#mothballed 2

[survive-object-poll-island]

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH <3 SOPI!!!!!!

[lonestarbattleship]

View of USS NORTH CAROLINA (BB-55), USS WASHINGTON (BB-56), USS GUAM (CB-2) and USS FRESNO (CL-121) or USS SPOKANE (CL-120) from the foremast of USS ALASKA (CB-1) on February 2, 1950. They docked in Bayonne Navy Yard, New Jersey as part of the New York Group, Atlantic Reserve Fleet.

"Mothballed battleships laid up at Naval supply base, covered with protective metal bubbles."

Photographed by Herbert Gehr, LIFE Magazine.

LIFE Magazine Archives: 111458526, 111458531, 111458540, 111458541, 111458563, 11458538

[bodrewritten]

Daughter of Discord Rewritten Chapter 9.5: The Queen's Lullaby

Mothball is wracked with tremors in the face of his mother, Queen Chrysalis. Thickening fog burned through his muscles, passing through him and contaminating the blood into bile. Everything seemed so much larger than life in the hive.

Mothball knew nothing of screwball's compliance, that she knew he lied, that she expected to see him again.

"I feel sickly mother," He drooped down onto the trunk of a colossal broken tree, his bed. A maid tucked him into the bed he made every morning, performed her daily check up, and left promptly to report to the queen. The queen supervised from the frame of the door.

"Hush, little one. You must be exhausted. Sleep, little Mothball. Let your dreams take wing. One day when you're big and strong...

You will be a king."

"sleep deep, mother."

Chrysalis stood above his bed, behind his frame, empty and demanding.

"Tomorrow, your training intensifies."

And with that, she strolled from the room of the prince. Replacing her, a shadow of her might.

Mantis approached the boy with scowling eyes, the tops hidden by a brow dipping into a pool of disdain.

"mother has ordered you to train under my command for the remainder of your lessons. I understand how easy it is for you to make your mentors look foolishly incompetent with your ineptitude. But trust me when I declare, I will break you until you make mother proud. Of both of us."

Mothball could only stare as tears fell from his sunken, downturned eyes. Mantis sighed and smirked, as if every tear that fell was like eating premium love.

"maybe you cannot be saved. I always was mother's favorite for a reason."

With that, Mantis followed the Mare's steps.

Chrysalis scowled and seethed with every step into the darkness of the hollow hive.

"I've been exiled, persecuted, Left alone with no defense.

When I think of what that brute did, I get a little tense.

But I dream a dream so pretty, That I don't feel so depressed. 'Cause it soothes my inner kitty And it helps me get some rest"

"The sound of Discord's dying gasp!"

His daughter squealing in my grasp!

His darling wife's mournful cry!

That's my lullaby!"

Chrysalis climbed the steps to her throne, covered in gems stolen from rulers long gone by the hooves of her lineage.

"Now the past I've tried forgetting, And my foes I could forgive

Trouble is, I know it's petty, But I hate to let them live."

Mantis, attached to her haunches as always, stood beside the queen.

"So you found yourself somebody Who'd chase Discord up a tree?"

"Oh, the battle may be bloody But that kind of works for me...

The melody of angry growls!

A counterpoint of painful howls!

A symphony of death, oh my!

That's my lullaby"

Mantis looked towards the sleeping prince's room. How could all this come from such a disgusting little maggot?

"Sleep, you little termite!

Uh-- I mean, precious little thing!

One day when you're big and strong..."

"You will be a king!"

The pounding of the drums of war!

The thrill of Mothball's mighty roar!"

"The joy of vengeance! Testify!"

"I can hear the cheering drown the cries...

Payback time is nearing, And then our flag will fly,

Up against a blood-red sky!

That's...my... LULLABY!!"

[she-who-fights-and-writes]

“Show, Don’t Tell”…But This Time Someone Explains It

If you’ve ever been on the hunt for writing advice, you've definitely seen the phrase “Show, Don’t Tell.”

Writeblr coughs up these three words on the daily; it’s often considered the “Golden Rule” of writing. However, many posts don't provide an in-depth explanation about what this "Golden Rule" means (This is most likely to save time, and under the assumption that viewers are already informed).

More dangerously, some posts fail to explain that “Show, Don’t Tell” occasionally doesn’t apply in certain contexts, toeing a dangerous line by issuing a blanket statement to every writing situation. 

