPN, despite being the clear favourite of some crew on the show.

Jared must have an amazing reputation to overcome the possible mental health stigma, and the fact that some SPN crew seem to blatantly favour Jensen (Wanek, Phil Segricia, Bib Singer, etc).

On a side note: who on the production crew do you think favoured, or even just backed Jared over Jensen? Or treated them equally even?

Okay, this was a lot. But I’d be interested in seeing your insight on any of this (I know you’ll pick what you would prefer to focus on) because from what I can tell, you really do have a pretty good read on what was likely going on behind the scenes.

I think you’re on the right track because it was also my first gut reaction the moment the Variety article came out. For Jared to come out when his career is still hot is pretty telling, normally actor don’t admit to mental illness until their career is drying up.  It’s one less thing he has to hide and therefore one less leverage others BTS can’t use against or hold over him.   

"I wasn’t in the fandom at the time"

During the early season there were rumors circulating that Jared was always late to the set. My first thought was, "They're setting him up to have a difficult reputation". It's producer tactic 101, put out fake news that the actor is a diva who is always late and if the actor doesn't toe the line, escalate it to "difficult actor" so that the studio is not the bad guy if the actor suddenly leaves. 7 years later we find out that Jared was looking to break his contract, so the producer(s) were preparing to make him the fall guy. Once Jared stayed on, the "late to the set" rumor immediately evaporated.

I bring this up because it ties into our speculation that Jared's decision to out himself for mental illness was at least partly motivated by removing a leverage against him BTS.

It was also the right time because he proved that as the principal lead of the longest continuous genre series in America, he's not a risk because filming schedule was never disrupted, which costs a lot of money. Even when he had a breakdown on set in season 3, he still finished out the season. His subsequent breakdown after season 10 could have derailed that, but he returned for season 11 and again lead the show through it's rating resurgence. Impressed, CBS arrived two years later at his doorstep with a holding deal.

"On a side note: who on the production crew do you think favoured, or even just backed Jared over Jensen?"

My immediate thought was Jeremy Carver. He was not in favor of the season 10 Dean-centric arc that Robert Singer and Jensen were angling for, and even tried to head off their campaign during Comic Con prior to season 9. His wife is currently the showrunner of Walker. There's also writer Adam Glass, I'm not sure why but he just vibed being all about Jared.

ETA: thanks to others' reminder, I would also add Sera Gamble. I can't believe I didn't immediatley thought of her as she's one of my favorite writers.

[pigeontheoneandonly]

Astronomy 101: Stellar Life Cycles

This is the first in a series of posts I plan to make explaining basic astronomy concepts.  I am not a professional astronomer, but I have a B.S. in Astronomy and Astrophysics, experience performing professional astronomical research (primarily photometry), and a lifelong amateur interest in astronomy. I am committed to accuracy in these posts (though some simplification is necessary) and welcome questions/comments.

(Image source)

Nearly every aspect of a star’s evolution is governed by a single characteristic: the star’s mass.  Stellar masses are enormous, and so astronomers find it more convenient to measure them in solar masses (M☉, M being mass, and ☉ being the astronomical symbol for the sun, pronounced “M-sol”). 1 M☉ is equivalent to the sun’s mass; 2 M☉ is twice the sun’s mass; 0.5 M☉ is half the sun’s mass; and so on.  Our sun masses approximately two quintillion kilograms—that’s 30 zeroes!—so it’s easy to see why this convention makes comparisons between stars easier.  

Stars are composed primarily of hydrogen, with non-trivial amounts of helium (ex. our sun is about 74% hydrogen and 25% helium).  They fuse the elements within themselves to produce an outward pressure from radiation that balances the inward pressure imposed by their own gravity (gravity wants to collapse the star; radiation keeps this from happening).  The lowest stellar mass that can sustain a fusion reaction is theorized to be 0.08 M☉.  It’s not physically possible for a star to be smaller than this.  On the other end, the most massive stars range up to 250 M☉. (It should be noted that as the universe ages, stars are getting smaller; it is hypothesized that new stars cannot exceed 150 M☉.)

Stars are born from the gravitational collapse of giant molecular clouds (GMC), which are large, cold, and relatively dense pockets of interstellar gas.  It’s theorized that several mechanisms can trigger GMC collapse, including the shock wave from nearby supernovae, collisions with other clouds, or passing through the spiral arm of a galaxy (which is denser than other areas). These all disrupt the balance within the cloud.  As it collapses, it begins to fragment, forming individual stars.  One GMC will produce numerous protostars.  

The protostar phase lasts a relatively short time, about 500,000 years for stars the size of the sun. During this time, the protostar continues to accrete mass from the surrounding nebula (its own pocket of the GMC).  Gravitational collapse is countered by gas pressure and magnetic pressure rather than by nuclear fusion as the protostar grows.  Eventually, this is not sufficient and the protostar begins to collapse and enters a new phase: it reaches sufficient density to ignite nuclear fusion in its core, and becomes a proper star.

Initial fusion in the core fuses hydrogen into helium.  It may seem counter-intuitive, but the lower a star’s mass, the slower it burns through its fuel and the longer it remains in this phase of its life.  Massive stars are not only much hotter than small stars, but they need to produce more energy to stave off gravitational collapse. This causes them to burn through their supply of hydrogen very quickly.  Very low mass stars born early in our universe have not existed long enough to burn through their hydrogen supplies.  Models predict stars of 0.1 M☉ will take 6-12 TRILLION years to exhaust their hydrogen, and our universe is only 13.8 billion years old.  These stars are barely getting started.  These stars, known as red dwarfs, will never become red giants.  Instead, they will continuously mix their original hydrogen stores with their newly produced helium until the entire star is composed of helium, at which point fusion will shut down.  As they reach the end, they are predicted to become blue dwarfs, and then eventually white dwarfs.  No blue dwarfs presently exist because the universe is still young.

Stars more like our sun, ranging from 0.6 to 8 M☉, have lives more consistent with what many people are taught in high school science classes.  When these stars exhaust the hydrogen in their core, they still contain a large volume of hydrogen in their outer layers.  They enter the subgiant phase, where they fuse hydrogen in a shell surrounding the helium core, and the star begins to expand and cool.  This new helium adds to the volume of the core, the hydrogen-fusing shell moves outwards.  This phase lasts several million to two billion years, again with lower-mass stars spending longer in this phase.  

(You may have read that the sun will get hotter as it ages.  This is true, and it’s due to the fact that as the fraction of hydrogen in the core decreases, the core temperature and rate of fusion increase.  The sun will contract and become hotter as it approaches the subgiant phase.  It’s theorized that this will make the Earth uninhabitable in about one billion years.  However, the effects of plate tectonics and specifically the subduction of water from the oceans and the gradual slowing of tectonic activity is likely to play as large a role if not larger.)

This hydrogen-burning shell supports the star against gravitational collapse until the helium core grows too large.  The core will contract, and the outer layers will further expand and cool as the star becomes a red giant.  In the case of our sun, its radius will expand beyond the orbit of the Earth, in about six billion years.  Shell burning continues at an increasing rate, but the star is no longer in equilibrium, and the core continues to contract even as it increases in mass, until eventually the star begins fusing helium into carbon.  This can happen very suddenly for stars at the lower end of this mass range, or more gradually for more massive stars.  The growth of the star can also temporarily create new habitable zones, primarily for the moons of gas giants, lasting several hundred million years.

Stars in this mass range do not have sufficient mass to fuse carbon, and so when the helium is largely consumed in the core, the core begins to collapse, and this time, only a strange state of matter called electron degeneracy will stop it.  The Pauli Exclusion principle states that no two electrons can occupy identical states, and electron degeneracy occurs when a star has collapsed to the point that all the electrons of the star have been forced to occupy all the lowest-available energy states within the atomic structure of the star. The energy of the gravitational collapse is insufficient to overcome this electron pressure.  White dwarfs are very small and incomprehensibly dense; similar to the mass of the sun, they are similar in size to the Earth.  A teaspoon of white dwarf would weigh about 15 tons. Fusion has ceased, and the star is an inert ball of slowly cooling degenerate matter.

