#steel market shape

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Steel Market - Forecast(2024 - 2030)

Steel Market - Overview

The Steel market is analyzed to be $1,746.35 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach $2,105 billion in 2030. The market is estimated to grow with a CAGR of 4.13% during 2024-2030. Steel is an alloy that is made up of iron ore or scrap steel and carbon. In general, steels have various unique properties including being non-corrosive, rust-resistant and heavier than other metals such as aluminum. Therefore, steel is extensively used in various end-use industry verticals, including the manufacturing various transportation and automobile components, medical equipment, metal surgical implants, structural components and more, which in turn is boosting its market growth. In recent years, the steel market has experienced fluctuations driven by several factors. One significant trend in the steel market is the impact of trade policies and tariffs. Trade tensions between major steel-producing nations, such as the United States, China, and the European Union, have led to shifts in supply chains and pricing dynamics. Tariffs imposed on steel imports have affected the competitiveness of domestic producers and influenced global trade patterns. Additionally, sustainability concerns and environmental regulations have influenced market dynamics. Increasing awareness of carbon emissions and the environmental footprint of steel production has led to a growing demand for greener steel products. This has prompted investments in cleaner production technologies such as electric arc furnaces and the development of recycled steel. Moreover, technological advancements and innovations in steel manufacturing processes have enhanced efficiency and product quality. As a result, the steel market is poised for sustained growth as global economic recovery accelerates, with innovations in technology and sustainability shaping future trends.

Steel Market Report Coverage

The report: “Steel Industry – Forecast (2024-2030)”, by IndustryARC covers an in-depth analysis of the following segments of the Steel Market Report. 

By Type: Carbon Steel, (Low Carbon Steel, Medium Carbon Steel, High Carbon Steel), Stainless Steel (Austenitic Stainless Steels, Ferritic Stainless Steels, Martensitic Stainless Steels, Precipitation Hardening Grade Stainless Steels, Duplex Stainless Steels), Alloy Steel (Chromium Molybdenum Steel, Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Steel, Chromium Vanadium Steel, HSLA -Nickel-Chromium-Molybdenum Steel), Tool Steel (Water-hardening tool steels, Shock-resisting tool steels, Cold-work tool steels, Hot-work steels, High-speed tool steels, Others), Others

By Form: Bar, Rod, Tube, Pipe, Plate, Sheet, Structural, Others

By Application: Transportation (Road, Bridges, Barriers, Rail, Tracks, Rail Cars), Construction (Cool Metal (infrared reflecting) Roofing, Purlins, Beams, Pipe, Recyclable steel framing (studs), Desks/Furniture), Packaging (Canes, Bottles, Others), Water Projects (Levees/Dams/Locks), Energy (Renewable, Nuclear, Bio-fuels, Fossil, Electric Grid), Others

By Industry: Construction (Steel Skeletons, Concrete Walls, Pillars, Nails, Bolts, Screws, Others), Machinery (Bulldozers, Backhoe Leaders, Pipelayers, Others), Automotive and Transportation (Exhaust, Trim/Decorative, Engine, Chassis, Fasteners, Tubing For Fuel Lines), Kitchenware and Domestic Appliances (Small Household Appliances, Black Home Appliances, White Home Appliances), Electrical and Electronics (Motor Mount Brackets, Adapter Plates, Electronic Frames and Chassis, Brackets, Others), Healthcare (Orthopaedic Implants, Artificial Heart Valves, Bone Fixation, Catheters, Others), Energy (Scrubbers, Heat Exchangers, Others)

By Region: North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World

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Key Takeaways

•  The Asia-Pacific region, particularly China, has been a dominant force in the global steel market with a share of 63% in 2023, owing to China's rapid industrialization and urbanization have driven substantial demand for steel in the construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing sectors.

•  Government infrastructure spending, particularly in major economies, plays a significant role in driving steel demand. Large-scale infrastructure projects, such as bridges, railways, and urban development initiatives, can create substantial demand for steel products.

•  The automotive sector is a significant consumer of steel, particularly in the production of vehicles. Changes in consumer demand for automobiles, as well as shifts towards electric vehicles which may use different materials, can impact steel demand in this sector.

Steel Market Segment Analysis – By Type 

In terms of type, the Steel Market is segmented into carbon steel, stainless steel, alloy steel, tool steel and others. In 2023, the Stainless-steel segment generated the greatest revenue of $361.94 billion and is projected to reach a revenue of $482.28 billion by 2030. Owing to the various benefits posed by stainless steel such as corrosion resistance, high and low temperature resistance, the ease of fabrication, strength, aesthetic appeal is one of the key factors for its adoption among various end-use industries, which in turn is boosting its market growth. The stainless-steel segment can be further classified as Austenitic stainless steels, Ferritic stainless steels, Martensitic stainless steels, Precipitation hardening grade stainless steel and Duplex stainless steels. 

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Steel Market Segment Analysis – By Form 

By form, the steel market is segmented into bar, rod, tube, pipe, plate, sheet, structural and others. The bar segment accounted for the major market share in 2023, with a revenue of $554.58 billion, and is forecast to grow at a CAGR of 4.68% by 2030. The increasing demand for steel bar from various end-user industries such as building and construction, bridges, and many others, are driving the growth of the segment during the forecast period of 2024-2030.

Steel Market Segment Analysis – By Application 

Steel Market is segmented by its application that includes transportation, construction, packaging, water projects, energy and others. The energy segment held the dominant market share, 31% of the whole market, in 2023, and is expected to maintain its dominance by 2030 with a CAGR of 4.69%. One of the major factors for the segment growth is the increasing awareness and focus towards renewable energy sources. Steel plays a crucial role in producing and distributing energy as well as improving energy efficiency. Renewable energy is further classified as Wind Towers and Foundation, Wind Turbines and Solar Parabolic Mirror Supports & Collectors. 

Steel Market Segment Analysis – By Industry

The Steel finds its application across the industries such as construction, machinery, automotive and transportation, kitchenware and domestic appliance, electrical and electronics, healthcare, energy and others. Among them, the construction segment is the largest consumer of steel, as bearable structures can be manufactured easily at a low cost. The property of steel in its various forms and alloys makes it more flexible to cater the exclusive projects integrated with infrastructure. Moreover, the rapid industrialization and urbanization in various developing countries are fueling the segment growth in strengthening its dominant market position during the forecast period.

Steel Market Segment Analysis - By Geography/Country 

The report comprises of the region wise study of the global market including North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. Above all, Asia-Pacific region held the biggest share in 2023, up to 63% of the whole steel market owing to the rapidly expanding defense, machinery, automotive, and shipbuilding industries in the countries such as India, China, South Korea, and Japan. Foreign direct investment in energy and infrastructure is likely to provide opportunities for the market vendors. Coupled with favorable government regulations, growing infrastructure and construction activities in developing economies of the Asia-Pacific region are boosting the demand for the market.

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Steel Market - Drivers 

Growing Demand for Steel Across the Various Regions

Several factors have a significant impact on the overall development of the steel market. The major growth factor driving the Steel Market is the growing demand for steel across a variety of developing regions. For instance, Global crude steel production in January-November 2023 reached 1715.12 million metric tons, marking a marginal 0.5% year-on-year growth, per provisional data from the World Steel Association. November 2023 saw a production of 145.5 million metric tons, up by 3.3% from the previous year. China led the production with 952.14 million metric tons, followed by India and Japan, USA, Russia, South Korea, and Germany. 

Construction and Infrastructure Development:

Construction activities, including residential, commercial, and infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, and railways, are major drivers of steel demand. Urbanization and industrialization also contribute to the growth of the construction sector, thereby increasing the demand for steel products. For instance, as per Green Finance & Development Center, China Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Investment Report 2023, engagement totalled about USD88.3 billion, with USD44.6 billion from investment and USD43.7 billion from construction contracts. Also, The US Department of Transportation allocates $3.2 billion in extra funding, alongside $4.3 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for 2023. The Budget prioritizes $4.5 billion for the Capital Investment Grant program, aiming to bolster transit infrastructure for economic growth. As a result, the steel market is anticipated to thrive, propelled by heightened construction activities and the need for durable materials, reflecting a promising outlook for the industry.

Steel Market -Challenges

Environmental Regulations and Sustainability

The steel industry is facing mounting pressure to tackle environmental issues by cutting carbon emissions and enhancing sustainability efforts. Meeting stringent environmental regulations demands substantial investments in technology and infrastructure, presenting a formidable challenge for many companies. Despite the financial hurdles, embracing these changes can pave the way for a more sustainable and eco-friendly future for the industry.

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Steel Market - Competitive Landscape

The companies referred in the study include Baosteel Co., Ltd., Posco Holding Inc, Nippon Steel Corporation, JFE Holdings, Tata Steel Limited, United States Steel Corporation, Anshan Iron and Steel Group Corporation, Hyundai Steel Co., Ltd., ThyssenKrupp AG, ArcelorMittal S.A., among others. Technology launches, acquisitions, and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by the key players in the Steel Market. 

Steel Market - Recent Developments

November 2022, Tata Steel launched the fourth edition of MaterialNEXT, focusing on 'Materials to Wonder.' This open innovation event aims to gather ideas on emerging materials and their applications. The program spans five months across Idea Selection, Development, and Evaluation stages, fostering collaboration among scientists, researchers, and startups.