The thing to take away from this is: “Show, Don’t Tell” is an essential tool for more immersive writing, but don't feel like a bad writer if you can’t make it work in every scenario (or if you can’t get the hang of it!)

1. What Does "Show, Don't Tell" Even Mean?

“Show, Don’t Tell” is a writing technique in which the narrative or a character’s feelings are related through sensory details rather than exposition. Instead of telling the reader what is happening, the reader infers what is happening due to the clues they’ve been shown.

EXAMPLE 1:

Telling: The room was very cold. Showing: She shivered as she stepped into the room, her breath steaming in the air.

EXAMPLE 2:

Telling: He was furious. Showing: He grabbed the nearest book and hurled it against the wall, his teeth bared and his eyes blazing.

EXAMPLE 3 ("SHOW, DON'T TELL" DOESN'T HAVE TO MEAN "WRITE A LOT MORE")

Telling: The room hadn't been lived in for a very long time. Showing: She shoved the door open with a spray of dust.

Although the “showing” sentences don’t explicitly state how the characters felt, you as the reader use context clues to form an interpretation; it provides information in an indirect way, rather than a direct one.

Because of this, “Show, Don’t Tell” is an incredibly immersive way to write; readers formulate conclusions alongside the characters, as if they were experiencing the story for themselves instead of spectating. 

As you have probably guessed, “showing” can require a lot more words (as well as patience and effort). It’s a skill that has to be practiced and improved, so don’t feel discouraged if you have trouble getting it on the first try!

2. How Do I Use “Show, Don’t Tell” ?

There are no foolproof parameters about where you “show” and not “tell" or vice versa; it’s more of a writing habit that you develop rather than something that you selectively decide to employ.

In actuality, most stories are a blend of both showing and telling, and more experienced writers instinctively switch between one and another to cater to their narrative needs. You need to find a good balance of both in order to create a narrative that is both immersive and engaging.

i. Help When Your Writing Feels Bare-Bones/Soulless/Boring

Your writing is just not what you’ve pictured in your head, no matter how much you do it over. Conversations are stilted. The characters are flat. The sentences don’t flow as well as they do in the books you've read. What’s missing?

It’s possibly because you’ve been “telling” your audience everything and not “showing”! If a reader's mind is not exercised (i.e. they're being "spoon-fed" all of the details), your writing may feel boring or uninspired!

Instead of saying that a room was old and dingy, maybe describe the peeling wallpaper. The cobwebs in the corners. The smell of dust and old mothballs. Write down what you see in your mind's eye, and allow your audience to formulate their own interpretations from that. (Scroll for a more in-depth explanation on HOW to develop this skill!)

ii. Add More Depth and Emotion to Your Scenes

Because "Show, Don't Tell" is a more immersive way of writing, a reader is going to feel the narrative beats of your story a lot more deeply when this rule is utilized.

Describing how a character has fallen to their knees sobbing and tearing our their hair is going to strike a reader's heart more than saying: "They were devastated."

Describing blood trickling through a character's fingers and staining their clothes will seem more dire than saying: "They were gravely wounded."

iii. Understand that Sometimes Telling Can Fit Your Story Better

Telling can be a great way to show your characters' personalities, especially when it comes to first-person or narrator-driven stories. Below, I've listed a few examples; however, this list isn't exclusive or comprehensive!

Initial Impressions and Character Opinions

If a character describes someone's outfit as "gaudy" or a room as "absolutely disgusting," it can pack more of a punch about their initial impression, rather than describing the way that they react (and can save you some words!). In addition, it can provide some interesting juxtaposition (i.e. when a character describes a dog as "hideous" despite telling their friend it looks cute).

2. Tone and Reader Opinions

Piggybacking off of the first point, you can "tell, not show" when you want to be certain about how a reader is supposed to feel about something. "Showing" revolves around readers drawing their own conclusions, so if you want to make sure that every reader draws the same conclusion, "telling" can be more useful! For example, if you describe a character's outfit as being a turquoise jacket with zebra-patterned pants, some readers may be like "Ok yeah a 2010 Justice-core girlie is slaying!" But if you want the outfit to come across as badly arranged, using a "telling" word like "ridiculous" or "gaudy" can help set the stage.