This is the end of the road for stars in this mass range, which is most of the stars that presently exist in the universe.  Very, very slowly, solo white dwarfs will continue to cool.  White dwarfs are predicted to outlast the lifespan of galaxies as structures in our universe.   They may still be extant when enough time has passed for proton decay to become a significant force and ultimately devour the white dwarf.  If proton decay takes significantly longer than predicted or turns out to not exist, the ultimate fate of a white dwarf is to be devoured by a black hole in the very, very, very far future of our universe when other forms of stars have all ceased to exist.  (The black hole era is predicted to begin 10^43 years after the Big Bang, but it’s dependent on a lot of poorly-understood factors.  Safe to say, this is not anything anyone needs to worry about.)

More massive stars have a more interesting if shorter life.  They blow through their hydrogen quickly, ranging from 1 billion years to as few as 10,000 years. (You can calculate here.)  As these stars enter their supergiant phase, they lose mass rapidly due to strong stellar winds.  These stars do possess enough mass for more complex fusion reactions, and will gradually develop shells fusing various elements, and finally in the core, ultimately producing iron via fusion.  All elements aside from hydrogen, some helium, and small amounts of lithium and beryllium are created by stellar nuclear fusion.  Iron, however, is special, because it is the lightest element on the periodic table that requires more energy to fuse than it produces through fusion. A star attempting to fuse iron is going into an energy deficit, rather than producing energy through radiation that can stave off gravitational collapse.  A star cannot fuse iron.  

The final days of such stars come on quickly.  The core turns to iron within a few hundred years, so rapidly that there is little change in the outward appearance of the star, which continues shell burning right up to the end.  Eventually, this iron core reaches the effective Chandrasekhar mass, a little larger than the mass of our sun, and the core can no longer support itself.  The core collapses.

It’s easy to say the star then explodes in a supernova, but the truth is more complicated.  A supernova is triggered by the release of gravitational potential energy from the core collapse.  If this is insufficient, instead the core becomes a neutron star or a black hole with very little fanfare.  Some supernovae (pair-instability supernova) do not leave behind any stellar remnant despite originating from supermassive stars.  Other supernovae do not involve supermassive stars, but white dwarfs in binary pairs accreting matter from their stellar companion.

The core collapse takes less than a quarter of a second.  Within a few hours, the shockwave reaches the surface of the star, which will brighten tremendously over the next few months.  At peak, supernovae can outshine their host galaxies.  Perhaps the most famous supernova, SN 1987A, was visible to the naked eye and wasn’t even located in our own galaxy, but in a satellite galaxy.  This shockwave is incredibly high-energy, to the point that it not only ejects outer material from the star, but ignites fusion reactions in that material. Here, we have an excess of energy, and nuclear fusion reactions that require more energy than they create are possible.  This is how all elements heavier than iron are created. 

The core becomes a neutron star or a black hole.  Which depends on a large number of variables, perhaps strangely only two of which are core mass and stellar mass.  A neutron star is similar to a white dwarf, in that it is composed of degenerate matter, but in this case electron degeneracy was not strong enough and it is held up by neutron degeneracy.   In this state, electrons have combined with protons to produce neutrons, leaving behind a highly dense star composed of nuclear matter. While a neutron star is again slightly more massive than our sun, it has a diameter of only about 20 kilometers. A teaspoon of neutron star weights approximately 4 billion tons.  Many neutron stars rotate rapidly, giving off jets of radiation from their poles. These stars are known as pulsars. The fate of neutron stars is similar to that of white dwarfs; they will eventually merge into black holes in the far distant future.  

Other stars become black holes. In this case, even neutron degeneracy cannot stave off gravitational collapse, and the core collapses into a singularity.  A singularity is a poorly-understood object where spacetime curvature becomes infinite. We can study singularities mathematically, but we can’t observe one, because it is hidden behind an event horizon—a boundary surrounding the black hole where gravity is too strong for even light to escape.  And if light can’t escape, we can’t observe anything inside the event horizon.  Our current understand of physics also breaks down here; our theories of gravity aren’t sufficient to fully understand singularities.  We can, however, study event horizons, accretion disks (matter falling into the black hole), and jets of particles and radiation some black holes exhibit.  This has given us a good understanding of the external properties and behavior of black holes, and we detect them based on these characteristics and the effects they have on other objects (ex. an orbiting companion star).  

So if everything eventually becomes part of a black hole, what happens to a black hole?  The answer is they evaporate through a process called Hawking radiation.  Essentially, according to quantum mechanics, space has a quality called vacuum energy that causes virtual particle pairs to continuously pop in and out of existence. The pair consists of one particle and one anti-particle, which annihilate each other and return the energy of their creation to the vacuum.  Therefore, no energy is created or destroyed.  However, every so often, one of these pairs pops into existence with one particle on the outer side of the event horizon, able to escape, and the other trapped inside the event horizon.  The virtual particle that escapes becomes a real particle, and that energy has to come from somewhere.  It takes it from the black hole.  Because mass and energy are functionally equivalent, this drains a tiny amount of mass from the black hole.  (Please note: this is a dramatic oversimplification, but gets the basic idea across.)  On long enough timelines, this will cause even the largest of black holes to evaporate. Unlike just about everything else involving stars, smaller black holes evaporate more quickly than large ones.  

[darthstitch]

More Things That Never Happened in History Class

5.  Professor Adam Pierson

Professor Robert Gadling and Professor Adam Pierson had a friendly "rivalry" going on. 

Okay, so it was less rivalry and more bawdy Elizabethan drinking songs at the New Inn, copious amounts of beer, and amazing comic routines during each other's classes, topped off with obscure bits of historical anecdotes and trivia that frequently sent students into hysterics, but it worked. 

According to the local grapevine, one of these Professors' boyfriends spent a few long moments being the "green-eyed monster" due to a misunderstanding of Shakespearean proportions.  Swords and duels at dawn were apparently involved. 

It was most certainly NOT the boyfriend who seemed to be the OG Victorian Goth Boy, with a hard-earned PhD in Brooding Moodily and was known all over the campus as "Murphy."

In point of fact, "Murphy" only spent about five short seconds in that deplorable state before he graced Professor Pierson with one of those heart-stealing faint smiles and said, "My sister sends her regards."

Campus history did not record Professor Pierson's reaction to this. 

6.  Not a Cat Dad

Look, Professor Gadling was NOT a pet person.  He was not cruel to animals, mind you, but he was not expecting to foster the tiniest little bit of black and white fluff to ever meow at this point in time.

The problem was said Fluff came with some absolutely stellar credentials.  That being from  the "Cat of Dreams."

"I spent 600 years not knowing your proper name, y'know," sighed Professor Gadling.  "And suddenly I get to find out you have many of them."

"And all of them quite proper, I assure you."

"Even 'Murphy'?"

A sigh.  "I have been called that before, so yes." 

The kitten, whose proper name was trilled by the Cat of Dreams but would therefore be known to humans as Miette, purred contentedly from her basket.  Said basket now served as a paperweight for Gadling's test papers. 

The rest of the class also waited for his decision with bated breath.  It was their fault, the clever little bastards.  They'd been the ones to find the kitten and of course, chose to make their appeal to "Murphy." 

Their long-suffering professor sighed. Gadling's History 101 class would now have a feline mascot.

7.  Prince of Stories

Here's the funny thing about Murphy.

Sometimes, he's just there, sitting in a dark corner, the first person in the classroom.  Sometimes, the light will catch those dark blue eyes in the strangest way, like the reflection of a star. 

Dressed all in black - black coat, black shirt, black pants and black boots - with the signature brooding expression on his face - he really should've been the most unapproachable person, to be honest. 

Except that he isn't. 

It's remarkably easy to sit next to him, for a bit of a friendly chat, while waiting for class to start.  And he has stories to share, if one knows how to listen. 

So many stories.  They linger in your head like fragments of dreams. 