May 2022, Kobe Steel introduced "Kobenable Steel," Japan's pioneering low CO2 blast furnace steel, aiming to curtail emissions during ironmaking. Utilizing innovative CO2 Reduction Solution technology, it plans to roll out the product this fiscal year, marking a milestone in sustainable steel production.

In June 2023, Nippon Steel introduces ZEXEED™ Checkered Sheet, a new addition to its high corrosion resistant coated steel series

[tommyxvx]

Kitchen in Denver

[baddywronglegs]

England doesn’t have a North-South divide. But if it did have one, Cornwall would be in the North.

Now I’m not saying there isn’t a big geographical divide between like, Manchester and Canterbury, or that the country’s a homogeneous patchwork, what I’m saying is this divide isn’t north-south and thinking about it as such masks a lot of things.

Oh, and I am, for necessity of discussing this divide, going to be ignoring the Midlands. I hope you forgive me ignoring the deep cultural ties between Birmingham and Rutland.

Map Men made a video about the North-South divide in England (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENeCYwms-Cc&ab_channel=JayForeman), which focused on the line determined by Danny Dorling in 2008.

… Which isn’t a north-south divide. It’s a northwest-southeast divide, going up at more than 45 degrees – it’s more an east-west divide than it is a north-south. It also includes Wales in “the North” but we’ll get to that.

But it was a north-south divide he set out to find, so a north-south divide he sort of drew, excluding exclaves and enclaves where the metrics he was looking at would make that not a north-south divide.

Notably, several would seem to put the west country peninsula in “the North”… So what’s up with that?

(Dorling's full paper is here, and I recommend looking through the whole thing to see how he arrived at the divide he eventually concluded: https://www.dannydorling.org/wp-content/files/dannydorling_publication_id2938.pdf)

Anyway. This is what’s up with that:

This is a geological map of Great Britain (and the Isle of Man, which isn’t actually part of the UK or any of its constituent countries but I guess it’s here anyway.)

Here again, in the boundary between Jurassic and Triassic geology, is that diagonal line from the Humber to the Severn, but continuing past both. For convenience, here are those two lines superimposed on one another.

With Danny Dorling’s line (frequently following county boundaries or other administrative boundaries) in blue, and the geological divide in red.

One line was drawn in 2008, the other has existed over 200 million years.

This isn’t a coincidence – it’s the reason for the divide.

What made “the North” is the industrial revolution. And one thing that drove the industrial revolution was the mines: coal, iron, silver, tin, the rocks beneath our feet and the people who dreamed they were worth more than the people they sent into the dark to bring it into the light.

Towns grew around mines, from Walker to South Crofty, and more than just the mines defining them, it was the mines closing that would cement the divide.

“Byker Hill and Walker Shore, collier lads forever more”

“Cornish lads are fishermen and Cornish lads are miners too”

- Two folk songs about regional identity’s roots in its industry, from opposite ends of this dividing line

In the West Midlands, the Black Country didn’t earn that name with caviar; it, like Manchester and Leeds, reinvented itself when the industry collapsed: cities built in the brick ruins of the temples built to the exploitation of the workers, blackened by the smokes of the cremation of its labour industry. When the light catches the steel and glass just right, you can still see the ghosts.

Even the country life outside the cities is shaped by this geology: the terrain north-west of this line doesn’t lend itself to large, flat expanses of land for arable farming, and the divide is visible again when looking at agriculture:

With the majority of land south of the Jurassic-Triassic line being arable, mixed and market gardening, with a fair amount of cattle in the Cotswolds and Chilterns and along the north side of the Thames, and the majority north-west of it being cattle and sheep – which are almost absent from the south side of the divide with the exception of the Isle of Wight and therefore, ironically, Cowes.

Not all farming is the same, the yearly flow of labour and of marketable goods between livestock and arable having little in common beyond being intensive work out-of-doors and taking huge amounts of land to accomplish.

But one thing that also goes hand in hand with this is that sheep aren’t mostly farmed for their meat but for their wool, and what drove industrialisation in the Pennines was the steam-loom: the mechanisation and mass-production of wool.

(Incidentally, on this map arable farming and market gardening also correlate with several types of English traditional dance: Molly, Border an East Midlands and East Riding plough dances, which began as a way for seasonal farmhands to make ends meet by busking with menaces in the winter off-season, but that’s for a later Morris ramble).

But hang on, that puts Hull on the same side of the divide as Kent, not, for example, Liverpool. So what gives there?

The East Riding isn’t built on mining - a kid with a bucket and spade could find the water table in most of the county.

Hull, and other ports of Yorkshire with it, was built on whaling – and not many industries have collapsed harder than whaling. For once, the geography of the land has little impact on this, but the geography of the sea does:

Between England and the European continent is a shallower stretch of sea called Dogger Bank – named for the Dutch cod-fishing boats known as Doggers which fished on it. But shallow water isn’t great for whales. So where is there water good for whales?

Well, whalers from Great Britain would venture as far as the Antarctic ocean in search of whales, and often hunted off Greenland – but there was water closer to home where whales did and still do frequent:

(There is still whaling in the North Sea. Around 500 minke whales are killed by Norwegian whalers each year “in objection to” the global ban on commercial whaling.)

Outside of this, there’s also a divide between port cities dealing primarily in cargo or primarily in passengers, something which is somewhat evening out by one means or another, but here’s a current map of UK passenger ports and their passenger numbers:

Or at least circles sized to correspond to their passenger numbers - source with stats: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sea-passenger-statistics-all-routes-2021/sea-passenger-statistics-all-routes-2021

Compare this with a map of cargo ports by load:

Source with numbers: https://safety4sea.com/uk-ports-record-steady-performance-during-2018/

Generally showing passenger numbers getting lower the further you get from Dover, but not the same correlation with cargo (Plymouth and Holyhead both bucking this trend at a glance).

So, if not “The North” and “The South”, what name does make sense for this divide?

I propose “the South” be known as Lloegyr.

These names still exist: Domnonea still exists in Brittany both as a name for that same region from which Brittonic settlers came to Brittany and an area of Brittany named for them, and in Welsh, yr Alban is Scotland, Cymru is Wales and Lloegr is England.

Wales isn’t part of “the North”. “The North” is part of Wales.

[wheelsgoroundincircles]

FORD MUSTANG BOSS 302

BOSS-A-NOVA!

They called it The Boss and for two short years it ruled the muscle car scene in the US, establishing itself as one of the greatest road and race cars of the era. Now, it’s one of the most collectible.

In 1960s US street lingo, if something was ‘boss’ it was cool, tough, the best. And the 1969 Boss 302 Mustang wore its badge with pride. It launched just four and a half years after the first Mustang was revealed to critical acclaim and record sales. Yearly updates to keep Mustang fresh in the face of tough new challengers from General Motors and Chrysler (particularly the Camaro) resulted in the once lean and pretty ’Stang muscling up, both in body shape and under-bonnet brawn, and the 1969-70 Boss models were the zenith of Mustang styling.

Thereafter, Mustangs became increasingly bloated and anaemic as the 1970s fuel crisis and stricter pollution laws cut horsepower and stylists lost their way; the rippling flanks and thrusting nose of the late 60s/early 70s cars gave way to boxy, bland designs. That early look would not be recaptured until 2005, when new Mustangs were given retro styling.

The Boss 302 was launched at the same time as its big-block brother, the Boss 429. Both were positioned as competition specials; Ford wanted to homologate its 302-cuber for Trans-Am and the 429ci monster for NASCAR. In fact, Ford went wild with engines between 1969-70, offering nine V8s – the ‘economy’ 302, 351 Windsor, 351 Cleveland, 390, 428 Cobra Jet, 428 Super Cobra Jet, 429 ‘wedge’, Boss 302 and Boss 429.

For the Boss 302, Ford’s high-compression 302ci small-block V8 was beefed up with four-bolt main bearing caps and redesigned ‘Cleveland’ cylinder heads with bigger inlet and exhaust valves, and ports that allowed the engine to breathe more efficiently.

These ‘semi-hemi’ heads were based on the Ford 427ci racing engine’s combustion chambers, and a balanced forged steel crankshaft and forged steel conrods allowed the engine to handle high rpms for sustained periods. A single 780cfm four-barrel Holley carburettor sat atop a high-rise aluminium inlet manifold, while a dual-point distributor, high-pressure oil pump, windage tray and screw-in welch plugs were further indications of its competition intent.

A rev limiter was fitted, progressively cutting spark from 5800rpm to 6150, but it was easily bypassed and the Boss 302 could reportedly keep making power up to 8000rpm with minor mods. In the muscle car marketing war, Ford claimed a peak horsepower figure of 290bhp at 5800rpm (the same as the Camaro Z/28), but that was extremely conservative.

Two four-speed manual Top Loader transmissions were available: a wide-ratio ’box with Hurst shifter more suited to street and strip use, and a close-ratio unit for racing. Adding to the race or road options list were four diffs: the stock 3.5:1 nine-inch, Traction-Lok 3.5:1 and 3.91:1 and the No-Spin 4.30:1 built by Detroit Automotive. Axles and diff centres were also strengthened to take the loads.