3. Pacing

"Show, don't tell" can often take more words; after all, describing a character's reaction is more complicated than stating how they're feeling. If your story calls for readers to be focused more on the action than the details, such as a fight or chase scene, sometimes "telling" can serve you better than "showing." A lot of writers have dedicated themselves to the rule "tell action, show emotion," but don't feel like you have to restrict yourself to one or the other.

iv. ABOVE ALL ELSE: Getting Words on the Page is More Important!

If you’re stuck on a section of your story and just can’t find it in yourself to write poetic, flowing prose, getting words on the paper is more important than writing something that’s “good.” If you want to be able to come back and fix it later, put your writing in brackets that you can Ctrl + F later.

Keeping your momentum is the hardest part of writing. Don't sacrifice your inspiration in favor of following rules!

3. How Can I Get Better at “Show, Don’t Tell”?

i. Use the Five Senses, and Immerse Yourself!

Imagine you’re the protagonist, standing in the scene that you have just created. Think of the setting. What are things about the space that you’d notice, if you were the one in your character’s shoes?

Smell? Hear? See? Touch? Taste?

Sight and sound are the senses that writers most often use, but don’t discount the importance of smell and taste! Smell is the most evocative sense, triggering memories and emotions the moment someone walks into the room and has registered what is going on inside—don’t take it for granted. And even if your character isn’t eating, there are some things that can be “tasted” in the air.

EXAMPLE:

TELLING: She walked into the room and felt disgusted. It smelled, and it was dirty and slightly creepy. She wished she could leave. SHOWING: She shuffled into the room, wrinkling her nose as she stepped over a suspicious stain on the carpet. The blankets on the bed were moth-bitten and yellowed, and the flowery wallpaper had peeled in places to reveal a layer of blood-red paint beneath…like torn cuticles. The stench of cigarettes and mildew permeated the air. “How long are we staying here again?” she asked, flinching as the door squealed shut. 

The “showing” excerpt gives more of an idea about how the room looks, and how the protagonist perceives it. However, something briefer may be more suited for writers who are not looking to break the momentum in their story. (I.e. if the character was CHASED into this room and doesn’t have time to take in the details.)

ii. Study Movies and TV Shows: Think like a Storyteller, Not Just a Writer

Movies and TV shows quite literally HAVE TO "show, and not tell." This is because there is often no inner monologue or narrator telling the viewers what's happening. As a filmmaker, you need to use your limited time wisely, and make sure that the audience is engaged.

Think about how boring it would be if a movie consisted solely of a character monologuing about what they think and feel, rather than having the actor ACT what they feel.

(Tangent, but there’s also been controversy that this exposition/“telling” mindset in current screenwriting marks a downfall of media literacy. Examples include the new Percy Jackson and Avatar: The Last Airbender remakes that have been criticized for info-dumping dialogue instead of “showing.”)

If you find it easy to envision things in your head, imagine how your scene would look in a movie. What is the lighting like? What are the subtle expressions flitting across the actors' faces, letting you know just how they're feeling? Is there any droning background noise that sets the tone-- like traffic outside, rain, or an air conditioner?

How do the actors convey things that can't be experienced through a screen, like smell and taste?

Write exactly what you see in your mind's eye, instead of explaining it with a degree of separation to your readers.

iii. Listen to Music

I find that because music evokes emotion, it helps you write with more passion—feelings instead of facts! It’s also slightly distracting, so if you’re writing while caught up in the music, it might free you from the rigid boundaries you’ve put in place for yourself.

Here’s a link to my master list of instrumental writing playlists!

iv. Practice, Practice, Practice! And Take Inspiration from Others!

“Show Don’t Tell” is the core of an immersive scene, and requires tons of writing skills cultivated through repeated exposure. Like I said before, more experienced writers instinctively switch between showing and telling as they write— but it’s a muscle that needs to be constantly exercised!

If I haven’t written in a while and need to get back into the flow of things, I take a look at a writing prompt, and try cultivating a scene that is as immersive as possible! Working on your “Show, Don’t Tell” skills by practicing writing short, fun one-shots can be much less restrictive than a lengthier work.

In addition, get some inspiration and study from reading the works of others, whether it be a fanfiction or published novel!

