#produce 101 reaction

[kpop-bbg]

[ihopesocomic]

You said that I Hope So is not a "My Pride but better", it's an original story of yours. Fair. I don't disagree. But do you really think you're SUCH a better writer than tribble? 😭 Because every time someone PMs you in a way that isn't negative, you start to completely shit on it, and compare it to how you decided to do it differently in your own story and how it's so much better. Hold on there. I just think artists/writers should be careful when they worship and praise their own works too much while shitting on others works that often were born from a similar idea. But I'm not hating, it's just funny tho.

It's not about us "thinking we're SUCH better writers than Tribble", it's more that's your interpretation of what we're saying. I'm willing to bet that if we didn't have this comic, the argument would be more along the lines of 'well, I'd like to see you do better!' instead. This is just the flip side of the coin, I feel.

I say this because you seem to have this idea that she and her writing are untouchable to criticism vs. something like Warrior Cats, (which is where a lot of MP's narrative structure is inspired from), which even the self-admitted fans can find fault in. Still doesn't mean they can't find the potential in those books and make their own AUs or w/e without also suggesting they're better writers than the Erins. (Either way, certain expectations come with being a professional writer.)

Even without the badly-handled topics, her show just isn't written well. Dialogue is clunky and non-conversational, things get mentioned but never get followed through on, character motivations are all over the place. We have a whole three hour video talking about this if you'd care to watch it. But there are other things that I feel make Tribble an objectively bad writer. This isn't us "shitting on her". These are just fundamental factors that go against How to be a Good Writer 101:

Tribble never listened to criticism and she used serious issues as entertainment value. No one can argue that even highly-rated writers can produce incredibly sloppy work when 1) they feel they don't have to listen to criticism and 2) they feel they don't have to do proper research with a topic they want to cover in their work while knowing next to nothing about it.

As well as being a professional in her field, Tribble also had resources at her disposal that most indie creators cannot access. She had an editor and beta script readers helping her. In short, she had plenty of opportunities and guidance to stop and look back on what she had produced and make improvements. She did not and, what's more: she put on a show of doing so via asking for criticism but not taking it on board.

We know this because I tried to give her advice on several occasions, only to be shot down. For example, Tribble was very much aware of some of the underlying issues within the show (i.e. how bad it looked that Hover allowed Nothing to be assaulted by Quickmane in Episode 5 with zero reaction) because we brought it to her attention, she proceeded to not take our suggestions on how to improve things on board for one reason or another.

And I don't think I need to go into how it feels very backhanded that an able-bodied creator is producing a "pro-disability" show and yet refused to take on criticism by disabled viewers. (I would say that thinking so highly of oneself to the point where advice goes ignored even when asked for does not a good writer make.)

I also don't know if you're under the impression that we're tearing into some hobbyist's passion project but that's not what this is. My Pride was a professional production, made by a team and it had a budget of around 140-150k CAD, which was funded by Canadian taxpayers. We've had to repeatedly point this out because Tribble has failed to gone out of her way to make this clear. Presumably so people like you feel bad for her.

So, I'm sorry but it's perfectly fair game to criticise MP and how Tribble went about producing it. She had plenty of opportunities to improve what many deemed to be shortcomings. She did not. She thought she knew better, even better than those who have experienced the actual oppression she sought to depict in an edgy, disrespectful manner.

And that's why we feel she's bad writer. Her fans are free to disagree with us, but I've yet to come across any real argument outside of 'y'all r just mean!', even though we've been courteous enough to not get personal when criticizing her as a writer/director.

Our writing isn't perfect. We've always consistently made that clear. We have had several instances throughout the process of making this comic where readers have made good points that we have brought on to improve the writing. Hell, I've discovered things I didn't even know about my own conditions via some of the readers of this comic. The overreaching lesson is that you should listen to your readers, because they just want you to produce a better narrative. Unfortunately, I feel Tribble did not feel the same way about her audience, and I'm also getting the same vibes from you, anon. Purely by your notion that criticism of a show or not scolding our fans when they say they have a preference like the MP fans do = "shitting on MP". Which is fine but I'm going to have to say I disagree. It's not mean or problematic for me or any of my disabled readers to have strong opinions about a show that misappropriates our oppression.