Suspension was also race-inspired with heavy-duty springs, shocks and sway bar up front, and Hotchkiss-style rear suspension with heavy-duty leaf springs, sway bar and staggered shock absorbers. The left-hand shock absorber was bolted behind the axle and the right in front, to reduce axle tramp under acceleration. Amazingly for such a high-performance car, braking was still only discs and drums with power assistance.

Ironically, the Boss 302’s sexy shape was styled by former General Motors designer Larry Shinoda, who is often credited with coming up with the Boss moniker. When asked what he was working on, he replied, "The boss’s car", a reference to new Ford president ‘Bunkie’ Knudson, who was also ex-GM and had recruited Shinoda to Ford.

While the wheelbase remained unchanged at 2740mm, the ’69 Mustang was 96.5mm longer overall to accommodate all the V8s offered, although the big-blocks still had to be shoe-horned under the bonnet. Shinoda’s ’69 Boss 302 was also one of the first production cars to offer an optional front air dam and adjustable rear wing, and his use of high-contrast black panels, rear window SportsSlats, and go-faster stripes made the Boss a real attention-grabber. The ’69 was also the only quad-headlight Mustang, a feature that was dropped for 1970 models.

In 1970, American Hot Rod magazine dubbed the 1970 Boss 302 as "definitely the best handling car Ford has ever built", while the conservative Consumer Guide called it "uncomfortable at any speed over anything but the smoothest surface". Unique Cars resident Mustang maniac, ‘Uncle’ Phil Walker, never read the Consumer Guide review, but even if he had it wouldn’t have stopped him buying the immaculate 1970 Grabber Orange Boss 302 you see here.

Phil already has his beloved 1966 Shelby GT350H, but the Boss 302 really got his Mustang juices percolating. And he wasn’t alone, because the first Boss he saw, some 43 years ago, is still one of Australia’s most iconic race cars: Allan Moffat’s Trans-Am racer. Phil remembers it clearly.

"I saw Moff race it Calder and I was inspired to own one," Phil recalls. "It was the most aggressive-looking car; its stance was something you had to see to believe. It looked like it was doing a million miles per hour when it was parked.

"My Boss was originally a one-owner car and I bought it from a friend of mine in California, Dave, who I also bought my Shelby GT350H from 19 years ago. Dave found it in a barn with a blown engine, but in otherwise pretty good condition.

"The lady who owned it from new didn’t realise it had a high-compression engine and had run it on standard fuel. When it blew up she just parked it.

"Dave did a nut-and-bolt restoration over two years, then put it up on his hoist. He didn’t want to sell it, but I got my way in the end – unfortunately he had the last say on the price (laughs). I didn’t even bother to test drive it; I knew it was a good car. It had 21 (new) miles on the odo when I picked it up and only 54,000 miles in total."

Since then, Phil has only put a couple of hundred miles on the car, but that’s enough for him to have bonded with it.

"I’ve only had the Boss since January and it’s growing on me. It’s different to the Shelby. It’s bigger and very low.

"The engine is incredible. Dave is one of the best engine builders in California and when he rebuilt the 302 he changed the cam spec. US camshaft technology was okay in the 60s and 70s, but if you had a big-cam muscle car they wouldn’t idle and they were terrible for driving in cities.

"A proper Boss engine can rev to 8500rpm all day and for a V8 that’s pretty serious. But they’re not renowned for low-down torque; it starts coming on from 3500rpm. My car still has a solid-lifter cam, but it pulls like a train from 1200rpm in top gear and I can drive it around at 1500rpm in top all day.

"It’s got the four-speed close-ratio Top Loader with the long first gear and with a 3.7:1 rear end it does about 55-60mph (89-97km/h) in first gear. It bloody goes!"

Phil is a fussy bugger and his cars have to look just right, so Russell Stuckey from Stuckey Tyres has ordered him a set of genuine 15 x 8 Minilites from England to replace the standard Magnum 500s.

"I want it to look like the Parnelli Jones race car, and to get the stance I want it’s going to have 275/60s on the rear and 255/60s on the front. At the moment it’s a pretty car that is tough, but I want a tough car that looks tough. And that’s all I’m going to do to it."

After his first real fang in the Boss, Phil felt that his Shelby would be half a lap in front at the end of a 10-lap sprint at Sandown, but now thinks the Boss would be quicker. We might have to put both to the acid test one day. What do you mean "no way", Phil?

It was a nervous Phil who turned up at a Melbourne storage facility in January to pick up his new Boss 302. So nervous, in fact, that he took along Unique Cars art director Ange and a sturdy tow rope – just in case.

The storage people were even more apprehensive – they had been warned about just how anal he is with his cars, as he explains: "The lady there said, ‘You must be pretty fanatical because we’ve been given strict instructions that no one is to touch the car except you’." Fortunately, the car arrived in pristine condition.

"I was pretty excited, I’d been waiting for seven weeks," Phil laughs. "I took the car cover off it, fired it up, and it drove home like a brand new car. It was as good as I thought it would be. I spent the next three hours washing it."

Sounds like our Phil.

PARNELLI AND ME

Three years ago, my mate Dave and I were invited to a Trans-Am dinner at Portland International Raceway where Dave was racing his 1970 Trans-Am Boss 302 and I was crewing for him.

When we were driving there we noticed this black Mercedes following us. When we stopped it did too and this bloke got out and said, "I noticed you guys back at the hotel. You’re going to the Trans-Am dinner aren’t you? I’m lost." It was Parnelli Jones!

I jumped in with him and when we got there I ‘invited’ myself onto Parnelli’s table, which also included Pete Brock – the guy who designed the Shelby Daytona Coupe. There was I, Mr Nobody, with all these US racing heavies, but Parnelli was a real gentleman, not up himself in any way.

The next day they had free lap time at Portland and, when I saw Parnelli there with Ford’s new ‘Parnelli Jones’ Boss 302 tribute Mustang, I asked if there was any chance of a ride and he said jump in. We did 10 laps and the guy hadn’t lost any of his ability; my eyes were getting bigger and bigger coming into the corners.

It was a great experience that I’ll never forget. – PW

IT's MINE...

Moff’s Mustang is probably the most iconic Australian racecar and after seeing it I was inspired to own a Boss Mustang. Then, about 25 years ago, I went to Pebble Beach in Monterey for the first time and saw a 1970 Grabber Orange Boss 302, which was the colour Parnelli Jones raced in Trans-Am. That day I knew I had to own a Boss. It was the car I’d always wanted after my Shelby, which was my lifelong dream car.

My Boss 302 is fully optioned, including the Shaker, extra side mirror, tacho and rear louvres, and it’s got a lot of wow factor. When you drive down the freeway, you get the thumbs-up from all sorts of different people. I think it’s the colour.

It’s closer to show standard than my Shelby. It’s got the paint marks on the tailshaft and all the little concours details, but I’m never going to show it; I’m not into that.

The 1969/70 body shape is still the best. Ford got it right then, but lost the plot after that and it’s reflected in their collectibility today. – PW

[rottenpumpkin13]

what would it be like if the firsts lived together?

They did live together. Once. Right after Angeal and Genesis made First Class, SOLDIER grew in numbers, and the living quarters were still under planning and construction. They shared a spacious three bed, three bathroom apartment later reserved for Thirds to share. Angeal still dubs it "the worst 14 months of his life"

• Genesis had his own cereal, but thought theft tasted better, so he used to steal Sephiroth's cereal and the two would have a physical altercation over rainbow loops.

• Angeal thought Genesis was a neat freak until he met Sephiroth, who made a color-coded spreadsheet to track the frequency of dusting different areas of the house. Sephiroth liked to passive-aggresively wipe down counters after someone had been in the kitchen, and took pictures of Angeal and Genesis as they were actively making messes to hold them accountable later. Apparently Sephiroth still has a scrapbook of photos to this day, which he labeled "Why I live alone."

• Angeal was the type to leave out a dirty mug Genesis used and never washed for days on end, refusing to let Sephiroth wash it, all to prove a point. Sephiroth would cave and wash the dirty mug when she wasn't looking. Genesis knew this, which is why he would continue to use the mug and leave it out. The same mug remained in the sink for all 14 months they lived together.

• Sephiroth is an insomniac and liked to fix himself meals at 3AM, which would give Genesis a green light to practice the fucking flute, also at 3AM. Angeal had never experienced true rage until he heard a half-assed flute version of O Fortuna while Sephiroth was actively beating a stake with a meat hammer.

• Angeal would refuse to cook for them as a protest if he found half-eaten food in the garbage.

• Angeal was also no saint, and his alarm used to be a loud guitar riff meant to get him motivated and out of bed in the morning. The first time Sephiroth was startled awake by loud rock music at 5AM, he thought it was Genesis. So he threw open Genesis' door and attacked him.

• Sephiroth had the tendency to leave all the lights on, even in rooms he wasn't in. This drove Genesis and Angeal insane, and they berated him so much for it that Sephiroth started to walk around the apartment with a jumbo flashlight. He would flash it directly in their faces when talking to them because he's petty.

• Angeal had a tendency to bring over any strange item or piece of furniture he found at yard sales or on the side of the road. Angeal couldn't understand how Sephiroth thought the giant, stained beanbag chair shaped like an eye he got at a yard sale for 3 gil was junk. He also couldn't comprehend why Genesis didn't want the antique vanity Angeal got for free at the flea market because the owner thought it was haunted.