If you need some extra help, feel free to check out my Master List of Writing Tips and Advice, which features links to all of my best posts, each of them categorized !

Hope this helped, and happy writing!

[soulxsteal]

"Hey, Rabbit, isn't the moon beautiful?"

No, too cheesy. Kzinssie scratched that idea immediately. Besides, the way she froze like a statue out of the corner of his eye suggested that a moonlit walk wasn't exactly her idea of fun right now-- no matter how nice and full the moon hung against the wintry sky. It really was a nostalgic view, though. Something about it tugged at him, an empty pang in his chest, like a memory that had long since slipped from his grasp.

Well. If she didn want to sleep, or walk, then maybe they could… uh. What? He'd already spun her every exaggerated tale he could come up with about himself. What was left to talk about? Maybe they could go find that old innkeeper with the twitchy eye and demand a midnight snack. Yeah, that sounded like a solid plan.

Too bad Bokhohn somehow managed to interrupt his date idea without even being here.

Kzinssie froze, staring at her faint reflection in the glass. He hoped to every force in the universe that she couldn't see his horrified expression in the pane.

"Bokhohn said that?"

His voice wavered. He clutched at the curtain as though it might save him, praying futilely for the ground to swallow him whole. Except, if that actually happened, they'd both be swallowed, and he'd still have to face this conversation.

"...KAHAHA, that old geezer!" he laughed, loud and sharp and completely forced, "You know, he's practically ten thousand years old. An antique even before he begged his way into the Seven Heroes." He turned to her, still gripping the curtain like a lifeline. "He's always spouting some weird, cryptic nonsense, y'know? Comes with being so ancient, I guess. Stuff like Wagnas turning into some hot lady, or Subier becoming a whale…"

Really, Kzinssie? That's the example you go with?

"Haha, imagine!" he went on clutching at every straw, tone climbing an octave as the panic seeped into his voice. "Me, turning into a giant, terrifying worm-- with razor sharp teeth and claws and a cape! That'd be STUPID! KAHAHA--!"

The laugh that followed was as awkward and strained as his grip on the curtain, which he had to fight not to pull into his trademark over the face pose. And, for once, he couldn't tell if she was buying it or just silently digging his grave.

[[ @soulxsteal ]]

Fussy was one way to describe her today. Ever since her conversation with Bokhohn, Rabbit was preparing for this day, well, night in particular. She made sure to ask the Inn Keeper that no one would bother Kzinssie tonight, even if strange sounds come from his room... to which he gave her a very unsure nod, asking her further if Cat knows.

Thankfully Cat was away to check on some other tower with someone else, which Rabbit had hurried to inform the Inn Keeper about as well. But that only made him look even more surprised. "Well, good luck."

Rabbit nodded, unsure why she'd need luck or why was the Inn Keeper winking at her. It was Lord Kzinssie turning into a worm tonight, not her!

And so her mental to-do list was all checked. No unwelcomed guests tonight to accidentally step on him, a little bed made out of matchbox and tuft of feathers tucked into her pocket and her own resolve to make sure he stays inside and away from any birds who may decide he is a very delicious late night snack.

And so the hours rolled. And he started to find her presence awkward or so she thought. "Err, don't worry about me, Lord Kzinssie!" Rabbit hopped off her own chair and waved hands dismissively, "I don't....really sleep much at night, if at all." There was a note of hesitation there. "The night is for walks and work. It's much more safe than in the day anyway cause everyone is asleep!" She added with a small grin as if her logic was flawless here.

But she walked right into a corner with that one. Kzinssie pulled the curtain revealing the full moon and urged her for a walk outside. But she couldn't answer that right away. Her favorite hero was within his element right now, exactly as he usually resided in her head - basked in the moonlight as if he ruled all that the shadows would ever touch.

And he certainly did not look like a worm right now. Embarrassment began to wash over her. Flight-or-fight...or freeze. It was always the first option but not tonight. Right now she surely found herself frozen in place. She only managed to shift so very uncomfortably and look aside as if someone had just caught her red handed.

"Lord Bokhohn told me you um, that you turn into a worm on full moon nights." Rabbit muttered, "So, I ah... stayed to make sure you will be ... safe."

She thought, maybe if she stared at the ground long enough, maybe it would be kind enough to swallow her right now.

