#don't worry about my research.

[cementcornfield]

upon doing further Research it looks like ja'marr moved in the fall of '23, which if i recall correctly is RIGHT around when joe moved too 👀

genuinely and authentically soulmate shit

[essektheylyss]

just had to give a gentle nudge about research ethics on discord. with an Essek profile pic. I'm still laughing.

[thatsrightice]

HOW TO BECOME A FIGHTER PILOT

So as you may or may not know, I am writing a fanfic. Unfortunately for me, I can never do things half way, and because aviation is my passion I must do hours of research on a particular subject that I probably won't even use or reference in said fanfic. Here is a guide for how our favorite characters (probably) became fighter pilots. If there are inaccuracies let me know, I want to know :)

United States Naval Academy

The USNA is an undergraduate college that is a combination of academics and military development programs. Students who want to go into Flight School could qualify with one of a variety of different majors, but there are particular majors that obviously may provide a bit of an advantage to aspiring pilots. The USNA currently offers a variety of different majors and minors, though there are fewer than you might expect from a typical university, and overall the degrees are more tailored towards the Navy. They encourage participation in athletics in the form of a Varsity or club/intramural sport(1). 

NOTE: Maverick likely attended a regular college and was a part of the Naval ROTC program at that school. He would have gotten his degree in a field relevant to aviation, likely Mechanical Engineering given his mechanical aptitude seen in Top Gun Maverick, and then attended the 13-week program called Officer Candidate School. To be honest, Maverick’s path within the Navy is a mess and impossible to follow but in the most straightforward scenario, he would go to flight school following Officer Candidate School.

Flight School 

Flight School is an approximately 2-year-long program that is required for Naval Aviators to earn their wings. Primarily located at the “Cradle of Naval Aviation” aka Pensacola, FL, flight school consists of many different phases that will divide students into different specializations. 

1. Naval Introductory Flight Evaluation (NIFE)

Divided into four phases, NIFE is a program that evaluates students’ aeronautical aptitude as well as screens them to ensure they’re capable of becoming aviators. Students may earn a “pink sheet” for any score below 80% or a failure of a task, requiring them to stand before a panel of instructors to explain why they failed and how they plan to improve. Too many pink sheets result in removal from the program(2).

1a. Water Survival Training Following medical clearance, students are taught and tested on their ability to swim while wearing flight gear as well as formerly instructed on various survival techniques and CPR(2).

1b. Academics  A 3-week phase where students take classes and exams in five subjects. It is condensed to test a student’s ability to retain information, learn new information in a high-stress environment, and challenge their self-discipline in regard to time management and other areas(2).

1c. Introductory Flight Screening (IFS) Students are entered into a 2-week-long modified civilian flight training program where one week is dedicated to ground school courses before they must conduct a series of flights in a Cessna using Navy flight procedures during the second week. Students had to memorize and prioritize information to complete the flights, specifically in regard to conducting pre-flight briefings and emergency procedures. Overall, they’ll conduct seven flights in which they are required to complete a set of standardized maneuvers(2). 

1d. Aviation Physiology A week-long training course that consists of emergency-specific training evolutions such as the hypoxia chamber, emergency first aid, and the “helo dunker.” The “helo dunker” (from what I understand) is a particular training device that consists of strapping a pilot into a cockpit-like or helicopter contraption within a pool and submerging the entire structure under the water, simulating an environment in which their aircraft has landed in the water and they need to escape from the seat(3). An image of this can be seen below(2).

The Top Gun cast had to undergo a similar training course in order to be allowed to fly in military airplanes for filming. A video of some of their training can be viewed below.

2b. Aviation Pre-Flight Indoctrination

A 6-week long program that marks the beginning of the aviation pipeline. Located in Pensacola, FL, students attend classes covering the basics of aerodynamics, weather in relation to aviation, air navigation, flight rules and regulations, and aircraft engines and systems (3). 

Prior to API, those interested in becoming Radar Intercept Officers (RIO) will have expressed their interest and requested a designation as a Naval Flight Officer (NFO). 

2c. Primary Flight Training

A 6-month-long program that teaches the students the basics of flying. There are two locations for Primary, one at Training Air Wing 5 at Naval Air Station Whiting Field in Pensacola, FL, or Training Air Wing 4 at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, TX. Both Naval Air Stations (NAS) are taught the same curriculum and fly the same aircraft, the T-6 Texan II. The students learn about the instruments, flight basics, radio instrument navigation, formation flying, and aerobatics, and also conduct several solo flights. At the end of Primary, students choose which pipeline they would like. This is conducted depending on the needs of the Navy and how many spots are available(3). 

Obviously, Iceman, Slider, Goose, Cougar, and everyone else got Jets, though they may not have gone through flight school at the same time. 