The best listener in Professor Gadling's class is quiet, shy, soft-spoken little Isabel, who suddenly lit up when Murphy greeted her in her native tongue.  And they spent a pleasant 30 minutes chattering away in a mix of Filipino and English which made her feel less homesick. 

Professor Gadling almost didn't recognize her when he finally walked in to start the day's lesson. 

8.   Will vs Kit

"So as you can see, that bloody hack Will Shaxberd -- ugh, Shakespeare - stole all his best lines from Marlowe! " Professor Gadling took a breath and quoted: 

“Where both deliberate, the love is slight: Who ever lov'd, that lov'd not at first sight?"

"Isn't that from 'As You Like It'?" ventured one brave soul in the classroom. 

"MARLOWE RUDDY WROTE IT FIRST!"

There was the discreet crunch of popcorn.  Some enterprising person produced two large buckets and it was now being passed around the classroom.  Professor Gadling was too busy enjoying his rant to call it out. 

And then:  “‘A heart to love, and in that heart, Courage, to make’s love known’"

There is a Filipino word called "kilig" that is the only word adequate enough to describe the delightful shudders that went down the spines of every romantic-minded soul in the classroom once they heard Murphy softly declaim those lines. 

"Oh, you bastard," Professor Gadling breathed.  And then, went on with: "Love is not full of pity (as men say) But deaf and cruel, where he means to pray.”

“Doubt that the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move his aides, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love," Murphy responded.  And of course, to add insult to injury, he crowned that with one of his rare, faint, heart-stopping smiles. 

"You absolute pillock.  You complete tosser." And then, the good professor growled, "O, thou art fairer than the evening air clad in the beauty of a thousand stars.  Stop smirking at me, you wanker - the couch now has your name on it!  I'm keeping Miette with me!"

Miette purred.  Loudly. 

"For where thou art, there is the world itself, And where thou art not, desolation."  It was quite unfair, really, how well Murphy could deliver those lines as if it was nothing but the absolute truth, in that soft, deep voice. 

"Awww!" sighed more than one person in the room.

"Are you really going to make him sleep on the couch after THAT, Professor?" Apparently, there was no shortage of courageous folk in Professor Gadling's class.

It was never absolutely clear whether Murphy did spend the night on the dreaded couch, as he was not in class the following day.  However, Professor Gadling was wearing a conspicuously high turtleneck during that class, with a blush on his cheeks that didn't seem to go away during that day and he was in a ridiculously good mood.  So good, that he moved the scheduled exam for the following week. 

Coincidentally, everyone actually did sleep well the night before.  They all had remarkably sweet, pleasant dreams. 

- end -

Note: Yes, Highlander fans, Professor Adam Pierson is exactly who you think he is, including his...uh... boyfriend. 😂

Pesteng yawa ka, Morpheus, lagi na lang akong kinikilig sayo, hayup ka. 😅

[homemakinghippie]

DIY Cleaning Products 101

Personally I don't love the ingredients in most conventional cleaning products. They generally have artificial fragrance and other endocrine disrupters and things you don't really want to be breathing in. For the last year I have been making most of my own cleaning products and in addition to being healthier, I've noticed I save money doing this as well. I want to share some of my favorite recipes for cleaning products, but there are definitely things you need to know about the different ingredients first so I'm sharing this first.

Vinegar- Vinegar is an amazing all purpose cleaner for tables, counters, any surfaces that aren't natural stone like marble or granite. I also love using it for washing produce and replacing fabric softener (no your fruit won't taste like vinegar and your clothes won't smell like it). It can effectively remove some pesticide residue, as well as help the produce last longer. Some recipes you find online recommend mixing vinegar with baking soda or castile soap-neither of these should be mixed with vinegar. Both baking soda and castile soap have a basic pH, while vinegar is acidic. Mixing baking soda and vinegar makes a cool chemical reaction, but you're left with fancy salt water. Mixing it with castile soap basically unsaponifies the soap, making it completely useless as well. If you want to add some scent to your vinegar you can add citrus peels or pine needles to it and let them sit for a few weeks before straining. NEVER mix vinegar with bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Vinegar and bleach makes chlorine gas, vinegar and hydrogen peroxide makes peracetic acid. Both of these are extremely dangerous.

Baking Soda- Baking soda is a great abrasive for scrubbing, and a great deodorizer. I use baking soda on my glass top stove, scrubbing my toilets, scrubbing the shower, anywhere I need extra scrubbing help. As I mentioned before it shouldn't be mixed with vinegar because they cancel each other out. I do like using it with castile soap for bathroom cleaning though.

Castile soap- Castile soap has soooo many uses. If you've ever looked at a bottle of Dr Bronner's you've seen the huge list of things they recommend it for. It shouldn't be mixed with vinegar, but castile soap can leave behind some soap scum if you have hard water so rinsing with a vinegar/water mix after use is often recommended. I like using it in the bathroom as well as dish and hand soap (I wouldn't put this in your dishwasher though, hand washing only with this).

70% Isopropyl Alcohol- Also known as rubbing alcohol, 70% isopropyl alcohol is a great disinfectant. When using it you need to make sure you're using 70%. This is a standard dilution you can get at the store, but many people don't realize how important the dilution percentage is. If you mix it with water there won't be enough alcohol to disinfect, and if you use higher than 70% there's too much alcohol and it will evaporate before it can do it's job. I use this all over my house from the kitchen, to the bathroom, to disinfecting my nail supplies after doing an at home manicure. It also works amazingly as a glass cleaner.

Hydrogen Peroxide- Hydrogen peroxide is another great disinfectant, but it's not one I personally use as much. I keep it in my cleaning closet in case I want it for something, but unlike alcohol it needs to be wiped away after sitting for a bit.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 145

Nafs (The Soul)

The soul (an–nafs) is a substance that is essentially free of matter but which is in close connection with it in its acts and functions; it is the origin or essence of something or its self. There have been those who have used it in the sense of the spirit or the heart or the body, or in the sense of lusts or the mechanism through which Satan penetrates humans, or even in the sense of reason. In religious terminology, an-nafs, or the soul, is the origin or center of certain states or faculties such as lusts, anger, ill will, grudge, hatred, and irritation, and it is a transformable, reformable, and refinable mechanism connected to human corporeality.

The soul has a constant, experienced connection between the body and the spirit. It is through this connection that humans receive, recognize, and distinguish their outer and inner sense-perceptions and go beyond the corporeal realm into metaphysical worlds. It is again through this connection that any state, experience or gift that occurs in the spirit leaves its imprint upon the body and provokes it to move in a certain direction. Just as every influence on the spirit makes itself felt on the body, so too every state of and effect on the body shows itself on the horizon of the spirit.

For example, thinking of something which is nauseating may produce an urge to vomit. Certain events which touch the spirit and rouse distress may cause physical ailments that we call psychosomatic illnesses. The reaction that the sense of taste shows at the mention of something sweet or sour or bitter is also this same sort of impression. In short, there is a continuous interactive relationship between the spirit and the body. Similarly, evil conceptions and disagreeable manners and actions impress not only the body but also the spirit, while agreeable thoughts and considerations, and the plans and projects that are undertaken to please God Almighty, and the mentioning of the Divine Being by the heart and tongue all produce expansion and exhilaration in the spirit. It frequently occurs that even if we are not aware of it, this state gains some sort of luminosity and surrounds the entire horizon of the spirit by means of the spiritual intellect. It rouses the “secret” and begins to manifest itself in the metaphysical depths of human existence in different modes. Also, whenever the body expresses its submission to the Ultimate Truth through the acts of worship and obedience and lives in accordance with the purpose of its existence, deepening in belief through worship or religious acts and crowning its worship with excellence and awareness of God’s omnipresence, the breezes of great happiness and joy begin to blow in the spirit. Hope and expectation stir up eagerness for God, the Ultimate Truth, and the acts leading to consciousness and awe of God produce feelings of respect, self-possession, and wakefulness in the spirit. As a result, like the seas vaporizing to rise and form the clouds, and the clouds raining on the earth, and rains forming rivers and torrents that flow into the sea, there appear continuous currents between the body and the spirit.