[whirligig-girl]

(zoom in!)

Two double-headers on the Trans-Gooiw Railroad passing each other in the hills, dragging long freight trains behind them, during the early days of the Pan-Mellanus Oil Crisis.

More mellanoid trains: Guz's Model Garratt | Museum-piece carrying rocket parts | Advanced Steam Tank Engine | Guz's bigger model Garratt | Tram and Coal Mine loco sketches.

The diesel-hydraulic at the front of the foreground consist, already somewhat old and tired by this point, dates back to around the time period that steam engines were originally retired on Mellanus. It's not very fuel efficient as it is, and with the oil rations, diesels can not handle the trains on their own any longer.

For a few years now the railroads have been taking their steam engines out of mothballs and museums, as coal was comparatively dirt-cheap. Still though, the various maintenance and operational complexities of running steam locomotives resulted in a lot of losses for the railroads.

Pictured here behind the diesel is an early attempt at the Advanced Steam Engine concept, modifying a member of a very prolific and successful 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt class with a gas producer combustion system, more modern cylinders and valve gear, and entirely replacing the cab with an electronic control system (with the more diesel-like control stands moved to separate cabs on the tenders). The electronic control scheme allows for the steam engine to be connected to a diesel engine to be run as a multiple unit, cutting down operational costs. However, as a modified prototype, this locomotive lacks some of the other features which exemplified the Advanced Steam era, such as modular ashpans, computerized control, and precision engineering.

On the other track, moving the opposite direction, we see a double header of two steam locomotives, another 2-8-0+0-8-2 loaned from the Slaibsgloth Coal Mine Railroad, and a 2-10-2 'easy' type non-articulated loco leads the train. In this case, there is no electronic connection, so a crew of four mellanoid slimes is necessary to operate the train.

The eagle-eyed railway fans will notice that there are radiators for a dynamic brake on the diesel, yet the diesel is an electric. Diesel-electric dynamic brakes switch the traction motors into generators, and dump the electricity out as waste heat--but there's no traction motors on a hydraulic. So why the radiator fins? There's still a dynamic engine brake on the diesel-hydraulic, so it still needs to be able to dissipate heat, especially on the mountain routes.

WIP images follow:

[chaoticace2005]

Why Hazbin characters are the animal they are:

(Because of that conversation I just had with @xxqueenofdragonsxx )

Angel (spider)

1. His family’s “web of crime”

2. A spider was the last thing he was before he died.

3. He had a weirdly heartfelt moment with a spider as a child that stayed with him to adulthood.

4. He was terrified of spiders and this was his first punishment in hell.

5. He insulted spiders by calling them “creepy fuckers”— the spider community was insulted and sought punishment.

6. He and his family’s last name was “Ragno” which literally means “spider” in Italian.

7. He’s Spider-Man. Or Spider-Gwen at least— look at his colors.

Husk (cat)

1. Fucking hated cats when he was alive

2. Hates flying when he was alive.

3. Flew in a plane in the military at some point so has flight-related trauma.

4. Cause he does that cat thing where they can’t deal with people’s bullshit.

5. Ex had a cat, their relationship was complicated.

6. Husk really hates messes. Having both feathers and fur is the ultimate torture.

7. He died tripping on a cat and then being impaled by the beak of a dead bird.

8. Died falling. Period. Cats land on their feet and birds can fly so it’s some kind of irony.

Alastor (deer)

1. He was killed because someone thought he was a deer in the forest.

2. The deer in headlights look he always makes when someone propositions him sexually

3. He was the predator chasing the prey, now his creature is the prey.

4. First thing he ever killed was a buck.

5. He really likes venison and is a cannibal. Now he has a steady supply of food. He just needs to wait to regenerate.

6. His favorite thing to say was “oh dear” so the universe made it into a pun.

7. He wasn’t shot by a person. He was shot by a serial killer deer.

Sir Pentious (snake)

1. He was a slippery little fella.

2. Was obsessed and had a ton of pet snakes.

3. Alternatively he was terrified of snakes.

4. The last person he called a “friend” called him a snake before leaving him forever.

5. Snakes are supposed to be symbols of healing, which was ironic because he couldn’t save the one person he loved most.

6. He had a lisp and was frequently harassed for sounding “snake-like” (yay ableism)

7. His name really was Sir Pentious when alive and the universe couldn’t not let the opportunity go to waste.

Valentino (moth)