Or that I think my writing is amazing when it's more that I'm improving what I personally feel needs to be improved. Such as how the disabled are always depicted in mainstream media. And I'll continue to do so. You can come at me with the reductive gatekeeping that is that I - as a disabled person - do not have the right to have an opinion on an able-bodied creator writing ableism badly and how it can be improved all you want, but I think that's ultimately more of a commentary on you than me. c: - RJ

[atzjuyeon]

EVERYTHING YOU DIDN’T KNOW .ᐟ

✘ juyeon is a dr pepper addict. she literally has a mini fridge in her room just full of dr pepper. she restocks every month and will notice if yunho or yeosang take one

✘ she has a russian blue cat named jinx. her and byeol are playmates

✘ she used to have an eyebrow piercing for a few months but had to take it out before she debuted. she wants to get it repierced but thinks she’ll get fired so she settles for ear piercings

✘ she’s really impulsive and does everything without telling anyone. for months, she had light brown hair and then the next morning all of a sudden her hair is pink?? everyone was so confused

✘ it’s the same thing with tattoos. she gets in trouble a lot for randomly coming home with new ink.

✘ originally, juyeon was set to appear on produce 101 with soyeon, yoonseo, and eunbin but she got in trouble with the company so they removed her from the group

✘ she is also super energetic. you’d think she takes five energy shots a day

✘ her favorite genres are rock and pop punk (she’s an emo kid)

✘ she can play electric guitar

✘ juyeon is the first member to have her driver license (she got it at 18)

✘ juyeon laughs when she’s scared. instead of screaming, she’ll burst out laughing and everyone looks at her like 🧍‍♀️

✘ she hates ice cream :/

✘ her role model is seulgi from red velvet

✘ she taught herself english because she wanted to be better than her brother at it

✘ she also taught herself gymnastics

✘ she’s apart of the demon line

✘ her voice is extremely raspy (because she used to smoke a lot. now she only smokes when she’s stressed)

✘ juyeon gets so hyped at award shows. you know how most idols are kinda stoic and don’t really react? not juyeon. she’s dancing, singing, cheering along to other performances and giving fans all the reactions they could ask for

✘ speaking of fans, even non-atinys love her. she’s so outgoing and spontaneous, people love interacting with her

a/n. some fun juyeon facts that i wasn’t even gna post bc it’s my birthday 🥳

[peachjagiya]

“Call me cynical but JK and Jimin hanging out in hotel rooms is Hybe ship playbook 101”

“ If I believe this was genuine candid reaction, it doesn't mean I also believe they weren't guided towards entering this room together.”

“I'm still waiting for the day I'm actually left with questions about one of these revered Jimkook moments. “

Genuine question. If you didn’t find this moment suspicious, why conclude that they must have been directed to be in the same room or that Jikook spending time together in hotel rooms is part of some ‘ship playbook’? Why not simply acknowledge that there’s nothing unusual about friends hanging out in a hotel room together or Jimin and Jungkook being in seen entering the same hotel room together isn’t anything to break a sweat about?

By suggesting that any account of their time together in hotel rooms is fabricated or staged, aren’t you indirectly admitting that you yourself find it abnormal? Because if you thought it was a perfectly normal thing why would you need to find an explanation for it? If you’re implying the company is orchestrating these moments to make them appear a certain way, doesn’t that suggest you perceive the situation similarly but are attempting to rationalize it? On one hand you say you have never seen a moment that leaves you with questions yet the only explaination you have for some moments is that the company must have orchestrated things. I’m sorry but it doesn’t make much sense to me.

You got me. Secretly breaking a sweat over it.