Amidst such mutual influences between the spirit and the body, it is possible for humans either to fall into the lowest of the low as a result of being overcome by their corporeality, or to rise to human perfection and the highest of the high by God’s help and permission, through acting around the orbit of Islamic thought, belief, and awareness. Thus, what we call “spiritual journeying” is one of the significant ways of advancing toward and reaching the Ultimate Truth, and being a perfect human being through this tide.

All these tides, continuous mutual influences and flows, and journeys occur on the steed or ship or spacecraft of the human soul. The compass of this apparently abased vessel is belief, the path or direction it must follow is Islam, and its captain or guide is the Prophet Muhammad, the Master of creation, upon him be peace and blessings, and the dynamics to advance along this path are provided by reflection and remembrance of God. However, there are some apparently harmful characteristics incorporated in the nature of this steed for certain purposes. If the soul has not been purified of these characteristics and refined, it is inevitable that the meanings, conceptions, pieces of information, knowledge of God, and remembrances, and reflections that travel between the spirit and the soul suffer from some turbulence and even serious falls along the way. Such turbulence and falls should not be viewed as occurrences independent of certain other factors that originate in humans themselves. Sometimes sins, heedlessness, and carelessness cause them; sometimes temporary “whirlpools of contraction”[1] or “spasms” interfere with the working of the rudder or the compass; sometimes direction is lost due to certain carnal amusements and relaxations; and sometimes they happen because of our unawareness that certain actions are contrary to the manner of traveling along the way, and our feeling proud of the good deeds done. If travelers view such things as viruses that can cause the demise of the spirit, and remain distant from them, and if they display serious endeavors to be purified of them under the shower of repentance, penitence, and contrition when accidentally exposed to them, then God will replace their evil deeds with virtuous ones(25: 70). That is, He will change their faculties which enable evil deeds into enablers of virtuous deeds.

Despite its satanic characteristics such as haughtiness, arrogance, egotism, jealousy, injustice, and enmity, all of which break the wings of the spirit, the soul has a fundamental potential so important and valuable that it raises it to companionship of the spirit. Provided it grasps that its essential function, as required by its position, is to become a unit of measurement to recognize God—thereby abandoning arrogance and the accompanying self-assertive, self-aggrandizing claims; so long as it turns to God in worship and prayer and seeks refuge in Him from the potential evils in its nature, following the heart and the spirit on the way to reaching God, then the soul can advance to the highest of the high on the way together with its companions, namely the heart and the spirit.

Indeed, the soul is also of great importance for humans to maintain a metaphysical tension. It (the soul) is like a mainspring allowing them to rise from being only potentially human to true humanity. This continuously keeps them busy, without allowing them to have a rest. It ceaselessly sharpens the resolution of people to struggle against its negative characteristics, and causes those who have brains to frequently beat their brains out. When, finally, human nature is matured to the degree intended for its creation, the soul becomes a slave of the king of human existence—the heart—and adopts an attitude that is capable of feeling the need to warn it from time to time, saying, “Do not be proud, O my king! There is God, Who is greater than you!” You can call the soul which has reached this point of maturity after having gone through the filters of purification “the soul refined and grown in purity,” as stated in the following verses: And (by) the human soul and that (All-Knowing, All-Powerful, and All-Wise One) Who has formed it to perfection; and Who has inspired it with the conscience of what is wrong and bad for it, and what is right and good for it. He is indeed prosperous who has grown it in purity(91: 7-9).

Whatever you call it, the purified soul is the double of the spirit, continuously trying to keep away from evil, and always advancing toward good until it finally comes to a point where it abandons its basic mission—that is, being a powerful mechanism with negative aspects for human self- purification and perfection—to the nerves, extreme sensitivity, and other human temperaments. It begins to spend the remaining part of its life in the company and service of the spirit.

We have tried to explain in detail the stages of this journeying of the soul, which the Sufis experience in their spiritual journeying, under the titles of the Carnal, Evil-Commanding Soul, the Self-Condemning or Self-Accusing Soul, the Soul Receiving Inspiration, the Soul at Rest, the Soul Well-Pleased (with God, with however God treats it), the Soul Pleasing (to God), and the Perfected Soul, or the Purified or Innocent Soul. As the soul passes through these stages upward, the veils of darkness that veil human nature are torn apart one after the other. According to the degree of each, the rays of spirituality begin to shine on all sides of a human being, and an initiate or traveler thinks that they are floating in the elevated horizons of the inner, immaterial dimensions of existence.

Each of the stages mentioned above has a gift, pleasure, horizon, manner of expressiveness, and perception particular to itself. Sometimes the guide tells initiates at which stage they are, and sometimes sensitive, self-supervising initiates who are aware of themselves and lend an ear to the voice of their spirits are informed of their stage in a special way.

Even though the soul is mainly characterized by always commanding evil, when it undergoes an effective process of purification and is directed to obedience to its Lord, it can be transformed into a source of bright light, like the full moon receiving light from the sun. If, on the other hand, it is not purified, the fog and smoke of the lusts invade its horizon, and it suffers corruption under the influence of carnal thoughts and considerations, becoming so blind as not to be able to see into the transcendent dimension of existence. Then, the soul cannot continue its companionship with the spirit and becomes a marsh of evil in human nature, in conformity with the aspects of its nature, which is open to evil. Making use of certain weak spots in its owner, the soul attacks him from many fronts, and—may God preserve us—can knock him down with a single blow. The continuous request for forgiveness from God and prayer are important defenses against such attacks; the disciplines which have an important place in the spiritual journeying are a petition presented for Divine protection, and following the way of God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, strictly offers a reliable refuge. Further, restricting our consumption to absolutely essential human needs, silencing the soul by being content with legitimate pleasures, and incessantly warning the soul against illicit desires and appetites form another way of keeping it under strict control.

* * *

Basically, the soul is one of the faculties with which humans have been equipped. Provided that humans employ these faculties, which have been entrusted to them in their creation, in the direction established by their Creator, they greatly add to their value. For example, the eyes are windows for seeing things within their scope of sight; the ears are receptors and transmitters that receive and conduct sounds and voices at certain wavelengths to the brain; the tongue is an inspector of innumerable tastes, and the translator of thoughts and feelings. If the eyes are used to see things which are religiously permissible to observe, if the ears are kept closed to harmful, evil sounds and voices while transmitting the good ones, and if the tongue stirs up feelings of reflection on and thankfulness to the numberless bounties bestowed by God Almighty, and also acts in conformity with the Divine purpose for its creation as a means of speech—then individually and collectively these organs become wings for human beings to rise to human perfection. But if, on the contrary, the eyes busy themselves with those things that the Religion condemns as harmful or ugly, thus abandoning themselves to contamination; if the ears work like a telephone exchange for vices, receiving and transmitting that which is religiously forbidden; and if the tongue lives in attachment to the tastes it recognizes, in oblivion of its duty of inspection, and speaks without recognizing any criteria—then the wings of the heart are broken, and the spirit becomes as if nitric acid were poured into its eyes.

The soul is no different from the faculties mentioned above with respect to its duties and its fulfilling or not fulfilling them properly. If the soul is purified and preserved against working like a telephone exchange for Satan, then while being, by its primordial nature, a reptile- like creature crawling on the ground, it becomes like a dove flying over our heads, as if it has undergone a mysterious metamorphosis, and it is praised by the words of God Almighty:I swear by the self-accusing soul (75: 2). When it takes two steps further, it is honored with the breezes of appreciation: O, you soul at rest! Return to your Lord, wellpleased (with Him and His treatment of you), and well-pleasing to Him (89: 27-28), and establishes itself comfortably next to the spirit.