1. He used to zap and kill moths for fun, putting them in peoples beds because nobody likes a moth in your bed.

2. He publicly ran a campaign saying butterflies > moths, the moths didn’t like that.

3. He was killed when a stage light “accidentally” fell on him.

4. Like a moth, he is easily distracted by bright things.

5. Choked on mothballs and died.

6. Sold powder of crushed up moths under the guise that it was cocaine. Someone found out a killed him in anger.

7. Was killed running into traffic as he was being chased by a moth.

Vox (TV)

1. Was a TV host

2. Sold crappy, overpriced TVs

3. Killed someone by smashing their head in with a TV.

4. HE was killed by his head getting smashed in by a TV.

5. His form isn’t really a TV, but he was decapitated and needed a replacement head and this was the first thing he could find.

6. Stared at screens way too long as a child.

7. Was epileptic so the universe thought it would be funny if he could use his face to induce seizures in others (the universe has a messed up sense of humor man. How about we don’t cause people to have seizures?)

[rebeccathenaturalist]

Help Stop a Clearcut - Deadline May 17, 2024! Reblogs appreciated!

Hey, folks, got a time-sensitive request for y'all--even if you aren't a PNW resident, can you please put in a word to save the legacy/mature forest on Mothball Hill just outside Astoria, OR? Comments to NOT clearcut the forest on Mothball Hill can be sent to odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov and need to be received by 5pm Pacific Standard Time on May 17. Reblogs ALSO help!

As per this article:

"North Coast Communities for Watershed Protection requests your consideration and immediate action to help safeguard drinking water and residents’ health in rural neighborhoods east of Astoria. Written comments are needed by Friday, May 17, regarding ongoing and upcoming Oregon Department of Forestry timber harvests in Clatsop County. Anybody may submit a comment to ODF; you do not need to be a resident of Clatsop County. Please see below for more details.

Currently, the NCCWP Astoria Chapter is working to notify residents whose property is in close proximity to proposed 2025 ODF timber harvests in Clatsop County. On May 5, we surveyed Unit 2 of the Mothball Hill Harvest and met some of the concerned residents whose property is immediately adjacent to the timber sale. We are working with them closely.

Leading up to the May 17 deadline for comments about the ODF Annual Operations Plan (AOP), we are hoping to visit as many of these sites as possible — knocking on people’s doors directly adjacent to these potential timber harvests. Many people who live in these houses may not be aware that the forestland near their homes is scheduled to be clearcut and sprayed with a “cocktail” of pesticides. Our goal is to notify these homeowners and provide them with appropriate resources and support so that they can get involved and comment on the AOP before the opportunity ends. These clearcuts and pesticide applications may directly affect people’s health, livelihoods, recreational activities, and property values. Ultimately, they will adversely affect the quality and quantity of coastal drinking water by exacerbating the climate crisis, perpetuating drought, and increasing the risk of wildfires, landslides, and the runoff of sediment and pesticides into waterways.

Here’s a letter sent to community members, ODF, BoF, and Clatsop Co. officials from Darren Orange, a resident neighboring the Mothball Hill Harvest: 

A request for your consideration and action,

The Oregon Department Of Forestry released their 2024 Annual Operations Plan and has selected a previously unmanaged, non-intentionally planted, natural “Legacy Forest” for CLEARCUT AND AERIAL SPRAY. The location is in Clatsop Forest Astoria District on “Mothball Hill” east of Astoria in the John Day estuary. This proposed clearcut will impact a previously unmanaged biodiverse forest with trees, and mycorrhizal networks well over 100 years old. The geographical location is extremely steep and the boundaries for cutting would push into the Columbia River at its northernmost point. Slide potential is high, threatening the railroad, and homes both on private drive Phil Rd., Highway 30, and Deer Valley Rd. 

Located between Astoria, (2 miles to the west) and the Twilight Eagle Sanctuary (2 miles to the east) this rich habitat and watershed is home for bald eagles, beaver, blue heron, cougar, bobcat, coyotes, and waterways for native salmon.  The year-round streams run directly into the John Day and Columbia Rivers. The location will be seen on Highway 30, and visible from both rivers as a monstrous scab. 

