#but i feel like while andrei puts on formal airs with most people and talks in a somewhat affected grammar as a result

[ulircursed]

for forever

Patrol your companions’ quarters [Max 4 muses per thread] - Restore 1HP to houses per post - Can now talk to Mairenn during this task

     Even looking still as death, Edain’s hands are still warm when he grasps them.

     That unchanging fact keeps Andrei’s anxiety at bay as the weeks bleed into one another without a single sign that their allies are close to waking up, while the outside world around them is met with one trouble after another. At the very least, inexplicable injuries notwithstanding, all of their allies are still breathing, though that is small comfort given the circumstances. Despite making a conscious effort to spread his patrolling among the four houses in somewhat equal measure, he cannot help but return to this house, this room, more often than any other.

     (He’d promised to try and keep her safe.)

     And it is here that he stands again, after yet another night of exhausting battle, after the chief had seen them making their usual patrols to check on their companions (they weren’t wounded by outside forces last time; what could they possibly do against a power beyond their reach?) and made a cryptic offer, one that loops endlessly in his mind, even now.

     Be with them forever, peacefully and happily, in a world free of pain...

     ...Why wouldn’t he want that? A world without all this pain and bloodshed. A world with Lady Sister, and Father and Edain, and whomever else each of them would choose to complete their family, without a single one lost. A world where conspiracy and the greed for power never touched any part of Grannvale.

     A world where he’d never had the choice to tear his family apart.

     “You’d want it too, wouldn’t you, Sister?” Andrei asks the sleeping figure before him, doing nothing to hide his desperate, anguished expression in a room without waking, judging eyes. His hand trembles in hers. “Even if it’s only a dream... If it’s one where nothing had gone wrong... Wouldn’t we all be happier for it?”

     He isn’t sure how long he stands there in silence, as though awaiting, begging for an answer, before he startles at the sound of the door behind him being pushed open. Hastily withdrawing his hand, Andrei turns, blinking at the familiar face that appears through the entrance.

     “Ah... Lady Caeda,” he greets, not quite meeting her gaze, for fear his thoughts might be laid entirely bare to anyone who sees him, “You— you are here on patrol as well, I take it?”

@arcaeda

[whittlebaggett8]

These photos show what life in space is really like — and it looks like a ton of fun, Defence Online

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Dinner in space is always fun.

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet takes delightful photos of life on the International Space Station.

It seems like a ton of fun up there.

Astronauts celebrate holidays together, eat food as it floats in the air, and enjoy the cosmic views.

Individuals selected for spaceflight have put in years of hard work and dedication to earn their spots, so they deserve to have a little fun once they leave the atmosphere.

Thomas Pesquet, a French astronaut with the European Space Agency and crew member with Expeditions 50 and 51 on the International Space Station, does a fantastic job capturing the unadulterated joy that he and his fellow astronauts feel while living out their dreams and living in weightlessness.

Of course they don’t spend ~all~ of their time chomping food out of the air and pretending to be superheroes. Only, you know, some of it.

Here are some of his delightful photos of life on the ISS.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a spacecraft the size of a football field where astronauts live and conduct research in space.

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“To give you a perspective of how big the International Space Station is: there’s a spacewalk crew member on this pic … can you see him?”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

NASA has spent the better part of 20 years and $100 billion working on the International Space Station.

French astronaut Thomas Pesquet servied as a flight engineer on Expedition 51 from November 2016 to September 2017.

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“Using the International Space Station radio for a contact with school children.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

He’s also a black belt in judo and plays the saxophone.

He was one of five crew members on Expedition 51.

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“Love this crew, today we have the official handover ceremony, formally ending this part of Expedition 51. Sorry to leave you tomorrow NASA Astronaut Jack ‘2fish’ Fischer, NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson and Fyodor, but enjoy the extra space! Hope I remember to pack everything :)”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Top row from the left: Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson, and Oleg Novitskiy. Bottom row from the left: Jack Fischer, Fyodor Yurchikhin.

Peggy Whitson was the commander, making her the first woman to command two ISS expeditions and the record holder for the most days in space of any NASA astronaut.

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“Mixed feelings about International Women’s Day: why do we still have 364 men’s days a year? Proud to have Peggy Whitson by my side.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

President Trump called Whitson in space to congratulate her.