Thus, this hard-natured substance, more harmful than snakes and scorpions, which is described by the Divine statement as Surely the carnal, evil-commanding soul always and insistently commands evil (12: 53)—by asking God for forgiveness in awareness of its sins, by avoiding its faults due to repugnance, by trying to keep distant from unbelief, hypocrisy, vice, and transgression, by shuddering with fear that the favors coming when it is in an agreeable state may be a means of perdition, and, in a further attempt, by finding its true purification through always seeing itself as impure, this primordially hard-natured, evil-commanding substance can rise to great heights and approach the heavenly beings. The soul at this level, which philosophers call “the speaking self or soul,” and which the Qur’an describes as “the soul at rest,” has become such an earthly being able to rise to the horizon of the heart and the spirit and possessing angelic manners, that it begins to take pleasure in religious responsibilities, which previously it did not like and which were difficult for it to fulfill. The things which it found bitter up until this point have become sweet, and in parallel with its attaining this station, the cloud of dust and smoke over the spiritual intellect and the secret that was produced by corporeality has been completely removed. Things and events appear differently to its view, and time and again it experiences raptures with the call to Him it hears from every thing and event, thinking itself to be among the pure spirit beings in great joy.

A time comes when reason becomes like the heart, and its products take on the color of those of the spiritual intellect. An initiate with such a level of reason feels stunned by awe of God and advances full of the feeling of modesty; he sometimes becomes exhilarated with the showers of Divine gifts. The heart beats “God! God!”, combining this with the breaths of reason that utter, “O the All- Forgiving! O the All-Veiling (of His servants’ sins and shortcomings)!” The initiates at this level of reason hear the whole of creation mentioning God by His Names, and their breaths resound with Him. While, on the one hand, signals come to them from the horizon of the spiritual intellect, arousing them to the worlds beyond, on the other hand they feel great worry that the gifts may be interrupted and unexpected obstacles may come in between them and the Source of these gifts, causing them to turn to Him more frequently and more intimately, admitting that whatever good visits them is essentially from Him.

The zeal they feel is the zeal of the heart, and the sorrows they suffer are the sorrows of the sincerely penitent ones. While looking at their past with repugnance, they are revived and refreshed with the hope of a brighter future and the hope that they will be able to compensate for their past defects with future opportunities. They try to fill their past voids with heartfelt sighs and groans and with reflection and remembrance. While others are busy with a life of ease, thinking that they have already lived so before, they always try to do whatever they must on the way to God.

Such people always feel themselves to be in the presence of the Lord. They stand before Him in awe, bow before Him in utmost modesty, prostrate before Him with utmost humility, and sit before Him in self-supervision. They advance with utmost awe and care, and try to fulfill what is required by having reason in the company of the heart. They shudder with awe while thinking of Him, they breathe His mercy with reflection and remembrance of Him; they focus their observations on deepening their knowledge of Him with new discoveries, and their eyes twinkle with eagerness for reunion with the All-Beloved. They do not forget their defects, which are incompatible with servanthood to God, seeing them as precipices between them and their Lord; they entreat Him, saying, “Do not abandon me to myself, even for the blink of an eye!”

Now they have distanced themselves from Satan, but they also reinforce the barriers they have put before Satan’s inlets into their heart and continue to erect new ones. Whenever they remember Satan, they feel as if they are in the valley of bandits, and they always seek refuge in God, saying, “I seek refuge in You from the promptings and provocations of the satans; I seek refuge in You, my Lord, lest they be present with me!” (23: 97–98).

They never rely on themselves, their labor, or their deeds; they do not approve of their acts, and treat them with disdain. They are always troubled and shake like a tree in a storm with the worry that hypocrisy and expectation of others’ acceptance and appreciation have found, and do find, a way into even their best deeds. These considerations follow them ceaselessly along the way, until finally the soul is welcomed with the compliments, “O you soul at rest! Return to your Lord, well-pleased (with Him and His treatment of you), and well-pleasing to Him! Enter, then, among My servants (fully content with servanthood to Me)! And enter My Paradise!” (89: 27–30); while those who have dropped halfway groan with deep regrets, “Would that I had forwarded (some good deeds) for my life (to come)!” (89: 24). They are honored with surprising bounties of the Hereafter, and favored with many different gifts from the horizon of the heart.

They are treated thus because they have lived a life of austerity without being deceived by worldly pleasures, and they have advanced toward the horizon of the peace of the heart, spiritual contentment, and resignation to God’s treatment of them. They felt obliged to advance so, conscious of their essential impotence and poverty and their absolute need of Him. They have advanced and been favored with His special wealth. They have heard many things which other ears could not hear, and seen many things which other eyes could not see; they have experienced how the most honored of creatures—humanity—was created from wet clay, how matter rose almost to the level of the spirit, and how the evil-commanding soul developed into the soul at rest. With the pleasureof watching the smiling face of their fate, they have proceeded beyond space within space and toward the All-Beloved within corporeality, to the point where the invisible becomes visible.

The exacting people of truth and wisdom have seen the soul as we have so far tried to explain. If the Master of all domains had willed it to be so, there is none who could have willed or done otherwise. If He has dressed non- existence in the array of existence, why then should we wonder at “nothing” being “everything”? If He wills, He can make a drop into a sea, a minute particle into the sun, manifest thousands of instances of existence in non- existence, and bestow kingdoms upon those who initially have no trace of one.

O my God! Surely I ask You for a soul content with You, believing in meeting You, resigned to Your decrees, and content with Your bounties. And bestow blessings and peace on the most perfect and complete of the spirits, who is our master Muhammad, and Your beloved, and on His Family and Companions, whom You love!

[1] In Sufi terminology, “contraction” (qabd) is used to mean that the link between an individual and the source of his or her spiritual gifts and radiance has been severed for a certain period. This causes distress and makes one suffer from spiritual obstruction and blockage. For further explanations, seeEmerald Hills of the Heart – Key Concepts in the Practice of Sufism, The Light, NJ, 2004, vol. 1, pp. 167–170.

[otakebi-cam-wao]

produce 101 japan the girls ep 10 by a harowota

you know, all under the cut, probs gonna speed up or skip elimination cuz i already know the ones who were eliminated (i'm crying)

LET'S START!!!!!

omg Kaela on the previews me crying now

OMG bby pics!!!

the words, damn

i love their way to get into the elimination set up stage thingy

so cute no matter what

Nalala so oujosama as i said bout &ME song in general

i don't even want to talk bout the elimination's part, like i dunno how they felt THERE, but i know the ones who left already

ANYWAYS, FIRST THEIR PRIZES, RIGHT?!

ohhhh randomly

claw-me had a salon and tokimekki rainbow cafe?

idk new f7avors...

Seul tower apparently, Kokona is afraid of heights

ohhh they eating!, me hungry now, and wanna try all that food

"the song that everyone love it's popcorn" sorry, is the one i like less

claw-me now with makeup and hair styling

i already saw Yui's new hair style (inner color mainly) and love it, really nice

they became koakuma indeed

TOKIMEKKI TIME!!!

idk if i'd like that...

so much cream

ohhh Kagura ordered 2 pieces of cake, nice nice, be happy tol girl

awwwwwwwwwww HINA

everyone happy

ohhhh Nalala has i guess korean bbq

miu looks cute like that

hehe Tsuzumi looks cute and funny eating all in one bite

Charm Holic has? what?

oh korean fried chicken, wanna try haven't been able

Kokona ate all quickly lol, mood

Tsukushi is panicking

awwww Ayane being surprised by the flavour so cute

Ayane run for your ramen!!! (me when my mom buys instant ramen)

i love to see cute girls enjoying their food!

oh they have guests

the reacciones while trying to guess who is lol

reactions in general

(don't ask me who they are never watched pd48 nor looked at iz*one... tho i knew Miyawaki Sakura cuz friend likes HKT48 and tried to see HKT)

Tsuzumi is crying so happily

they're living their happy life with them

ok cute moment from Ranka wanting to eat lot of oyakodon cuz ... Yuri? likes it a lot

""Happiness" comes first" okay, yes, food is happiness

the pink haired one, i like her way of thinking towards food lol but ofc the other one has a point to be healthy and keep a diet

Yena, that's the pink haired one... idk her but i liked her with this

this is cute... fr...