2d. Intermediate Flight Training

Intermediate Flight Training is a 27-week program. Split into five platforms; Jet, E2/C2, Helicopter, Maritime, and E-6 TACAMO. The jet platform flight training focuses more on navigation, air traffic control, individual skills, and cooperative skills of flying jets. The intermediate flight training program for jets is located at Meridian, MS (Training Air Wing One) at either VT-7 or VT-9, and Kingsville, TX (Training Air Wing Two) at either VT-21 or VT-22, both of which teach the same curriculum. Students in the jet platform will complete 58 graded flights in the T-45C Goshawk jet trainer aircraft(3). 

2e. Advanced Flight Training

Similar to Intermediate Flight Training, the program is split into five platforms but lasts 23 weeks. The students will probably have stayed with the same training squadron throughout the intermediate and advanced flight training. This stage includes learning skills specific to the chosen platform. The Advanced Flight Training program for jets is what’s called the Strike Syllabus. The Strike Syllabus includes an additional 67 graded flights in the T-45 covering air combat maneuvers, low-level navigation, tactical formation flying, and aircraft carrier qualifications. Students will then graduate from Advanced Flight Training with the Wings of Gold(3). 

3. Squadron Selection 

The final selection process assigns naval aviators to a particular squadron based on the needs of the service. Naval Aviators are assigned to a fleet replacement squadron or other similar training assignments for further training on their specific aircraft type. Here, RIOs and pilots must become qualified by gaining the required flight hours and meeting the proficiency standards necessary.

NOTE: It’s kind of hard to figure out when exactly the RIO training occurs. I know it takes place over the course of all the primary through advanced training occurs as well but I’m not sure if they have to attend seperate courses for it. 

TOPGUN

From there, pilots and RIOs may have been moved to their first official squadron for deployment. They would have been in their first squadron for approximately one and a half years, deploying with them. Their squadron would come back from a deployment and during the stand-down time before their next deployment, their commanding officer would select them to go to TOPGUN.

Sources

(1) https://www.usna.edu/homepage.php

(2) https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2944668/nife-lays-foundation-for-naval-aviation-training/

(3) https://www.cnatra.navy.mil/tw4/flight-school.asp

[cosmermaid]

I have seen too many god damn illustrations of ancient indigenous American tribes wearing only loincloths (usually just plain white ones) and I am getting skeptical and kind of annoyed.

I need some indigenous fashion history sources, because 1. why would they be content to run around mostly naked but still have the christian sensitivities to cover their privates? 2. North America isn't some Elysian paradise full of soft grasses and flowers to walk on, I'm SURE most of these different people wore some kind of shoe. 3. Sunburn and bug bites are still a real thing in a lot of everywhere, I'm sure most people would want to protect their skin are you kidding me? 4. SNOW??? Hello, this would have been PRE-global warming, thanks??? 5. WHY ARE ALL THE LOINCLOTHS WHITE WHERE ARE THEY GETTING THIS BLEACHED WHITE COTTON HANES-HER-WAY WHITY-TIGHTIES????? I'm pretty sure most people before the 1700's obsession with greek white marble liked COLORFUL things? Anyways, this is me getting mad at an illustration of a Pueblo home would have been like supposedly in the 700's and they're all wearing plain white loincloths when I've NEVER seen a photograph of a Pueblo person dressed like that. I know the 700's was a long time ago but a lot of cultural history was preserved and passed on, wasn't it?

[psychologicalwarclaire]

what's that thing on your chin?

(your little sona-thing's chin, I mean. sorry if this is rude or something you don't have to answer if you don't want to bahaha)

I got this ask a WHILE ago but I decided to make an infographic response rather than a long info dump

Mayo Clinic

TeensHealth

Overview

Yale Medicine

These are just some sources to keep learning, but don't hesitate to research vitiligo yourself!

[a-dotrivenitupontop]

barry:

sally:

[leadendeath]

*coughs up blood* turns out i got some feelings about That Thing

[hephaestuscrew]

Lady Miss Clara Entwhistle

'Miss Entwhistle' or 'Miss Clara Entwhistle' is said 93 times across Seasons 1 and 2 of Victoriocity. 'Lady [Clara] Entwhistle' is never said until S3E4. I'm obsessed with the fact that every time Clara has introduced herself or been referred to by name - every time she's been 'Miss' rather than 'Lady' - it's been a symbol for her of how she's building her own life, separate from her family and their expectations for her. She could have adopted a whole new name if she wanted to entirely disguise her aristocratic family ties, but she choose a more subtle shift.

Before she came to London, how many times had she walked into rooms she didn't want to be in and been announced as 'Lady Clara Entwhistle'? Did it feel strange to her at first, the switch to introducing herself without any hint at her father's Earldom? Or did it just feel right, her name finally able to stand on its own, like she was trying to? 