She and Pesquet worked together on Expedition 50.

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“The more serious Expedition 50 crew picture.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Top row from left: Oleg Novitskiy, Peggy Whitson, and Thomas Pesquet. Bottom row from left: Andrey Borisenko, Robert Shane Kimbrough, and Sergey Ryzhikov.

Pesquet documents his time on the ISS with charming photos of the crew’s shenanigans.

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“The cutest question I’ve been asked so far: my friends’ daughter (who saw me floating in weightlessness) wanted to know at what age my super powers had kicked in! She was clearly worried about why she could not fly herself yet ;)”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Astronauts often take photos to document their time in space.

They seem to enjoy each other’s company.

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“TGIF! Like every Friday evening, we all gather in the Russian segment and share our best food items!”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Soon, astronauts will also have a robotic head that follows them around.

They share holiday meals together.

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“The crew of the Expedition 50 flight to the International Space Station wishes you all happy holidays!”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Talk about a festive holiday celebration.

And celebrate festive occasions in style.

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“The entire crew of the 50th expedition to the International Space Station wishes you a happy 2017!”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

“We had the opportunity to celebrate the New Year on three different time zones up here (Russia, France and the United States) because a few countries decided some years ago they believed in a certain idea of the future. They thought science, technology, peaceful exploration and above all international cooperation would contribute to make the world a better place. They thought aiming for a challenging goal would only bring the best for their citizens. They were right, and here we are, playing our little part.”

Pesquet’s colleagues even surprised him with a saxophone on his birthday.

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“A surprise gift for my birthday a few weeks ago … it arrived on 22 February with the SpaceX Dragon, and hidden by my teammates until the 27th, in collusion with Mission Control in Houston!! You can not trust anyone

????????????????”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Doctors recently had a patient play the saxophone while they removed a brain tumor to make sure the surgery hadn’t damaged his brain function.

But they don’t mind a bit of friendly competition.

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“It’s the Super Bowl today! May the best team win, but Peggy and Shane have chosen their respective sides! ;)”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Astronauts watched the Super Bowl from space.

Talk about #squadgoals.

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“An upgrade on the traditional selfie: now with all the crew! Hard to make 5 people fit in the Cupola.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

The American flags on the moon have all turned white because of radiation from the sun.

Weightlessness in space definitely presents many entertaining opportunities.

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“Watching the rugby game in space.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

NASA also screened “The Last Jedi” for crew members on the ISS.

Especially when it comes to food.

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“Space cooking: tonight’s appetizers taking a spin… Something tells me they won’t last long.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Astronaut Scott Kelly said the first thing he wants to eat when he returns from space is fresh fruit.

Space hamburgers float at eye level.

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“Burgers are on the menu! Well, at least, my (space) version of them: Tortillas, rehydrated beef patty, our last fresh onion from HTV-6, a slice of lettuce (grown on ISS for a scientific experiment: don’t tell), and various sauces. It tasted like heaven, and flew like an angel ;)”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Space burgers are a little different than burgers on Earth.

Of course, the astronauts don’t spend all of their time wrangling edible items into their mouths.

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“Thanks for the birthday wishes everybody, Dragon bought up a birthday treat: Macarons!”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Astronauts have to catch food in their mouths.

They take stunning photos.

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“File under desktop wallpaper: the blue gradients of a sunrise.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Pesquet particularly enjoys taking photos of airports from space.

And work to keep the ISS up and running.

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“No, it’s not a laser gun to shoot hostile aliens: I’m just calibrating our pistol-grip tool, that we use outside to drive and release fasteners… basically a space screwdriver, but we like to call it the PGT. I know you’re a little bit disappointed… me too! ;)”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Trump has said he wants to send astronauts back to the moon.

They also test out new tools.

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“We turned on Robonaut last week and worked a bit together … Pretty cool to interact with a human-size robot!”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

The Robonaut eventually broke and had to return to Earth for repairs.

But when you’re an astronaut on a space expedition, work and play go hand in hand.

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“This is what a spacewalk is: 400km of void under your feet.”

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Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Seeing Earth from space is a rare opportunity.

The post These photos show what life in space is really like — and it looks like a ton of fun, Defence Online appeared first on Defence Online.

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