OH NO ELIMINATION SHUT UP gonna speed this up

love how parutan is saving herself so at the cut, i love her mochi mochi parutan

love u parutan, i don't care if u don't debut here, i have faith you will debut somewhere

i'm fr gonna skip this, i don't want to watch what i already know

a special gift?!

surprise visit from the "national producers"

lol this is kind of fun so many takes lol

lol this is kinda funny

everyone calling their names is cute

their faces as well, so cute

awwwww

i like to see their emotive faces

you know? this is what makes me "i don't want anyone to get eliminated" since day 1... well i had exceptions, but still, even if i had them, i wanted them to debut here as well...

they left the eliminated ones talking, damn

more elimination, speeding up again

technically skipped the elimination...

okay, debut evaluation, so last step

did they wrote free debut camp instead of pre debut camp?!

live stream (but for international viewers? what? pirate i guess)

these are new songs as well? i guess

i think i'll like sozoijo who ever is in that group

this way to choose song and position is messed up tho over rank 19th can move the rest, is so messed up, but okay, rules are rules

i love how they kinda tease everyone if they want to

i love how Suzu went all "gomennasai" for moving parutan

they're so cute so apologizing so much when changing someone

Kokona stop, but u cute

Ayane taking sub vocal 1 is a shocker but she's so cute reasoning it

lol Keiko reactions to her change are funny

Ayane like "hm... wanted to be sub vocal, Miu..."

Kassa taking main vocal for the lyrics is so Kassa!

Ayane frustrated for sub 6, but at least she wanted to be sub vocal, not main...

best sub vocal you'll be i think

Koto, you're wrong there's no 50% chance to debut, there's 55% chance to debut

PARUTAN KAWAII!!!! if u don't debut, i'd love u to go knock on up front's door for an audition (but somehow doubt she could get into H!P...?)

PARUTAN!!!!!!

i'm just watching cannot actually write

the trainners' words awwwww

i love Nakasone, so mother!!!!! she's my mom now

EHHHHHH YUMEKI CRYING?!?! WOW, THAT'S A SHOCKER

surprise event made by Kaela?!

they will all sing a song?!

a ballad from her?!

OMG CUTE, i'm releasing some tears cuz i can feel what Kimura felt while writing it

ahhh class w Kaela!

i'm crying! wtf?!

i wish i could have the eliminateds singing this as well, just to make it like for everyone

AWWWWW KAELA IS SO CUTE TALKING TO THEM

making them tell their strength/weapon

that part was so cute... and made me sentimental... i'm not like that...

also made me think about my own weapon, i might find some day

OH NO THE CRYING POST ELIMINATION

RIP KOTO&YUI, they're so cute

EVERYONE IS SO CUTE

stop i'm crying from before this, don't wanna cry more

i see so many friendships here, i love all the girls in this show, how they say goodbye, how the eliminated ones comment to the others on insta, how even after they left the program they meet, how they're doing covers, and all

omg i'm so attached to all these girls!

that was all, i'm crying, bye

[brokenntable]

Haii, i am a new luvity. Can i request about them? Could you please write how cravity reactions when ycomforting you if you worried so much? Thank you ^^

welcome! ofc I can, please- I'm writing this with a high fever... I'm sorry if I make any mistakes. ALSO HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY ALLEN 🐧

Cravity Members Comforting You

Serim

as a leader, I'm sure Serim has seen plenty of stress and worry in all sorts of formats. I can imagine at first meeting you he'd start noticing small details about your emotions, things you didn't know about yourself. so if one day he saw how distressed and panicked you were, even if you thought you held it well, Serim would be the first to pull you aside and ask you to talk about how you were feeling. I wouldn't allow you to bottle up your feelings. I think he would really try offer solutions but as well be there to be a shoulder to cry on. he'd allow you to let it all out before picking you up off your feet and wanting you to do something fun to relieve you of your stress. I can see him suggesting you join a yoga class or something of the sort for no apparent reason.

Allen

fixer-upper, fix-it Allen indeed. Allen is for sure going to try and break down your worries and do his best to try and fix them, he doesn't like to see you worrying so he'll try and manually take it away. worried over an exam? Allen will sit and help you study until you're fully confident. worrying about a presentation? he will ask his members to join him as you do your presentation in front of them all. start off small, aim bigger. his love language is acts of service im sure, there's no escaping it.

Jungmo

I can imagine believing Jungmo would be awkward at first hearing you're panicking over something but I really think he would have such a caring approach, especially after seeing how much stress you're under. don't think you can escape his grasp, you'll be locked in his affection and hugs until he's ready to let go. Jungmo isn't very good with words so I can imagine he'll try his best in every other way to help. he'll play with your hair, order your favourite food, check in on you as much as possible.

Woobin

you know what's one of the most comforting things; food. and when I tell you, woobin would cook the most scrumptious, mouth watering comfort food ever. you would cry eating it. all jokes aside, good food and a heart to heart would solve so many issues and I think that would be woobin's approach if he saw you worrying one day. and, if you weren't ready to talk about it, that would be completely okay too, he's happy to just stay by your side and assist to make sure your as okay as he can possibly get you to. I'm also positive he's memorised all your favourite foods to.

Wonjin

I have watched enough produce x 101 to tell you, if you're worried, Wonjin will do anything in his power to help you in any shape he can. he cares so much about everyone he will try and carry your burdens giving hugs, distractions, solutions. you name it, he'll do it. he's also super sentimental as well, he will definitely try and talk it out with you until you realise most of your worries were irrational. you walk out after a conversation with Wonjin thinking you can take on the world.

Minhee

minhee's such a difficult one because he's so unpredictable. if he found out you're worried I can imagine he'd definitely knit his brows together and think what he can do to help. Definitely pats you on the back (like one of those dad pats). I also think though that Minhee notices very small details about you too. like when your sad you only eat a very specific flavour or type of food. or ur at ur most happy when you drink a specific drink. he would go out of his way to go get them without you even being aware. or if you were stressed and couldn't keep on top of things, he would do small things like your washing, or make your bed to ease your burden.

Hyeongjun

at first, Hyeongjun seeing you panic would definitely make him panic. he's someone who will reflect how you're feeling but he also cares a lot about you so if you're worried he'd try really hard to distract you from your worries. he's the type to drag you out of your room to go do fun things, take you out for desserts or a karaoke bar. no better stress relief then screaming down a microphone. and not to forget either, hyeonjun gives the best hugs, no doubt he will be hugging and clinging onto you all day too.

Taeyoung

I can see him definitely encouraging the both of you at least once a week to talk about feelings and emotions with each other. even if it isn't something deep, I think taeyoung would be a really efficient communicator. besides all the jokes and laughs, if you stress to him you were stressed and worried I think he would try to work through it together. he's another member who will try and break down how you feel and try and help you but he also definitely keeps it light hearted and can't help crack a joke here and there because he also wants to see you smile.

Seongmin

another panicker me thinks. I think Seongmin would be happy to help you though if you're worried as I think Seongmin would go all out. at first he would take you out to take your mind off of thinks. you go clothe shopping, you eat ice cream and take pictures together. then, when he knows you're in a better position, he'll ask what's bothering you and he will offer to help the best way he can.

I have irlens syndrome, if anything is spelt bad its because I can't read. have a nice day <3

[campwillowpeak]

what have I done, to answer some of bonedaddy's questions (are they question).

yes, if the volume of each ejaculation is increased the shorter the amount of time needed to reach the minimum goal of 500 mL. Let's keep the ejaculation time the same as before (1 minute, although this is also extremely generous as well as its typical around 5 to 6 minutes). Let's say Harper's volume is the same as a horse, which is 50 mL on the low end. The mc would need 10 minutes, no breaks between each ejaculation to swallow the minimum required amount.

There are pills/medicine that claim to increase the volume of semen produced. However, they tend to have widely varying effects, one of which is semen would come out in clumps. I want to note that there are ways to have healthy semen for reproduction purposes such as diet/supplements/exercise, but not so much to increase volume.