• Everyone had different scent preferences and refused to compromise. This is why the apartment smelled like Banora White Apple candles, Ocean Mist, and Tropical Berry simultaneously. It smelled like ass.

• Sephiroth enjoys his peace, but couldn't meditate when Angeal was screaming at the baseball game on TV while Genesis was using a karaoke machine to recite Loveless. His Root Chakra is still damaged to this day.

• Sephiroth had to find out the hard way what a tie on a closed door meant, and that not all screams mean someone is in danger.

• Genesis had a phase where he would bring over random people from his nights out. The amount of breakfasts Sephiroth had with half-dressed women and men singlehandedly developed his conversational skills.

• Angeal used to have this mentality of "I'm the responsible one, which means I can take things without asking." He took Sephiroth's hair brush without asking once and forgot to put it back. Sephiroth retaliated by bending Angeal's favorite stainless steel pan. Genesis had to separate them, an exhilarating experience he never wants to go through again because the pan and the hairbrush were used as weapons.

• Genesis couldn't understand why Sephiroth and Angeal didn't want his "artistic french films" playing while they were in the room. Angeal's argument was "If I wanted to see balls while I'm cooking dinner, I would make this lasagna in the locker room at SOLDIER."

[m3dieval]

If one was looking for armor, not just for the look, but for jousting and fighting. How would someone go around and do that? You seem to be more knowledgeable than most about these things and I’m lost on what to get. I’ve foolishly gotten pieces that were really for decoration rather than practicality.

This is going to depend on what sports/activities you plan in doing with your suit. Buhurt and balsa jousting for example will have different requirements. But the main things to look for are: material and fit.

Spring steel (properly tempered) tends to be the gold standard for combat sports. But mild steel (for more historical) and titanium are also used. Some groups/leagues have specifics on minimum thicknesses of material based on what it is and where it's protecting.

Stainless steel is generally not recommended if you plan on doing anything with metal weapons, but I have seen it used in some older jousting suits.

Chainmail is the one easy answer I have: if you want it to hold up to any of the armoured combat sports you need riveted mail. No butted mail!

For buhurt armour, which has a reputation of being made of good material but having a questionable fit, Buhurt Tech and Medieval Extreme are the shops that come to mind. One of the reasons I think buhurt is popular, is because they've made armour relatively affordable. You can get a full suit for as little as $3000 USD at Medieval Extreme and it will hold up to buhurt hits. If buhurt is popular in your area, you might also be able to buy some secondhand pieces.

Buhurt style suits are generally teased by the historical community for the fit. They're made to be more heavily padded, so they usually fit a little too big. They're made to be easier to fit, so often there is basically no shape at the waist. And there are other sport-specific adaptations that aren't based on history. But that's okay, most people in buhurt aren't trying to pass themselves off as reenactors. When looking at armour it is helpful to be able to spot the difference (look at the fit and proportions):

For historical armour used in jousting, harness fencing, and reenactment battles: either find a reputable armourer or buy a secondhand suit. Finding an armourer can be challenging. If you're part of a group (jousting, medieval society, etc), ask around about where people got their stuff. The United League of Armourers on facebook might be able to help you locate someone (even just reading the discussions there can be educational).

Sometimes there's a decent local armourer who you doesn't have an online presence (usually they are found though said group). This unknown hobbyist armourer is going to be significantly more affordable than a well established armourer who's getting international clients (and their waitlist should be a lot shorter) but there is a bit of a gamble on quality. If you find one, make sure you see what they've already made first.

Armourers whose work I've seen in person and can vouch for the quality (just looking at their portfolios should give you an idea of what quality looks like):

Jeffrey Wasson:

Eric Dubé:

TBH I usually forget to ask who made someone suit 😅 But if you're on the market for armour it's a good habit to get into asking that.

My helmet is made by Jeffery Hedgecock (he makes the armour at Historic Enterprises). My suit is made by Marc Hamel (he doesn't take online commissions). These were both bought secondhand from a jouster I met when I was working as ground crew years ago (it was over $600 CAN just to get it shipped from Quebec to Alberta).

My gauntlets are the worst part of my suit, they're these hourglass ones from Armstreet. They don't fit will enough for jousting, but they have protected my hands for sparring with synthetic swords. I am looking to replace them soon.

Armstreet is hit or miss. Definitely do your own research before you go browsing there.

The secret third option is to do a massive amount of research, get some mild steel and tools, then make your own armour. I'd start with watching videos about this (I recommend Greenleaf Workshop). Some armourers also sell classes, like Eric Dubé.

And we haven't even gotten around to discussing arming garments! We'll save that for another post.

Long story short: I probably can't make better recommendations than whatever group you join to participate in the activity you are requiring armour for (there are many types of jousting, there are many types of foot combat). But hopefully these resources give you somewhere to start looking.

[nestedneons]

By Sandu

Prompt:

"Closeup architecture Minimalist night rain busy city scene floating granite ship space dock, azzuro amber forest, scifi wild, glass and steel industrial shiny metallic space station complex architecture into deep cloud environment, volumetric light, hot engines, huge air polygonal intake gates with shutters, living pastel color pods towering skyscrapers at cliff edge, jet era shapes, The 5th element，The Matrix，Craig Mullins，Syd Mead, eerie Sandu Baciu style, photography award, ultra realistic, wide angle, high detail, volumetric light at noon, Trending on artstation, Unreal engine hyper realistic photography award magazine cover -s 222"

By Sandu

Prompt:

Mid day street scene futuristic asian market neon signs light strips Blade Runner rain pastel neon AR displays full body robot on plastic transpatent pastel clothes elegant white shinny ski jet jacket wet android police decals and stickers in pastel ski jaket scifi pockets zippers, walking american flag in space shuttele cockpit cap concept art basic droid blade runner rogue one, bokeh giant logo on chest, mecha pulp art humanoid robot schematics prints elegant ultra sci - fi robots droids fashion design, ultra modern scifi look, custom gorgeous inca wood inlay pulp art style elegant eerie sandu baciu brush painting comcept art blade runner style --s 222

[firefirefruit]

Steel in Her Veins, Prologue

Table of Contents | Next Chapter

Characters: Fem!Reader x Roronoa Zoro.

Synopsis:

Your name is Kozuki Raya, but no one calls you by that name anymore. Using the alias of Tenguyama Raya as advised by your grandfather, you are the descendant of the legendary swordsmith Kotetsu and a distant friend of the Shimotsuki clan.

Following in your ancestor’s footsteps, you dedicate your life to the mastery of sword crafting, wielding, and learning. With much of your life being taught by gramps Sukiyaki, you realise that the dormant power, ancient knowledge and ancestral secrets that thrum within your veins start to play a very important role in the way the future world is shaped.

Meeting the Straw Hats was not written anywhere within your blueprints, but – most importantly - meeting Roronoa Zoro wasn’t supposed to change the trajectory of your life either.

Prologue

"She's passed on, young man."

A weathered voice croaks out from behind one of the passing fruit stalls. The shadowed man lingers from the safety of his merchandise, the scorching sun missing only by a small inch from kissing his leathered skin.

Gritting his teeth, Zoro aimlessly turns around whilst sheathing the limping metal back to her home. Does anyone keep their fucking thoughts to themselves anymore? He mutters in his head.

“You really should let her go," the man eggs on with such a proud voice that it almost flows against the direction of the wind, against the grain of the public. As Zoro stands within the mingling market, with bundles of crowds gracing the pavements around him with their excited chatter, only but this old voice advances stronger than the rest, almost resting too clearly and proudly within the shell of Zoro’s ears.

Zoro kisses his teeth and whips his head at the direction of the sound again, finally being able to spot the silhouette to the voice - right there. The shadow with hands that slice through those blood red apples with an abnormally jagged knife. Zoro narrows his eye at the blurred figure, trying to figure it out.

“Tsch, fruit guy. Butt out, yeah?” He grumbles, shooting him a disdainful side eye. Crossing his arms in defiance, Zoro stays in his position like the good lap dog he seems to be turning into; if Luffy wasn’t so intent on him coming on this bloody island, he would’ve been able to rest. And to be able look at his poor, wounded sword in peace without dealing with so many wandering eyes.

In an instant, the old man cracks out in laughter, his voice bellowing out in clear tides. His shadowed arms grasp at his belly, a large-lipped smile peering out of his shelter. “Feisty one, I see…Is she special to you?”

The she in mention begins to hum weakly against the side of the green-head’s hip, whimpering and struggling, almost as if trying to reply. With an irritated twitch of his eyebrow, Zoro finally gives in to gape straight-on at the old geezer.

“It’s an it, not a she, dumbass. Swords have one purpose only; this one has simply served it,” Zoro snaps, straining his eyes even further to try to look at this peculiar man.

With a broken pang, the sword sheathed by his side begins to twinge again, but in an octane lower - and somehow, Zoro can feel it in his own core; he knows what the thrum of metal tugged across his leg is trying to say – the sword feels hurt by his own stupid words.

In a snap, Zoro's hand carefully rests over her head.

“Looks like you’re caressing her to me.”

“Shut up! Who even asked for your opinion?" Zoro growls, immediately yanking his hand away from his hip. The odd merchant simply guffaws in response.