I'm not the audience for this ship. No I don't think them entering a hotel room is suspicious or abnormal. However people who believe Jikook are a couple think it is. That's who ship 101 plays to. If those people find it suspicious, there might be a cynical explanation for how they got to that conclusion. Like consistent and repeated discussion of how Jungkook hangs out in Jimin's room in many different pieces of content.

This content is not a documentary. It's documentary style but it's produced. In AYS, Jimin and Jungkook are standing somewhat near each other. Staff say to Jungkook something like "why are you standing so far away?"

If Jungkook had obeyed and went to stand a bit closer to Jimin, what's the result? Two guys standing near each other? And yet staff felt the need to ask the question? There is ON CAMERA SUBTITLED EVIDENCE of staff intervention. Do I now think two guys standing next to each other is unusual? No I don't. You know who does? Jimkookers.

[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,

[xohyeona]

LOVE, PATIENCE & ADMIRATION.

SUMMARY. some of the significant moments of aeri and kaleina’s journey through produce 101

AUTHORS NOTE. here it isssss @urmykrushhh i’m so sorry this took forever 😭 BUT!! i really enjoyed working on this. i kinda filled in some blanks, like their audition performance, kaleina & kiyeon’s relationship, etc, but hopefully i got this somewhat accurate of the girls’ journey. btw i got a lot of inspo for this fic from the greatest by billie eilish, literally had that song on repeat

hearing the news of being sent to produce 101 brought on two different reactions from aeri and kyungja. for aeri, it only erupted her nerves even more, the threat of having to compete against on hundred other girls for a debut worried her. kyungja, on the other hand, took this as another opportunity; a solid chance to make her dreams come true in case she couldn’t debut under bighit.

having the title of “bighit trainees” alone already gave them a higher up. shocked stares and whispers filled the room upon the girls’ entrance from compliments like, “they’re so pretty” to questions such as, “since when did bighit even have female trainees?” to comments about how kyungja looked a bit familiar.

aeri and kyungja could feel a mixture of awe and tension when they walked into the room, however their smiling faces never faltered, making a good impression. cheetah let out a sudden sound of surprise while looking through the girls’ profiles, kyungja specifically. she did a double take, whispering to bae yoonjung sitting next to her before turning her attention to kyungja. “kyungja, your sister is an idol, correct?”

kyungja sheepishly smiled, “yes. my older sister is girls generations’ kiyeon.”

as soon as she said that, they entire room filled with gasps and surprised looks. so that’s why she looked so familiar.

“are you going to perform a girls generation song?” jang keunsuk asked.

“no, no,” kyungja laughed, comically waving her hands in protest. that was a discussion before entering the show, what song they would perform. aeri suggested run devil run or mr. mr. but the younger girl detested the idea. of course she liked those songs and she knew that promoted herself as juyeon’s younger sister would garner lots of attention, but she didn’t want to do that. she didn’t want to use her sister’s popularity to get herself ahead. she was gonna get there on her own.

finally, aeri and kyungja were able to perform. deciding to be confident and make a strong impression, the girls performed i am the best by 2ne1, which received praise from the judges and contestants. jeA complimented aeri on her vocals but told her that her dancing needed improvement. kyungja received praise for her rapping and dance ability and was asked to freestyle, which only put her in higher graces with the judges.

“i’ll announce the rankings now,” jang keunsuk exclaimed, holding the microphone close and looking down at his papers, “trainee jang kyungja, A.”

kyungja smiled and sighed in relief as all of the other trainees clapped for her. nobody really excepted anything less.

“trainee yamamoto aeri,” keunsuk continued, leaving a long pause before announcing her ranking, “B.”

though she was slightly disappointed she received a lower rank than kyungja, she still smiled and nodded, clapping for herself along with the other trainees.

“thank you.” the girls both bowed and walked off stage. as the two walked up to their seats, finally, they held hands and smiled at each other in encouragement; a silent saying of “we got this.” they were already off to a good start and while the only place you can go after being at the top is down, it seemed unlikely at the moment.

kyungja almost doesn’t believe it when a staff member hands her her cell phone. her eyes blink rapidly and she looks at the female staff skeptically, “really?” she asks while being urged to take the phone. she slowly takes it, in fear that the staff will change her mind and instantly take it back. when she’s told to make a phone call to someone important, she immediately thinks of one person; kiyeon.