So ultimately, if you want the most effective ratio possible, we're gonna have to be extremely liberal and have a lot of variables skewed in our favor. 500 mL is our goal, the volume of each ejaculation is 50 mL with their ejaculation time being 1 minute with no recover time between each ejaculation with the other person constantly sucking and swallowing for those 10 minutes.

An "easier way" if you still want someone to swallow 500 mL of cum is...(warning do not continue if you don't want to be scarred)...is having that person cum into a jar and collect the 500 mL before hand and the other person can just chugs it down. That would probably make the person sick enough to warrant a trip to the hospital to get their stomach pumped. (my friend's suggestion)

If you don't want to swallow 500 mL of cum. I don't know, have the mc be allergic to penicillin and have Harper taking penicillin an hour or two before the mc starts sucking him off for an infection of some sort. If this happens the penicillin can be found in the semen and once the mc swallow it they could enter anaphylaxis shock or another type of allergic reaction, which will also warrant a trip as they could die from that.

I don't know why I did this. I don't know why I'm giving advice as to how to drink 500 mL in a short amount of time, but I am. I have so much regret and I feel lesser as a person for doing this.

-math anon

Today on the CWP tumblr page:

Cum/ejaculation 101, with Prof. Math Anon

[the-king-andthe-lionheart]

Major HOTD Spoilers

Going into House of the Dragon I expected to cry when Aemma died in childbirth.  I heard the little amount of screentime she had in the pilot really set her up to be an instant sympathetic, if not loveable character.  I also knew that the writer’s were taking the dangers of childbirth in a pseudo-medieval world seriously and realistically for the supposed time period, which really excited me because you hardly ever see this explored in fantasy or even in historical dramas, beyond “oh this woman died on the birthing bed, oh well”.  However, I did not expect how they actually did this in the show.  On one hand it was horrifying and brutal and just thinking of it makes me tear up and start crying again.  I was sobbing watching the scene of Aemma in childbirth, so much so that I completely missed Daemon and Christon Cole’s fight.  One would think that this reaction I had was a very negative reaction and that I hated it, but surprisingly I didn’t.  It wasn’t gratuitous to me like Sansa’s r*pe was in GOT S5, and I don’t feel like it was a cheap way to shock the audience or add just another act of violence against women in medieval-esque settings.  No, I thought it brought to light the realities of what women had to go through in that type of society and how they were ruled by their husband, or other men, to make decisions for them, even life and death decisions.

In the pilot they clearly depict that Aemma was subjected to the normalized abuse of constantly being subjected to pregnancy and childbirth just so a male heir could be birthed.  We see Aemma pregnant at the Great Council of 101 AC, and then we see Aemma heavily pregnant again 9 years later.  She pleads with Viserys about how she wants this pregnancy to be her last.  She has already had five pregnancies in twice as many years, none of them viable as she went through several miscarriages and stillbirths.  This is a realistic depiction of what it meant to be a married woman (especially a noble woman) in that type of society, with the expectations of producing heirs.  Aemma shows that she has accepted her duty/was socialized by the patriarchal society around her to accept it, but it’s obvious it’s been hard on her, and this isn’t even a show only thing.  In the books Viserys is desperate for a male heir and is constantly impregnating Aemma until her death.  And if the ASOIAF world is anything like the real medieval world, then 1 in every 20 women would die in childbirth.  I guess that doesn’t seem like a lot, but consider how these odds aren’t just there permanently, as in if you survived one childbirth you’ll survive them all, no, these odds were there every single time.  So when you factor in how many children women were having in those days, those rates get even higher and higher for a singular woman.  And let’s not forget the mortality rates of children in those days as well.  A quarter of babes did not reach childhood/past their toddler days, and only about half of the children born made it to adulthood, as in 16 years old or so.  

Childbirth, indeed, is a battlefield, as Aemma Arryn said, which leads me into another aspect I really loved about the pilot, how Aemma’s labor and death was juxtaposed with the tourney.  While the tourney wasn’t a real battle, the participants were playing at battle, while Aemma also fought in childbirth.  I thought it was just a really great bit of writing that was never really seen in GOT from my recollections.

So like I said, this scene of Aemma trying to give birth to her son was just absolutely heartwrenching.  And surprisingly, seeing Aemma’s choice being taken away was almost prophetic to our own current political climate in America, which I think just made the experience of watching it even more horrifying.  Giving Viserys the choice to let both Aemma and his heir die, or try to save the heir (because Aemma was going to die regardless) is something that really captures the core of GRRM’s world.  GRRM calls it “the heart in conflict”, but he also loves posing the question of “what would you do in this or that situation?” and he loves morally gray, complex characters who are both capable of good and bad.

As we saw, Viserys tries to save his son and heir, without so much as a discussion with Aemma.  Viserys doesn’t tell her the medical prognosis, nor the statistics.  He doesn’t give her the choice.  She doesn’t know what’s happening and she’s pleading and crying as they cut into her and it’s so fucking horrific, but it’s so horrific because of how real it is.  Viserys supposedly loved Aemma but he took her choice away and didn’t respect her enough to let her decide for herself or for them to decide together.  It’s despicable, but it’s quintessential GRRM/ASOIAF with its moral grayness and quandaries.  Think Jaime Lannister being capable of throwing a 7 year old boy out a tower window, yet two books later he goes back and saves Brienne of Tarth from being mauled by a bear.  Viserys, in the show, is a very complex character so far.  He’s weak, but he can make some of his own decisions, he trusts the wrong people, he loves his brother but is suspicious of him, he loves his daughter but didn’t think she was capable of being heir until he lost everything else and now he feels guilt over it.  He wants to keep the peace because of the heavy burden he bears, yet the Iron Throne keeps cutting him and infecting him, and instead of listening to his family and trying to join their strength together, he listens to conniving lickspittles.  He loved his wife, Aemma, but he still impregnated her back to back to back, and instead of informing Aemma about any of what was happening, he let people push her down into a mattress and cut her stomach open for her to bleed out in agony, not knowing why.  It’s despicable, it’s morally gray, almost black, and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around his character thinking this is okay.  However, I like this moral complexity, I enjoy it, and it was something that was lost in the original GOT series where almost everyone lost their complexity.

But in the end, I mourn for Aemma Arryn. She was only in a few scenes but she held a huge presence, and I feel her death and the circumstances behind it will haunt Rhaenyra during S1, especially when she is forced by Viserys to marry and produce heirs.  I don’t know if I’m in the minority or not, but I thought the way they explored the dangers of childbirth and the complete insidiousness of how it could be was really well done.  It was horrifying and macabre, but narratively it was just a 10/10 episode for me, despite how heartwrenching it was.

(I hope I made it clear that I didn’t get any joy out of this death.  I thought it was just really well done, and I applaud them for writing something that wasn’t just obviously put in for shock value with nothing deeper going on.  I do not like it when shows become gratuitous, but I do not like when shows also shy away from hard topics or adult content that they could narratively address on a deeper level once put into the text.  And I thought the show did great with this so far in the pilot.)

[kim-jonghyeon]

"10 year chart reversal after disbandment" Fans are in tears about the regretful state of NU'EST

[source]

"Face" by Pledis Entertainment's five-member boy group NU'EST was met with an amazing chart reversal.

It's such a shame that their song took off after their disbandment.

I'm gonna cry, really.

Why didn't I like you then, guys?

Can't you get back together?

Please reunite to promote Face again!

"Face," which was released as a debut song on March 15, 2012, is going through a speedy chart reversal after ten years because of SNS. Though fans are welcoming the chart reversal with joy, the group's disbandment has also made it a rather regretful situation.

The group that debuted with "Face" was the five-member boy group NU'EST. NU'EST debuted on March 15, 2012 with the single album "Face" but it did not garner as big of a reaction as other rookie groups at the time.

At the time of their first debut, they promoted as five members composed of JR, Aron, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren, though after about a year, Chinese member Jason was added to the group and they promoted as six members under NU'EST-M.