Tsk. How dare he decide whether his sword was fit for battle or not?

“I’m not here to judge you, green-hair, but it simply looks to me that you have a bond with that scrap of metal. Come here.”

“I’m not in the mood, gramps. Go sell your damn apples to someone else.”

“I see. I suppose you would waste their time, anyway…”

Although Zoro’s ears are now perked by the ‘them’ in question, he keeps his eye shut tight and remains silent; he’s not going to give into this fraud’s tactics in getting a reaction from him. Hmph.

The merchant continues, quite obviously enjoying his jest with the bull-headed swordsman. “You know, that swordsmith. What was her name again…Penguyama? Tenguyummy? Tengushimmy…?”

Zoro stares at him blankly.

Clearly, this geezer is overestimating Zoro’s intelligence.

The small hints of names he’s throwing out is completely flying right past the swordman’s head, seeing how it seems like no one’s at home. Literally no light bulbs are screwed on properly up there. 

Another second passes where they both stare, bewildered by one another. The old, short man clears his throat.

“Pardon my language…But you seem quite dense.” 

“Fuck you! You’re the one who’s talking in riddles!”

“I. Help. You. With. Sword.” The merchant slowly enunciates, using his fingers to imitate the words coming out of his mouth. 

“Come.” He points obnoxiously with his finger at the incline into the hills. “Person. Makes. Swords…They. Help.” 

“Stop talking to me as if I’m slow!?”

“Pfft, you could’ve fooled me.” The merchant giggles like a child.

“Are you begging me to slice you in half?” Zoro shouts, childishly stomping towards the fruit stall.

But then, something very odd happens; as Zoro manages to look at gramps clearly for the first time, he freezes in his spot.

Indeed, it is a weathered old man leaning behind a stack of his precious fruits. With silver hair brushed across his shoulders, his unwavering smile greets the samurai with an odd sense of confidence.

But that isn’t what makes Zoro stop in his track, no, it’s what he says next. The next six words that comes out of the old man’s mouth…his awfully jagged knife limply resting over his knuckles, a knowing glint striking across his well-travelled eyes… all of it sounds self-assured.

“I’d like to see you try.”

Zoro doesn’t know what it is about this guy in front of him, but it just makes him stop. His mouth fails to open to retort something offensive – instead, he simply cocks his head to the side.

He doesn’t know whether it’s the knife that he’s masterfully twirling across the both of his hands, or if it’s the familiarity of his face – those eyes, hasn’t he seen the same ones before? – but something about him makes Zoro pause for a moment.

Gramps smiles wider, indenting his wrinkles further like ripples scattering across water, and rises one thick grey eyebrow at him.

“Now, then. Are we ready to go?”

The samurai kisses his teeth for the fifth time in a row and twists his head to the side in defeat. Subconsciously, his hand inches towards his broken sword - his untethered lifeline.

“Whoever they are, they better be worth it.”

Zoro didn’t know at the time of what was about to unfold, of what was about to be the trigger to a never-ending tale of perplexity and pain, but I can assure you that now, at this very moment, he would say that – indeed - she is worth it all.

[axcel-lucci]

Night before Christmas.

Trafalgar Law x fem!reader

A/N: I'm so toast

My masterlist

The snow falls on the streets, shops lit up despite the cold, the children enjoying the weather despite the freezing temperature, couples holding hand in hand as they walk about as if winter is the most romantic season there is.

I mean it would've been if (y/n) wasn't single and a fool.

Honestly though, who the hell spends literal years just admiring, glancing, and yearning from afar. Thinking that she wouldn't be enough for him??

Looking at the couples walking around at the Christmas market, hand in hand, clearly showing PDA and whatnot, it made her heart clench, because she knows she can't have that.

The person her heart belongs to, literally and figuratively, is her captain, Trafalgar Law. But then again, that man has a heart of steel, if it even exists inside that cold hard exterior. Even the crew he's been with since childhood has a hard time around him.

It's as if he's a stubborn brat who gets whatever he wants. But despite that, he genuinely cares about his crew like an actual family.

(Y/n) sighed softly as she soon reached the port and hopped into the sub, being greeted by Bepo's usual "HI (Y/N)!" in an excited tone.

"Hi as well, Bepo. How is the party? Has it started yet? I hope I'm not too late." She smiled at the bear as he shook his head

"It's just getting started, quick! Let's go inside, captain's joining us tonight." Bepo smiled

'join us? That's odd, he doesn't usually do that... Is he sick?' (y/n) thought as they walked to the common room.

Upon entering the room, (y/n) was greeted by the sounds of her crewmates laughing and chatting amongst themselves, the smwll of cookies filled the air, and finally, the view of the captain in all his glory.

Law was wearing his usual pants and his button up shirt that was open halfway up, as he always prefers it, and shows his tattoos.

All the seats were occupied except the one beside him on the couch, as if it was "fate".

She sighed to herself and sat down beside him, trying not to feel awkward about everything.

"Merry Christmas" he said to her

She snapped back to her senses, "oh uh... Merry Christmas too, captain" she smiled almost awkwardly.

The party soon swings and alcohol was passed around. Games were played, and meals were eaten.

At the end of the party, penguin snickered to himself with Shachi

"Oh look captain." Shachi said as he pointed above him and (y/n), "its a mistletoe"

Law and (y/n) raised a brow before looking up.

'that son of a-!' law groaned to himself and glared at Shachi with the intent to kill

Meanwhile, (y/n) just saw this as him not having feelings towards her, which makes her heart ache.

"So... What, not doing it then? How boring" Ikkaku scoffed making (y/n) laugh awkwardly.

After the party, (y/n) can't help but take a walk by the shore to think to herself, honestly, it was just to distract herself of what just happened.

It still has her on chokehold. Sure, she liked Law, but she doesn't want to ruin their friendship because of her little confession.

She sighed to herself as she felt the temperature drop as snow soon falls with crystal shaped particles.

"It's Christmas night and yet all I feel is cold..." She smiled to herself, almost a pitiful attempt to herself.

She was about to walk back when she felt a warm coat draped around her shoulders, it made her jump of course but when she turned to look who it was, it was her captain. Trafalgar Law.

He had followed her at the beach with a small smile, "what're you doing out here? You'd freeze." He says in a hushed tone as he stood beside her

"Oh, I'm just taking a walk... Hoping to sober me a little from all that eggnog" she laughed making him chuckle softly with her

"Hey... Um..." He started after a small pause between them, "about earlier... With the mistletoe thing... I hope I didn't offend you, it was just kind of embarrassing to kiss in front of the crew... If you know what I mean..."

"What...? You... Wanted to kiss me?" She was taken a back, sure her captain was unpredictable, but not THIS unpredictable.

"Why not? Would you not want me to?" He asked as he placed a warm hand on her cold cheek, "and besides... I wanted to kiss you alone... So that you wouldn't have to feel pressured in returning it. Unless you don't want me to? I mean it's fine and all that..."

"I don't understand cap-"

"I have a name, use it."

"..." (Y/n) looks at him with wide eyes before laughing softly, "youre such a dork... Law..."

It made him chuckle a bit, "am I now? Before I kiss you, I... Wanted to give you this" he hands her a small box.

She accepted it happily before opening it to reveal a beautifully crafted necklace with her favourite jewel as the pendant.

"It was... Hard... Making jewellery is hard..." Law muttered

"You... Made this?"

"Yeah... I wanted to make you something since I can't buy jewelry normally because, as you can see, we're pirates." He rolled his eyes with a slight scoff, "so... Do you like it?"

She smiled softly before hugging him tightly, "oh I love it... Law..."

"I'm glad..."

"I have nothing for you, though..." She said as she looked up at him

"Hmm... It's alright... Can I have a kiss instead?" He said with a mischievous smirk

"Oh, you!" She laughed before kissing him deeply in which he immediately responded to by wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close

They soon pulled away for oxygen only to laugh like idiots to themselves at how absurd the situation is.

It seems like this night before Christmas isn't so bad after all...

[keldae]

Abduction

Inspired by this Tumblr post!

Something felt… off. Gale couldn't place his finger on what triggered the sensation of something being wrong, but he knew the tingling feeling of not all being well, nagging at his subconscious. He fidgeted with his staff, watching the market square around him. Aside from the roaming Fist patrol with a Steel Watcher in the group, nothing in this busy market seemed to be outwardly wrong.

Beside him, Lae’zel snorted. “Tch . They all go on about their business like nothing is wrong. Even the earthquakes don't seem to bother them.” She watched as a group of children scampered by. “They wouldn't last an hour against the ghaik.”

Gale shook his head in agreement. “Let us hope it doesn't come to them needing to defend themselves,” he murmured, still trying to figure out what felt so wrong.

Lae’zel peered at him. “You're distracted, Gale. What's wrong?”

“I don't know… but something is,” Gale muttered, looking around the marketplace. “Do you not feel it?”

“Something has felt wrong ever since I woke up on that nautiloid,” Lae’zel pointed out. She glanced over as Jaheira made her way over. “Did you find what you needed?”

Jaheira nodded. “Not at the prices I would have liked, mind. Devi still isn't back?”