How many situations has Clara been in since moving to London where her title would have commanded respect and made things easier? How many people has she met who would have been impressed that she was a member of the aristocracy, who might have cooperated more quickly or revealed information more easily had they known? In the confrontation with Merrick in the House of Commons, for example, would there have been quite so much jeering and disbelief from the benches at the words of an Earl's daughter, as opposed to a random unmarried female journalist? But she's never played that card - it's never felt worth it to her.

When we first meet Clara as she enters London, she says "Well, my mother's occupation is... Lady, I suppose. And I am a journalist." Lady is a role which defines her mother, who is appalled by the idea of having an occupation. "Why couldn’t you just have married a duke, moved to Saxony and died of scarlet fever like your sister?" is funny in its ridiculousness, but it's also horrifying; Clara's mother would prefer a dead daughter than a daughter who is living the life Clara wants. That's something that must weigh on her, even when the ties are cut. Coming from an environment like that, it's no wonder if she sees a life of autonomy and independence as inherently incompatible with any acknowledgement of the role in society she was born into. So she goes by 'Miss', and she doesn't seem to talk about her aristocratic heritage, and still she's asking herself "what it means to be free, for birds or people"...

[eigong]

… I WOULD LIKE TO FORMALLY APOLOGIZE FOR STARTING THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY FUCKING UP YOUR QUALITY OF LIFE.

UH.

YEAH.

I DO NOT FEEL REMORSE BUT I CANNOT HELP BUT REGRET WHAT I HAVE DONE AFTER THIS RATHER PITIFUL DISPLAY OF.. ALMOST BEING DEAD FOR SEVERAL DAYS ON END.

👋👋

🏃‍♂️

I have felt it before, that certainty, that death knell of the self. Knowing, because you are being warned by your own body as it barely fights to stay alive, that you could close your eyes and never open them again. Drift off as easily as falling into sleep, or perhaps easier.

That young woman I used to be, I recall her—disoriented and bloody, head wrapped in bandages, laid upon a clinic bed. Resting there in the nothingness that resides between two life-changing points, the stretch of time after the infliction of a terrible hurt but before the healing. Survival. Being struck with that profound numbness.

How dare I be put through this again?

Anyway apology acceptead i appreciate it

[essektheylyss]

me: okay I can just finish my class readings and the next assignment due and then take some time to chill and perhaps write :)))

me, immediately: I need to read 7 books, 12 articles, and 3 dissertations in the next week

[sappho-favourite-pupil]

The amount of people being vocal about their violently homophobic "opinions" has increased exponentially, after the election of this extreme right-wing and homophobic government. I feel like a few years ago a lot of people were homophobic anyway, but now they are being validated by our politicians and ofc things have gotten worse.

[helpmyinterestsareverywhere]

I started a comfort movie watch party the other day and I finally got round to finishing The LEGO Ninjago Movie again and GOSH <3 I love her so much I forgot how much it means to me she's actually so special <333

[zukkaoru]

As someone who is disabled, I agree with the other anon, the way you write disability into the characters is very nice. It's done so casually, there isn't any judgemnet behind it, it isn't being done for the point of a pity plot, it's just... an extra detail. That feels very nice and refreshing. Thank you so much.

ahh thank you!! i do try to be careful with my depictions of disabilities and make a conscious effort to portray them as realistically disabling while also not going overboard into infantilization/savior plot/etc. so i'm very glad to hear that you think i'm doing it well <3

[goodplace-janet]

please answer this silly little poll of a me who was confused in a history lecture today

[a-lil-strawberry]

I'm getting my period soon and I hope and pray it doesn't go like last time. I thought I was going to have to go to the ER. I threw up, among other things, was shaking, freezing, and literally writhing in pain. I think I literally was in medical shock. I probably should've gone to the ER but I couldn't fathom a car ride. I just had to curl up on the bathroom floor, then I managed to make it to my bed. A bumpy and long car ride was the last thing I wanted.

On the bright side, right before that I happened to buy some period pain heat patches. I saw them at TJ Maxx and thought they sounded neat, but when I purchased them I thought "I'm never in so much pain to need these". It did help just a little bit

[meownotgood]

hello!!

i found you through your Victor fics on ao3 and i just wanted to say that they're so freaking good!!!

i binge watched arcane a few days ago and i couldn't get Victor out of my head so i gave in to the temptation and well, here i am

you write so skillfully and the way you treat his character is just so on point, i truly felt like i found the holy grail. and the czech nickname you used? absolutely blown away, i didn't expect to stumble upon a word from my native language like that and god i actually squealed. thank you so so much for your writing and i hope there is more of Victor coming from you, have an absolutely wonderful day!!

thank you so much!! 🥹 I'm really glad you enjoyed my works... that's so sweet... czech viktor is everything (holding him in my loving arms) 💞