“hello?”

“oh thank god you answered,” kyungja dramatically sighs in relief, basically throwing her entire body against the wall. she really didn’t think her sister would, being already a debuted idol and kyungja being so busy training, it’s been a while since they’ve had the chance to really talk.

kiyeon lightens up hearing her baby sister’s voice, “kyungja-yah! are you okay? how are you? aren’t you still doing the show?” she floods kyungja with multiple questions, but it takes a moment for kyungja to find an answer. she didn’t realize it until now, but she really needed to hear her voice.

kyungja lets her body slide down to the floor and holding her knees to her chest. “don’t worry, i’m not eliminated yet,” she jokes, though the threat of possibly being eliminated never leaves her mind. “they gave us our phones to call someone, so i decided to call you. sorry if you’re busy.”

kiyeon hums, “you know i’m never too busy when you need me. what’s on your mind?”

the younger sibling sighs, feeling the weight of kiyeon’s words. what is on her mind? besides constantly practicing and working hard to not be eliminated, kyungja had very little time to process her feelings.

“i’m tired,” she knows that for sure. probably not just physically, but mentally too. kyungja has been doing this for a long time, six years to be exact. she loves this, she really does, but goddamn does she need a nap and a couple hours to herself.

“that’s okay,” kiyeon tells her. “you’ll get tired a lot doing this job. but don’t let yourself be tired for nothing.” kyungja tilts her head in confusion, raising her eyebrows.

“if you really want this kyungja, use that tiredness to find the strength to push through. don’t let it go to waste.”

“but also, don’t overwork yourself and get sick, you need to be healthy too.” kiyeon quickly adds, but kyungja smiles and laughs, “got it. thanks unnie.” her words replay in kyungja’s mind and she finds herself feeling a little better, more determined if anything.

“you got this, kaleina.”

“aeri is the center?” jeA asked.

as the concept evaluation round of performances were just a few days away, led to aeri and the rest of her team practicing yum-yum. cheetah and jeA, who were monitoring the performance, were quiet for a moment as the girls completed the routine. tension filled the room with the girls out of breath and nervous, worried about what they will say.

“what happened? aeri, you messed up once and suddenly your face looked scared for the rest of the performance. you looked like you didn’t know what you were doing.” cheetah scolds. her tone isn’t harsh, but aeri can practically hear the intimidation in her voice. in respond, she could only nod and let out a soft apology.

“don’t apologize. just fix it, okay?”

after what seemed like forever, kyungja and aeri meet up in an empty practice room. since performing the signal song, they’ve been on separate teams. it’s been a while since they’ve had the free time to talk.

“you okay?” kyungja asks, taking a seat on the floor next to aeri, who’s leaning against the wall. aeri, who only hums, watches her sit. the two sit in a comfortable silence for a moment.

“i think i’m in trouble,” aeri laughs, though serious. “i’m worried about this performance.” she actually worried about a lot of things right now; the fear of being eliminated, the public audience slowly beginning to turn on her, but this upcoming performance weighs heavily.

“let me see.” kyungja declares, and aeri looks at a bit taken aback. “you have the music, right? let me see you do it.” she gestures for aeri to get up. the older girl hesitates for a second before grabbing the music player. kyungja was one of the best dancers she’s ever met. if anyone could help her, it would be her.

as aeri plays the music and begins to dance, kyungja looks at her intensely. it’s a look that makes aeri believe she’d be a good judge if she wasn’t a trainee. as the song reaches the chorus, kyungja suddenly stops her.

“relax. you’re so tense, it’s why you’re off beat. it’s causing you to move too fast. you might be thinking too much, which i completely understand, but it’s not helping you.” aeri nods, intensely taking in everything she’s saying. she understands, but how is she supposed to relax? they’re not exactly in a calm situation right now. it almost makes her feel worse.

kyungja seemingly senses aeri’s worries. “here, close your eyes.” again, aeri looks at her confused.