Gale shook his head. “She said she was going to duck into that shop to see if they had more multi-target arrows,” he said. “But unless she's deep in haggling over prices, she should have been back by now.”

A slightly-annoyed frown on her brow, Jaheira started toward the indicated shop. “I'll go grab her. We don't have all day for her to barter.”

Humming, Gale settled back against the fountain he was leaning against, watching as Jaheira vanished behind the door. His heart lurched into his throat when the High Harper returned alone a minute later. “She wasn't in there,” she said, making dread flicker to life in Gale’s chest. “For fuck’s sake, Devi, what trouble did you find now?”

“We would have seen her leave,” Lae’zel pointed out, tensing like she expected a fight. “Did the shopkeeper not see her?”

Jaheira shook her head. “Either he was lying, or Devi never went in there.”

“Shit,” Gale breathed out. The nagging sensation of something being wrong veered into full-fledged anxiety. “I know I saw her go in there. I can read the shopkeeper's mind to figure out what precisely happened.”

“I can just make him talk,” Lae’zel growled, her fingers flexing as though around her sword hilt. “Come, let's go have a discussion with that shopkeeper.”

“Oh, this is going to go poorly,” Jaheira muttered as she followed both githyanki and human back toward the shop.

The trio didn't make it to the door before Lae’zel sharply turned her head, her sensitive ears picking up on a sound from the nearby alley. She veered off toward the noise, Gale and Jaheira in her wake. “What the hells?” she murmured, looking around the alley before she suddenly ran forward, reaching for her sword.

“What–?” Gale felt his blood run cold as he saw the blood pool in the alley. He raced up to Lae’zel’s side, frantically looking around. There was no body to be seen – but there was a shape standing around a corner, back to the marketplace, knives in both hands. Gale recognised Devi’s long hair and teal jacket, stained as they were with blood. But what in the hells was she doing here, and why was she standing like that? “Devi?” he asked, stepping around Lae’zel. “Darling, what happened?”

Read the rest on AO3

[huevobuevo]

Whoops

hello generation loss enjoyers. it has been several months since the release of ranboos project, how have yall been? im going to be insane.

Many folks have known me as the lminal space connosieur, dead malls and fucked up houses in particular being my strongsuit for both their sex appeal and the amount of symbolism they can all hold.

Watching Gen Loss with my friends through a hostage situation was a wonderful experience! upon the reveal of the Showfall Media offices being inside a rented out mall, there was a split second where I was a bit unamused at the lack of effort put into integrating the mall's architecture into the studio's office. There were only a few empty stores being used with at the bare minimum some chairs and desks, half the mall was still closed, the mini maps stands were still up, and the food court's usage as the streamers hub was very just. like. thats a whole ass food court. without the people walking around the only way to actually know what the hel this was being used for was the giant white banner that just said showfall media like a fraternity's house claiming its territory.

But then, as the episode 2 closed out, almost instantly it hit me why. why the mall was still a mall, why there was little to no integration for the set- it was on purpose. it was supposed to just be a studio crammed inside a mall. a dead mall, to be precise.

first lets get into the anatomy of what makes a dead mall dead. Around the 1980's a rise in popularity of the commercial supermalls began to spread, the american consumerist dream was rampant with a greater demand of fast fashion, merchandise, and all kinds of strange trinkets for the average american to waste their money on. It was capitalism's wettest dream, but as the years went on there came a steady decline in popularity. Sometimes the competing businesses ended up putting each other out of stock, maybe the trends began dying off, and in certain areas consistent crime rates drove away costumers.

Then in the mid 2000's the stock market crash ended up pushing several people into poverty, the lower class unable to afford the luxury goods offered at shopping centers. Then online shopping took society in a deathgrip, further pushing away the desire for in-public purchasing. Brands took notice and began selling online-exclusive products. In the late 2010's the sightings of several "dead malls" were on an alltime high, some being left to rot while others were demolished all together in favor of empty concrete spaces.

Corporate response to this was one of two things; continously invest in the "Anchor Stores" (big chain stores like Macys or Forever 21 that brought in more customers, usually stationed at the ends of the mall). Meanwhile the smaller businesses inside would be shut down one by one to save costs, until eventually the anchor stores themselves would be forced to leave. Sometimes the Anchor Stores would leave beforehand, not wanting to waste money investing in a deadend location. the decline is faster, the mall rots quicker. The company sells the lot to the biggest buyer and destroys what little remains.

Then there are times where the mall itself is sold off to another bigger company, in hopes of more funds to rejuvenate the center. Majority of the time the mall will enter a large reconstruction designed to look more appealing, mor modern. In actually, the personality of the malls architecture is stripped like the skin of prey. The colors and vibrant shapes of the late 1900’s, the waterfalls with rocky beds and marbled beige tiles, all replaced in favor of sharp black on white edge and stainless steel fencing. The occasional shrub here or there, maintained by automation. Lights too bright, all glimmer, all space. Sometimes it works, sometimes the mall is reborn as the pinnacle of luxury again! Sometimes it rots in shiny chrome, a corpse dragged along in the hopes of attracting attention. All it does is stink and bloat, a miserable display.

I hope you begin to catch what im saying.

In Generation Loss, the Showfield Social Experiments are commentary on streamer culture and the damaging relationship between a content creator & their platform. Visualized by Ranboo being pushed into dangerous scenarios for the sake of entertainment, their disposable friends forced into the flat archetypes the fandoms have labeled them as.

They were all vibrant young folks once, bright with personality and that raw humanity filled with flaws and voice cracks. Shitty microphones and inconsistent uploads, some were barely finishing high school. Then they became big, almost too big. They were characters now, and just like Ranboo’s teammates the perception of them as humans were dumbed down to memorable trademarks. Streamers and Content Creators alike had to be marketable now, and when the time comes where they lost their popularity sometimes they sign off to groups and organizations to help boost them up again. They are stripped of their rawness again. Theres a reason their artforms are called “content”.

So it makes sense that Showfall Media, the personification of the content creators downfall, would do the same to a Mall. The corpse of the center is repurposed loosely to fit the studios purpose. It is empty, it is hollow, it is dead. Low costs, big risks- just like Gen Loss Ranboo.

basically

Content Creators are Dead Malls.

[loving-n0t-heyting]

In a recent post complaining about a certain type of person doing a certain type of take, you listed 'there is literally nothing to be said about housing than "build moar and abolish zoning"' as one such take, alongside other more disagreeable ones, etc.

Could you expand upon your disagreements with this? Is it that you think "homelessness will require active spending to fix", "Housing policy should include improved legal protections for renters(and just building more housing to provide alternatives isn't enough)", or something more fundamental in opposition?

I will say that housing is an area where a lot of my concrete stances are unsettled, i used to more or less imbibe standard yimby views from my social sphere and have grown more agnostic over time. But milquetoast fence sitting aside i will say this:

Building lots of high end housing can, in fact, cause problems for existing local residents that need to be considered when implementing construction. Short term rising rents and displacement, primarily

Idt any amount of market rate housing will fully solve the problem of housing affordability for poorer tenants. Some amount of govt intervention—best of all in the shape of vienna-style public housing projects, plus rent control and other forms of decommodification—is necessary to properly relieve the burden of housing costs for all sections of society. For at the very least the obvious reason that low income housing is just not that profitable

I am any amount sympathetic to preserving and fostering local urban community and culture. This talk gets abused but i think i take it more seriously than most "just build!!!" yimbies. Jane jacobs type stuff

Its petty but gawd the new luxury construction that i see built around here is so ugly. Theres no fucking law saying a high rise isnt allowed ornamentation or colour or anything besides the aesthetic of babbys first minecraft architecture. And the brutalism and hideous masses of steel and glass fandom has gotta stop whining about how persecuted they are. You guys have a monopoly on new devt and yr design preferences are massively unpopular, they should be represented in architecture in proportion to their meagre popularity among the public that has to live around it. Theres a reason the far right loves "retvrn to buildings that look nice" as a foot in the door for radicalisation, its bc most ppl are agreed the buildings yimbies drool over look like shit. Architects are an oppressor class

I am probably a "left yimby" with caveats when all is said/done. More housing and denser housing seem like urgent needs but these are not problems you can fully offload to the market without unfairly screwing a lot of ppl over

[iamarealkat]

FIRST COURSE - KNIVES

(or at least the ones I recognised from the TV-show so far)

mads mikkelsen by kenneth willardt for vanity fair italy, 2015 - aka my favorite shoot of his.

i apologize.

1. Spyderco Harpy

• appears in Hannibal season 3 in Italy .ೃ࿐

The Harpy was designed as a knife for seamen, featuring a karambit style blade that magically cuts right through rope, the serration lending a hand to the task.

Additionally, the Harpy boasts a detailed tip, which can chew through a manner of different materials, probably one of the main reasons why Hannibal found it handy for different...matters. To sum it up: This is not one of his kitchen knives, but rather one he used as a pocket knife in all different kind of situations.

Originally the japanese Spyderco Harpy was designed to accommodate the needs of commercial fishermen. The hawksbill blade is modeled after the talon of the Harpy eagle, allowing for a deliberate pulling cut where the object does not slip off the end of the edge. The hollow-ground blade incorporates SpyderEdge serrations and a thick spine for support. The handle is made of stainless steel with a drying vent, perfect for Hannibal and his exquisite taste…and of course correspondingly expensive. A good 200 euros for this fine tool, everybody. But he seems to be rolling in money, so no problem for our favourite cannibal.