Currently, many people are keeping NU'EST's "Face" alive through Tiktok and Instagram as though it was a dance challenge. Since the song became famous after 10 years, more people started looking for its original singers. Naturally, NU'EST was mentioned and many people came to learn about the current state of the group.

Although most people accepted that NU'EST was a disbanded group and simply uploaded videos, NU'EST's fans would explain in greater detail and the truth of their chart reversal became known. It was through this that many people felt their regrets.

A popular celebrity from NU'EST

On February 24, 2017, NU'EST announced their suspension of activities as four members would appear on Produce 101 Season 2. The members who decided to participate in Produce 101 Season 2 were JR, Baekho, Minhyun, and Ren.

This was where Minhyun was selected to be in the final lineup of Wanna One, and NU'EST had the chance to be known once more. Without Minhyun, the remaining members resumed activities as NU'EST W.

Called "monster rookies," Wanna One was an eleven-member boy group (including Hwang Minhyun) that received enormous attention from the public. They were also the first singers who debuted in Gocheok Skydome.

Groups who were chosen through Mnet survival programs showed a trend of possessing an explosive popularity and fandom. IOI, who debuted through Produce 101, were in a similar situation.

Earning amazing ranks from debut, they became the representative leader of third generation of k-pop boy groups. The group was composed of members Yoon Jisung, Ha Sungwoon, Hwang Minhyun, Ong Seungwoo, Kim Jaehwan, Kang Daniel, Park Jihoon, Park Woojin, Bae Jinyoung, Lee Daehwi, and Lai Guanlin.

NU'EST members lately

NU'EST has actually suspended activities. Their company, Pledis Entertainment, revealed that their exclusive contracts had expired last March 14, 2022. They finished the last of their official activities with the release of their best album "Needle and Bubble."

NU'EST JR (Kim Jonghyeon) has moved companies to Evermore and debuted as an actor and solo. He is promoting the release of his first mini album and solo debut, "MERIDIEM."

NU'EST Aron (Kwak Youngmin) is currently working independently without a company. A native of LA, he left his company and decided to go solo. Having had several years of experience as a radio DJ, he has expressed that he has started preparing for his first solo activities on his podcast.

NU'EST Baekho (Kang Dongho) has re-signed with his current company Pledis Entertainment. The name "Baekho" was given to him by After School's Uee. Baekho is continuing his solo activities after the release of his first mini album, "Absolute Zero."

NU'EST Minhyun (Hwang Minhyun) is actively promoting after re-signing with his current company Pledis Entertainment. He officially began his solo activities with the drama "Alchemy of Souls" and his first solo fan meeting.

NU'EST Ren (Choi Mingi) left his company and decided to move to Big Planet Made. He plans to continue actively promoting as a solo artist and actor.

[this is a fan translation by a non-native korean speaker and may contain inaccuracies. it has not yet been proofread or edited.]

[the-monkey-ruler]

Son Goku Begins - Volume of Yellow Wind Great King (1966) 孫悟空が始まるよー 黄風大王の巻

Director: Sugii Gizaburo

Screenwriter: Sano Mitsuo

Producer: Tezuka Productions Co., Ltd. / Mushi Production

Country/Region: Japan

Language: Japanese

Date: 1966-06-12

Duration: 21 minutes

Also known as: Son-goku is coming: Chapter of Ko-fu Dai-o

Type: Retelling

Summary:

This is a pilot film for an animated TV program based on "Son-goku the Monkey." In order to get an idea of the reaction of children, its main audience, a preview was held at an elementary school. It received complaints that Son-goku was portrayed too nicely.

Source: https://tezukaosamu.net/en/anime/101.html

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sB8dgsReQEk&ab_channel=%E6%89%8B%E5%A1%9A%E3%83%97%E3%83%AD%E3%83%80%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A7%E3%83%B3%E5%85%AC%E5%BC%8F%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB

[thetimelordbatgirl]

I think the MCU just needs to end honestly. Obviously they're not going to tho

After all of Phase Four outside of Shang Chi and TFATWS? I feel like it should just end, really. I shit you not, we only now got told by a producer in this article, that the over-arching theme/I guess plot is....both 'guilt and consequences' and 'reactions to endgame'....I'm sorry, how does that justify a new phase of films/shows??? And like, not all of them really deal with those themes (don't get me started on Wanda's bullshit with the theme of 'guilt and consequences'), a-lot of them are just....to introduce new character's and new plots that have been thrown at the wall without effort really.

And if Thor Love And Thunder is anything to go off, the films really aren't improving. They'll pretty much change everything about the characters or just mock aspects of it for 'comedy' and then act like....their films or shows are somehow art. Like, Thor Love and Thunder? It's literally led to people only now realizing how good Dark World was (allow me to find that funny as someone who loves that film and is now seeing ragnarok stans act like they like it after trashing it constantly) and Multiverse Of Madness??? It literally just made Wanda the villain to appease Elizabeth Olsen's weird love for House Of M and what that comic did to Wanda, and was nothing but "LOOK WE CAN DO HORROR TOO!". It wasn't even good horror, just putting it out there. And new characters introduced like Moon Knight and co, Ms Marvel, Eternals, Shang Chi, Miss America, She Hulk....I love Shang Chi, but introducing new characters doesn't really justify phase four when its clear NO ONE can decide on the over-all plot of Phase Four to the point the finale point of Phase Four will be a mess. Plus these new characters??? They not 101% guaranteed to be accurate even! Like, Ms Marvel is the most obvious with that mutant bullshit now, but you also got how MoM is making Miss America somehow Strange's pupil, and it's just....stop adapting them if they not gonna be accurate, really. Including casting really in Miss America's case...and concept art too.

And like, given how they hinting now at mutant Ms Marvel, you can 101% bet Mutants are getting dragged into this cluster-fuck of a film verse and given how MoM handled Xavier, I dread what the MCU will do with the x-men in general. And I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me for thinking the mcu isn’t good at showing reactions to the aftermath of Endgame when the Asgardians fucking have a ice cream shop dedicated to Thanos for no reason other then I guess comedy in Love And Thunder.

[ode-of-odr-archive]

FEV and Ras

I mentioned a while ago, but thanks a fantastic convo with @that-kid-from-vault-101 there is going to be an adjustment to Ras’ Fallout backstory. This will make some of the amazing feats Ras has pulled off make way more sense, but also leans into his impeccable strength and endurance, and ability to survive purging methods without dying (I.E. going cold turkey on drugs when it likely would have killed him.) Also his immunity to radiation. 

This big change is Ras’ family line is actually from a Vault in the area where they were doing testing with another strain of the FEV, however while it didn’t appear to work. The scientists became the cult Ras ended up being sold to: Odin’s Children. At some point the scientist realized the FEV did work, but took a delayed reaction, showing itself further down the line in various families. So this cult decided they could hunt down these children and use them to be the super soldiers they were meant to be and become a sort of new world order.

Signs the FEV was active and working in a subject, is despite the mother’s health the child is born large and healthy (Ras was born to a chem addled mother, who was deeply under weight, yet came out 10 lbs and very healthy). They are large, and almost always standing over most others. Hitting the fix foot mark easily, and hit growth spurts early. Such as Ras. They mature quicker. Ras was effectively raising his little sister at age 6 not because of survival reasons but because his brain was more developed for problem solving and handling things. This is why he can move between multiple languages with ease, and if properly taught could swiftly learn various things.  Ras’ simpleness is because they wanted him to stay stupid.

Basically Ras is a wasteland Captain America. He is peak human everything, plus a little extra such as being immune to radiation. However, he did still get the heightened aggression and is why his temper flares like it does. However, not to the degree former strands produced. 

So when people joke he’s a pink super mutant; they ain’t wrong. 

Another thing thanks to this convo is Ras as what is called “immortal cells” Ras’ cells don’t die after splitting so many times. Meaning his DNA can be used over and over for testing. This could be used to jump start finding vaccines, cures or, better perfecting the  FEV that is active inside him. 

Which, while Ras doesn’t know it, means other high tech groups he isn’t aware of are aware of him, and seeking him out. Namely The Institute as they also want him for synth purposes.