“close your eyes, turn around, and do the choreography. it might be easier if you make yourself believe you’re alone.” she can read the skepticism written all of aeri’s face, but her stance doesn’t change, staring at her until she decides to do it.

“okay,” aeri draws out, slowly turning around and closing her eyes. she doesn’t really understand how this method is supposed to work, but kyungja’s the only dance expert in the room right now so she’ll go with it.

the music begins, and aeri takes a deep breath. she starts to dance, and oddly enough, her body feels calmer. she’s not looking at anyone and therefore, doesn’t feel the stress of being judge, even while knowing that kyungja is right behind her. she goes through the entire routine, not completely perfect, but better than the first time. as the song closes out and aeri completes the final move, kyungja smiles and softly claps for her. “see? that was better, right? how was it?”

aeri turns back to face her and smiles and nods, slightly out of breath. “yeah, i think that was better. now i just have to do that with my eyes open.”

“come on, just practice a few more times like that and you’ll be okay. you got this aeri.” kyungja encourages, and while it doesn’t make aeri’s worries completely go away, it leaves some hope in her mind.

kyungja sent a warming smile towards aeri, attempting to lift up the older girl’s spirits. aeri reciprocated, but as the names of other trainees began to be called and less spots became available, her worries only grew.

kang mina in 18th place, zhou jieqiong in 19th place, jeon soyeon in 20th place, jung eunwoo in 21st place. aeri’s eyes were squeezed shut and her fingers tightly crossed. she had to be next, please let her be next. she knows the public hasn’t been in favor of her recently, but if she just had one more shot, she’d do better. all she needs is one more chance to prove that she deserves a spot and─

lee soohyun in 22nd place.

the tenseness in her body slowly eased. her fingers uncrossed and her eyes slowly open as the realization hit her. she didn’t make it. her mind starts to spin, going over everything she did wrong or could’ve done better; how she could’ve done better.

will she have another chance after this?

sure, there were still plans for bighit to debut a new girl group, but in this industry? everything is uncertain. aeri’s eyes began to well into tears, but she quickly blinked them away at the sight of kyungja, who had a look of pity on her face. all of their encouragement of making the group together was suddenly down the drain.

“it’s okay.” aeri mouthed to kyungja, hoping to make the younger girl feel better. she shouldn’t be sad, kyungja still has a chance.

although regrettable, she can’t change the past. she did what she did and this is what happened.

days later kyungja would find herself in the same position, surrounded in the mist of the remaining girls, all anxiously waiting for their fate. it was the final. after months of rigorous practicing, tough competition, and stressful eliminations, things were coming to an end.

names began to be called, painfully slowly might i add. from lim nayoung in 10th place to jeon somi and kim sejeong in 1st and 2nd. only 11th place remained. kyungja stared at the tv screen displayed in front of the girls, jumping in surprise seeing her face appear along with three other girls.

kyungja couldn’t even find the words to speak when asked how she felt. a million thoughts ran through her head, she could barely think straight. 14th place was announced, then 13th; neither of which were her.

no pressure, right?

now, it was between her and yeonjung. a top tier vocalist versus a top tier dancer. it was anyone’s game at this point, either one of them. kyungja didn’t know how much longer she could be patient. her hands were shaking and she could only stare at the floor. when she heard the words, “starship, yoo yeonjug,” she let out the huge breath she had been holding since the beginning.

one spot. kyungja was one spot away from making the lineup of i.o.i. just one. she walked over and hugged yeonjung, who had bursted into tears, reassuring and congratulating her. no matter how disappointed in herself she was, these were still her friends and colleagues. she was happy for yeonjung. though, she could help turning away from everyone else to wipe her tears after letting go of her.

‘don’t let it be for nothing.’ kyungja heard kiyeon’s words in her head. she won’t quit. there was still hope for her at bighit. she’s gonna go back and continue to work hard for her dreams. she won’t let her struggles be for nothing.