2. Chroma Type 301 style by F. A. Porsche

• appear in various episodes as Hannibal’s kitchen knives .ೃ࿐

To be honest I really fell in love with the Spyderco Harpy and didn’t quite think anything could change that. But. When I tell you the design…omg. The Chroma Type 301 knife series was brought to life by F.A. Porsche (yup, the german car guy) and the chef of the decade, Jörg Wörther (austrian chef).

Japanese knives have achieved global recognition for their quality, as the Japanese hold a long tradition in metallurgy. The Japanese metallurgists have elevated the forging and sharpening of the blade into a form of art for hundreds of years, since the era of the notorious Katana swords. On the other hand, Europeans and Americans also make excellent knives, often characterized by superior ergonomics and design, but rarely distinguished for the hardness and sharpness of their blade.

The type 301 knife series by Chroma bridges the gap between Japanese tradition and the European design, this series standing out for its unique design and practical function. Porsche and Wörther closely worked together in order to develop the final shape of the handle, which is optimized for maximum usability. The result is a precision cutting tool. Each knife is carefully weighted to ensure perfect balance in the hand and in combination with the highly ergonomic handle, it feels like an extension of the user’s hand. The Chroma type 301 knives follow faithfully the Japanese philosophy, which dictates a knife to be lightweight and flexible. They are made of high-quality Japanese 301 steel, a relatively lightweight material which has a 56-58 hardness rating in the Rockwell hardness scale. This renders the type 301 knives harder than most of the non-Japanese knives and among the hardest knives within their price range. The increased hardness allows the knife to maintain its sharpness longer and also to slice better.Even though the Chroma type 301 knives are mass produced, they are carefully razorsharp sharpened by the hand of a master. Quality control is performed on one-to-one basis and not through random sampling. And by the way…did I mention the extraordinary design.

3. Kai Shun Knives

• appear in various episodes as Hannibal’s kitchen knives .ೃ࿐

Before Shun Cutlery was established in the western market, most people were used to heavy European-style kitchen knives. With Shun’s entry into the marketplace, home cooks and professional chefs alike were introduced to the lightweight precision of fine Japanese cutlery. Thinner blades, sharper edges, and lighter weight gave Shun a high-performance edge that the heavier knives couldn’t match. Each Shun still takes at least 100 handcrafted steps to complete and Shun remains true to its ancient heritage of quality. At the same time, Shun takes advantage of thoroughly modern, premium materials and state-of-the-art technology to provide that traditional quality to millions of professional chefs and avid home cooks throughout the world.

Today, Shun has become one of the most well-known names in kitchen cutlery. It has won awards for innovation and quality. It has been admired and emulated. With new styles, new materials, and an ongoing dedication to the spirit of innovation, Shun will continue to provide Japanese kitchen cutlery of outstanding beauty, impeccable precision, and the very highest performance.

4. Global Knives

• appear in various episodes as Hannibal’s kitchen knives .ೃ࿐

Global G Series knives are typically put together in what's called a three piece construction. The blade is stamped out of sheets of steel of a proprietary stainless steel alloy, while the two handles are created and welded together separately. The blade and handle are then welded together into one solid piece of stainless steel.

What makes these Global knives a bit unusual is that they start off empty. The blades are welded on without a tang and the handles are actually hollow. Instead, to maintain balance, they are filled with a very precise amount of sand.

Now it's quite unusual and you might just write this off as Japan being Japan and doing things differently because...well, they're Japan, but it seems to work very well for them.

The ability to inject a precise amount of weight (sand, in this case) as needed directly into the knife has led to them getting a reputation or having very precise and excellently balanced knives across their range of products.

That said, ergonomics are always personal.

Global G Series knives tend to feel very lightweight and evenly balanced. Some people tend to prefer a knife that is more weighted to the back for a firmer grip, or to the front for chopping action. This is the classic global knife version, but of course there are various other series one can discover. Unfortunately I am not able to tell the exact version Hannibal uses in the show by just watching...if anyone has an idea let me know!!!

[prisiidon]

🔱 🌊 More Caeruleis lore! 🌊🔱

>>{full post here!}<< New and updated info below

Alliance specifics: Weaponry, auxiliaries, military aid, events, trade, underwater fantasy veg, knowledge, prosthetics, alchemy, sea monster management

Accent: Cultivated Australian Accent

Zora Olympics: As a capital city in their distant sea, they host grand sport events in their own stadium.

Market: Huge market for food, artisan crafts, jewelry and other knickknacks.

Current Highways: like you see in Nemo lol, allows faster travel as they’re far away. Depending on the route or if going off-road, you may need to travel with a Travel Guardian!

Travel Guardians: Highly respected giant zora and leviathans who know the safe routes and travel with you. They keep tabs on creature territories and know how to negotiate passage if there's any run ins. E.g giant basking shark zora who vacuums up sea octoroks. Some take mail with them!

The Big Conch: Tourist attraction. They say you can talk to an ocean god if you go inside of it, but it never answers. Actually worked in the far past, but that ocean deity is gone now. Rarely, some may hear whispers...

Depth: between the light zone and twilight zone

Common armour/gemstones: anything is fine! Mainly it's whitegold palladium (14-18k), white gold, champagne stainless steel, red kelp, red or orange fabric, light blue/cyan gemstones and pearls, with shell shapes in the regalia. All waterproofed.

Conch Shell Communication: Like shellphones lol but the range isn't that far!

Fin & Headtail Prosthetics: If ocean zora  have these amputated, they will sink and wouldn’t be able to swim. Thus they've designed prosthetics. Esp bc military soldiers can have accidents with aggro seamonsters

Calamity: During this time Kahn was the General, and they were essentially cut off due to so many maliced leviathans blocking the route. Attempts to send auxiliaries and reinforcements were mostly in vain despite their best efforts. They also had their hands full with the Forbidden Sea taking advantage of the chaos. Not long before the calamity ended, Lionel became General, and Filomena was elected as Head Governess. Trade and reforming alliances resumed!

[sreegs]

this started out as a short rant about non-stick cookware but i've got an infodump about cookware in general and suggestions for what's the most useful vs the least useful in the kitchen. the thing about cooking is you can do a lot with a little equipment, despite appearances to the contrary. however the vessels you cook in are the most used tools in the kitchen, aside from a chef's knife

ok, first my little rant about non-stick cookware:

it doesn't last, and that's the main flaw of non-stick cookware. whether it has a non-stick coating or it's a special material that is inherently non-stick (at first), eventually they wear down and the non-stick benefits you bought the pan for pretty much disappear.

that isn't to say non-stick cookware is not useful. I have one non-stick frying pan in my kitchen and I use it to cook eggs and other things that are notorious for sticking. i also use it to reheat leftovers just because it's easier to clean. that's all i use it for

so, if you're in the market for cookware because you're moving out or just finally getting a kitchen of your own, do not go buying all non-stick pots and pans. sauce pans, skillets, stock pots (the big pots you use for soup), sauté pans, etc, those actually need your food to stick in some cases, especially for soups and sauces. why's that?

it's about the fond. example: when you're making a soup you usually start by sautéing solid ingredients in the pan first. those get browned and they leave a bit of slightly-burned foodstuff on the bottom of the pot. that's called fond. it's super concentrated savory flavor. right before you add the stock to the soup, you "deglaze" the pan by adding a little bit of liquid to the bottom of the pot and gently scraping it off and integrating it into the soup. fond is also like the basis of all sauces and stews and gravies pretty much anything else you're cooking

where should you buy cookware? obviously you can always buy new, I suggest buying direct from the manufacturer if you really want new. you can also find good cookware at garage sales.

if you have access to them, restaurant supply stores have cheap cookware but it's also made to be beat to death in a commercial kitchen. it works just as well as the stuff aimed at the consumer because, well, metal pans are metal pans. it's not rocket science. but there is cheap bad cookware in the restaurant supply store so shop carefully

so what kind of cookware should you buy? here are options i recommend, but not in any particular order:

stainless steel

stainless steel pans are versatile and they last forever. they work on the stovetop and they go in the oven too. so not only can you use them to fry up some veggies, you can also use them to roast a beast in the oven. they're easy to keep clean, though they eventually get a patina especially on the bottom. use dish soap. the easiest way to get tough spots off them are gentle abrasives like Barkeeper's Friend. these range from cheap to expensive, and some of the expensive ones are worth it (but not too expensive. like $100-200 range for really nice ones. remember, they last forever, so it's like a one-time fee)

good stainless steel pans should be heavy. if you're out shopping for them, pick them up and compare how they feel. if you spot a really cheap one and it feels light like a non-stick pan, avoid it.

carbon steel

these got popular lately, and frankly i don't have too much experience with them since the one i had ended up being left behind in a move. however they're totally fine to work with and are easier to maintain than a cast iron pan. however they sometimes come with wooden handles (a lot of them are wok-shaped because, well, a lot of woks are carbon steel), so remember you can't put wooden-handle pans in the oven. also since they're thinner they're probably not as good for the oven as other materials in terms of both performance and longevity

taking care of them is a little harder than stainless steel, because after you wash and dry them, you have to coat them in a thin layer of oil to prevent rusting

cast iron

okay first i want to get the cleaning bit out the way: YOU CAN WASH YOUR CAST IRON PANS WITH DISH SOAP. that bullshit about only using salt and water and never getting soap on it is from an era when soaps were made of lye. MODERN DETERGENTS ARE NOT MADE OF LYE, THEY'RE NOT EVEN SOAP. HOWEVER: DO NOT SCRUB YOUR CAST IRON WITH METAL SCRUB SPONGES

now about cast iron itself: it's cheap and it's a long-term investment. your cast iron gradually becomes a non-stick pan over time if you maintain its seasoning. a cast iron pan becomes seasoned naturally over time as long as you wash it soon after it cools down from cooking (don't ever leave food or water in it, it will rust), and after it's clean, you cover it with an extremely thin layer of cooking oil.

you can re-season cast iron that has lost its seasoning too. i don't want to turn this post into a cast-iron infodump post so i'll leave it to you to google "how to season cast iron pans" and "how to maintain cast iron pans". just remember the "don't wash it with soap" line is bullshit unless you actually have dish soap that contains lye, like where'd you get that?

these are also great for cooking in the oven as well as the stovetop. their high-density and dark color make for good heat distribution. a lot of people swear by cast iron as the best material to sear meat with, however i never really noticed the difference between cast iron and stainless steel.

enameled cast iron

le creuset can sit on it and spin. don't buy their shit it's overpriced. enameled cast iron is much more affordable from companies like lodge who already make cheap, good, regular cast iron pans. it's a cast iron pan coated with ceramic. enameled cast iron is really good for even heat distribution, however you do have to be careful not to chip it. it may also, despite your best efforts, just wear down over time because ceramic isn't as wear-resistant as metal.

enameled pans can go in the oven as well.

non-stick pans

only buy one (1) non-stick pan. make it a frying pan or sauté pan. and do not spend a lot of money on it. like $40-50 tops. i've seen $100+ non-stick pans and i think someone made those as a joke. it's a grift. you will be replacing it on a semi-regular basis depending on how often you use it.

if your non-stick pan uses a coating, if it starts flaking it's time to get rid of it. those ceramic non-stick pans you just gotta toss it when they lose their smoothness

that's it. post over. go cook. if you have any questions send an ask

[ebongawk]

part one | part two

He fucked up. He fucked up so bad.

Bad enough that when he'd told Wayne how he'd fucked up, Wayne had let out a long, slow sigh, wrapped a comforting hand around his shoulder and squeezed, and then smacked the back of his head like he did when Eddie was acting foolish as a child.

"Jesus, kid," Wayne grumbled as he led Eddie downstairs. "You really like the taste of your own feet, huh?"

"What?"

"Because you keep putting your damn foot in your damn mouth," Wayne shot, smacking him in the head again. Eddie didn't even voice his complaint at the pain. "Didn't I raise you with a modicum of sense?"

"At least one," Eddie sighed, sitting heavily on the kitchen chair – and only then noticing that it, too, was different. Same chairs they'd picked up at a flea market, but obviously refurbished and restained in a way lighter color. The gaudy orange cushions had been replaced with a way mellower off-white that was run through with patterns of ivy. Chrissy had taken down the wallpaper in here, too, and repainted it in a soft chick-feather yellow. And all of the walls were decorated with paintings of sunflowers, bringing her design together so fucking fantastically.

Eddie'd been so up in his own fucking head that he didn't see any of the signs Chrissy had cast up in neon shapes for his arrival. Now that he noticed, he was suddenly seeing dozens of little touches she'd put through the house. Some new furniture to add and replace the secondhand shit they'd scrounged together before he left; new paint on practically every wall; rugs across the wood floors that definitely hadn't been there before; photos and art hung up in practically every room.

Normally, the gross feelings in Eddie's gut were vindicated. People almost always proved to be the goddamn worst.

But Chrissy had never done anything in the entire eighteen months they'd been together to give Eddie a reason to doubt her. He was just... He was just so goddamn used to being disappointed that he'd braced himself for impact without giving her a chance to prove him wrong.

And wrong he fucking was.

So wrong, in fact, that he was convinced he'd ruined the life they had been building together and she was going to leave him.

He didn't even know if he had the strength to stop her.

All of this was voiced to Wayne, who sat across from him at the kitchen table and gave a weary sigh as Eddie wrapped up his pity party.

"Really?" his uncle asked. "One misunderstanding and you're gonna throw in the towel?"

"I accused her of cheating––"

"Yeah, and that was stupid as hell," Wayne interrupted. "But that girl's been with you for well over a year now. I'm sure she expects stupid as hell from you at this point."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Not my fault you've unscrewed a few too many up top," Wayne shrugged. "And I know you've been cheated on––"

"I didn't give a shit about any of that when it happened," Eddie grumbled, waving his hand through the air like he could dismiss Wayne's rumblings.

His uncle blinked at him, head tilted to one side and a strange look on his face.

"Kid, I know you got some shit to work through, but are you honestly trying to convince me you didn't care when Regina messed around behind your back? Or when Leslie did?"

"Pops––"

"You ain't made o' steel, Ed," Wayne finished before Eddie could disagree again. "No matter how you try and convince the world. Anyone with a heart tender as yours would be wounded by that kinda bullshit, alright? But it wasn't you. It was them. And now you've got a girl that wants to go to Hell and back for you. So you better not let her get away."

Wayne stood then before Eddie could compose any sort of retort. Leaving Eddie alone to stew in his own idiocy.

Prior to Chrissy, Eddie didn't really do relationships. He'd had all of a half dozen rushed bar bathroom trysts before the band moved to Cali, and the girls he met in the scene while Corroded Coffin struggled to make a name for themselves weren't all that into being tied down. Which Eddie was fine with. His only stipulation was that they be exclusive so he could avoid catching anything.

They'd both agreed. And they'd both broken that stipulation. He and Leslie had only been seeing each other for a couple months, but Regina was an entire year of his life down the goddamn drain.

It wasn't like he was expecting her to suddenly want to commit. But, fuck, dude, she could've just left when she wasn't feeling it anymore instead of trying to lie. Trying to pretend like she wasn't waiting for the band to make it big so she could snatch him up, then and getting frustrated when it kept not happening. So she fucked other guys to make up for Eddie's extended list of shortcomings, which she presented to him when he confronted her about cheating.

Which was fine. Because he re-met Chrissy a month later and everything worked out for the best.

Except the part where Eddie fucked it all up again.

Scrubbing his hands through his hair, Eddie stood up from the kitchen chair in hopes of tracking Chrissy down. He needed to explain shit to her, tell her that it wasn't her fault. That he assumed the worst because he was the worst.

He checked the small back patio first, but she wasn't there. Nowhere else on the first floor, either. Upstairs, Wayne and Jonathan were putting up the finishing touches on his recording studio, but Nancy was nowhere to be found.

"Can't imagine you'd be willing to tell me where your fiancée wandered off to?" Eddie asked as Jonathan carefully placed Eddie's acoustic This Guitar Slays Dragons on the wall.

"And find myself in the doghouse?" Jonathan asked with a quirked brow. "I don't have a death wish, Munson. Sorry."

That was fair. Nancy could be utterly terrifying.

Not as terrifying as Chrissy. But close.

The third guest bed – which had also seen some changes, and which was very obviously being occupied by his uncle during his stay – was also empty, so Eddie made his way back into their bedroom, praying she hadn't already made an exit somehow.

She was there, throwing a few things into an overnight bag.

"Chrissy––"

"Not right now," she said, her eyes trained resolutely on her task. The joy of his unexpected arrival turned to ash on his tongue as she avoided him completely. As she packed away a small portion of his life so she could leave him, however temporarily.

Temporary could become permanent so quickly.

"Please, can we talk?" he tried again, his voice cracking on the question. Splintering like cracked ice that would shatter completely if he put any more weight on it, plunging him into the frigid depths of her absence.

"Talk about what?" Chrissy asked, her voice hard. Like if she didn't keep it level, it would crash into the depths with him. "About how I was cheating?"

"Chrissy––"

"You didn't come home early to surprise me," she said, stilling the movements of her hands but still refusing to look at him, "did you?"

All Eddie wanted was to see that anger. That betrayal on her face. Because at least, if she looked at him, he'd have the opportunity to gauge whether he could fix this.

"No," he admitted, voice half caught in his throat.

Even from across the room, he could hear the ragged intake of her breath.

"I'm, um." She paused, taking another wavering breath. Shoving the last of her belongings into the bag and zipping it shut. "I'm going to stay at Nancy's tonight."

"Chrissy––"

"I'll let you know when I'm ready to talk." She pushed past him, into the hallway and down the stairs before Eddie could breathe.

And he just... watched her go. Staring after the bouncing of her hair until it disappeared.

When the front door slammed shut, Eddie dropped to his knees, staring after the space she'd occupied like he could will her to come back.

Everything in him was rioting. Screaming. Warring with him to go after her, to fix his stupid mistakes, to get her to understand that she was it for him. That he was an idiot, but fuck, he was an idiot who loved her.

Everything, that was, except his heart.

He wondered, distantly, over the roaring of blood in his ears, whether or not she even realized she packed it before she left.

(to be continued)