[healthilyathome]

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.

[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.

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 245

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. 

[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

[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.  

[kpoploverfrevr]

Fans Are Divided On The Future Of KISS OF LIFE’s Activities

On December 20, DoD announced that singer and creative director Lee Hae In had signed an exclusive contract with them.

"We signed an exclusive contract with Lee Hae In, who is loved for her diverse talents and charms. We will give our full support so she can express her infinite talent in different fields."

She was also reported to take on the director role for a new project at DoD.

She first appeared on the Mnet survival program Produce 101 in 2016 and although eliminated, she later debuted as a member of I.B.I. She then took on the director role, worked with KISS OF Life, and proved her talent and skills.

However, netizens’ reactions were divided on the news as some were worried about the group…

“No…what do you mean she won’t work with KIOF anymore…”

“I guess she won’t be working with them now…”

“The new agency she’s moving to isn’t that great…”

“KIOF’s agency neglected Lee Hae In. When she asked for ‘IGLOO’ to be the title track, they said, ‘Is it because it’s your producer friend’s song?’ and ended up pushing out ‘Get Loud.’

while others felt there was no need to be.

[contagious-watermelon]

there's something to be said about the focus on words as the pinnacle of queer representation, and i hope i can say it but fear i cannot.

it has several main issues I've noticed, i think — for one, it produces stories wherein the queerness is mentioned but not shown. using aspec rep as an example: characters like lilith from the owl house check the box of "confirmed by the creator as aroace" (although i would argue that it doesn't rven count bc it was never stated in the actual show at all) but don't do anything to depict the actual experience of being aroace. the most that can be said is that there's nothing to say that she's not.

and that's no representation at all. saying someone is a lesbian but not even mentioning an ex? calling someone bisexual while resolutely refusing to show them in a same-gender relationship... none of these actually show the queer identity in question. it's a show-don't-tell issue, maybe, and we're all stuck on "tell" for fear of getting it wrong if we try to show.

and then, the converse problem — the unending worry to get the right words when you're writing a character, fearing queer audiences' reactions, accusations of queerbaiting, if you leave things implied and unsaid. do the gays get to have situationships? will-they-won't-theys? or are we stuck with Gay 101 where every character has to list their LGBT identities or else be derided as "not really gay" or "never confirmed in canon?"

in my own writing — as an example — i struggle with this too. I'm writing a story about aromanticism, never using the word, and i worry that because I'm only "showing" and never "telling," that my film will not be seen as an aromantic story, or that my characters' sexualities will be ignored because they never say the word — because they don't know the word.

also — and maybe I'm not the person to say this, because I'm not a person of color — but to me this does seem similar to something that happens with racial representation. i believe it's called plastic representation, but it's been a while since i took that media course... where they do show (e.g.) black actors and characters, but the storylines are white — black in name but not in story or characterization or experience. obviously the situation is different because you can't visually show a queer character (usually), but i think it may be roughly the same thing: having representation in appearance but not in actuality.

[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

[dewsdoit]

we're not really strangers pt. 1.1 - extras: Wonwoo's POV

wonu x y/n | soft romance with a bit of angst ❗️no professional proofreading. may contain grammatical errors.

it’s been a long time but i’m back. I honestly don’t know if I should continue this but I have some free time right now and I’m still kinda having fun. again, don’t take this seriously! it’s just purely fictional <33

—————————————

It's been extremely mundane these days. It feels like a routine going to school and getting up is the worst part. I thought I would be excited to finally take my last semester as a student in this school, but I feel numb.

As I was brushing my hair in front of the mirror, I started thinking about how my college life has been pretty eventful…yet it feels so empty. I've been active in school my whole life. I joined contests, I participated in different clubs and organizations, and I even tried joining our futsal team. Don't get me wrong, I've made a lot of friends and companions throughout these events. I'm grateful for the opportunities and I don't regret doing all those things, but I've been wanting some peace and quiet lately. My course isn’t helping as well since it started to feel more of a requirement than a hobby that I feel strongly passionate about. It just doesn’t feel the same anymore.

I stared at my reflection for awhile. The guy in front of me looks so familiar, but I don’t see the same guy who was so excited to take up film as their major and finally fulfill his dream as a director or producer.

My thoughts were disrupted when I heard a knock on my door. “Are you gonna take any longer? We’re gonna be late!” Jen says irritatedly. “Just a few more minutes! Be patient!”, I scold back at her.

Living with my mom’s bestfriend’s daughter has been quite eventful, honestly. Considering the fact that people would commonly mistake us as a couple, I actually treat her like the sister I (wish I) never had.

“What the heck took you so long??” That’s one cute way of saying good morning to someone who just experienced a little identity crisis this early in the morning.

“The shower wasn’t hot enough,” I responded. “Can we please go now?”

“You told me to wait patiently and now you’re bossing me around to head out? My god, aren’t you the sweetest?” She messes up my hair that took me three tries to make it look less fluffy. Oh I wanna push her so bad.

As I parted ways with Jen and entered our building, every thought I had this morning suddenly vanished. It's as if nothing happened. I guess I can still call this school as my second home, but only because I know my friends make it suck less. I took the easiest elective under my major, Film-101. Going back to the basics was a good idea since I feel the need to remember why I chose this course in the first place. Plus, some of my friends are taking up this course for fun too. "Hi, sorry, is this the room for Film-101?" a soft voice asked my friend, "Yeah. We were just heading inside too," my friend responded. "Thanks!" she replied, and my friend was following her with his eyes as she entered the room. I playfully elbowed him and he laughed it off. The truth is I also did the same thing, but not just because I find her pretty. It's because I know her, and I know her too well that my hands are suddenly sweating and my cheeks feel warm. I thought taking this class was gonna be a breeze, but now I find myself shifting my eyes in her direction from time to time. I might just be in awe because I haven't seen her since middle school, but why am I so nervous? It's just her. I shouldn't feel this way anymore. "Dude, are you even listening?" my friend snapped at me. "Yeah dude, just keep talking," I wasn't even looking at him when she suddenly looked back in my direction. Now my friend has truly got my full attention and I'm faking a reaction just to make a fool out of myself. TWICE. That was my sign to stop whatever the hell I was doing and just do what I was supposed to do. The last thing I want is to embarrass myself by failing this class. I have to get it together.

——————————————————————————

I can’t seem to start my car. I’m watching you walk away from the cafe and you look so cute with your hoodie almost making your face look so round. I waited for you to get on your ride back home.

I sit and ponder for a while. My mind keeps replaying how you gently removed my glasses. God, you were so close that it didn’t feel real. It took me back to middle school, when I couldn’t find my glasses after playing at the Mcdonald’s ball pit and you helped me find them. You asked me the same question with such gentleness. Your kind gesture easily made my heart pound so fast that I thought I was going to pass out.

But of course, I expected that you wouldn’t remember me anymore. I don’t think I’ve changed a lot physically, but I’m more active in school now compared to when we were kids. But you… I’ve always known how pretty you are but your eyes are sharper now. You parted your hair differently and you don’t put your hair up anymore. You put on a little bit of makeup to make your cheeks and lips look flushed but you still don’t smile too often. You’re still awfully quiet in class and you keep yourself well-reserved. You choose your crowd and I’m glad you get along with a lot of girls now. Kids used to make fun of you for having a gap between your teeth, but I personally think it’s what makes you stand out in the cutest way possible.

I think about you a little more often than I should. And how you’ve stayed pretty much the same, but also how much you’ve changed. I start to think about how I try not to miss the chances I have in everything I do, and I wanna take this chance I have to try and take my chance on you.

I glanced at my bag and I’m thanking my genius friend for suggesting this card game. Hopefully when we draw the last card, I’ll be able to get to know you better. And if things go the right way, I hope I’ll be brave enough to ask you to see me more than just a project partner. And again, hopefully, more than just a friend.

[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