The home and hobby garden I share with my wife borders 300′ of Clatsop Forest. Neon survey markers now weigh heavily, glaring at us 20′ from our kitchen window. Trees marked for cut purposely planted by homeowners over 50 years ago as property lines now marked for harvest. We watch: protected migratory birds, marine birds, bald eagles, blue heron, osprey, and others. We’ve listened to the call of bobcats and coyotes from their resting and breeding dens. We’ve seen beavers in the estuary. Salmon and crayfish are commercially harvested here. The rich native flora and mycelium network show the health of the forest and offer many plant medicines. This is just a window of the species we see everyday. 

The impact and damage on this ecosystem is vast. The unintended consequences of aerial spray, blowdown due to compromised forest integrity, slides, and aesthetic harm to private property value, boating/kayaking and tourism, commercial and recreational fishing are all part of the cost vs minimal $1.1 million dollar profit.

PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED, AND CLOSE VERY SOON ON MAY 17TH!

I’m asking the greater community to please write and pass along your concerns to the Oregon Department of Forestry about this clearcut timber sale in one of the oldest stands in the area. This stand has not been managed or replanted so it represents a key forest in its health and history. I ask that ODF look into alternative locations such as managed/planted forests with less impactful methods that follow the soon to be Federal Habitat Conservation Act that would preserve older stands. I ask that ODF follow their own Key Performance Measures of complex layered forest structure. I ask ODF NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS TIMBER SALE.

Sincerely, 

Darren Orange

local resident of 25 years

business owner

property owner

Email – odf.sfcomments@odf.oregon.gov

interactive map

[thoughts-i-have-had-in-passing]

The Spock Universes Theory of Star Trek

Recently I made a very quick, late-night reply to a post in which I mentioned my ‘Spock Universes’ theory which to my surprise ended up being somewhat popular with the people, and so I have decided to give it its own post.

The theory is simple. Every time Spock is played by someone different on screen you are watching a different universe’s timeline.

Why does this work? First off it is canon that there are different universes. For one, the Animated Series was disavowed by Gene Roddenberry as not canon, which by extension means it had to have taken place in another universe, but we also have the mirror universe  which continues to exist even when we occasionally wish it didn’t. So Star Trek was doing a multiverse from almost the very beginning. So what is the easiest way to tell them apart?

Spock.

Spock is the key to the whole multiverse. Behold:

TOS: Nimoy Spock, Prime universe

TAS: Voiced by Nimoy but disavowed by Roddenberry, ‘Animated Prime’ universe in which everything that happened in Prime Universe also happened here, but everything that happened here did not automatically happen in Prime.

Star Trek Movies I through VI: Nimoy Spock, Prime universe

TNG: Nimoy Spock appeared in Unification Parts 1 and 2, therefore TNG is in Prime universe

Star Trek: Generations: No Spock. NOT PRIME UNIVERSE.

The evidence: In the TNG episode Relics the crew discover Scotty, played by James Doohan, trapped in a transporter buffer on an infinite loop. This is considered god-tier engineering by Geordie, who did not believe it was possible despite 70 years of advancements in the engineering space (more on that in the SNW section).

Scotty makes a comment that he thought Kirk got the original Enterprise out of mothballs to come looking for him, and was saddened to find out this was not the case. In Generations, Scotty is present when Kirk get pulled into the Nexus and everyone think he is dead. In Prime universe Scotty was not there or he would not have made this assumption, however there is one person who has to be there in order to determine if the universe is Prime: Nimoy Spock.

Who was originally supposed to be there according to the original script? Nimoy Spock.

Who forced a change to the universe by not showing up? Nimoy Spock.

In Prime universe Spock was there instead of Scotty, who had not delayed his retirement to see off the Enterprise B and instead was already on his way to the Norpin colony when Kirk was ‘killed’ the news reached the colony but not the ship, which because it never made it meant Scotty never knew Kirk was gone.

It is important to note that everything else happened the exact same way, except Lursa and B’Etor got hold of a much better ship solely because I said so.

DS9: In the episode Trials and Tribble-ations, the crew was thrown back in time to the days of the original Enterprise, in which Nimoy Spock appeared, even without the various TNG crossovers it’s still Prime universe

Voyager: No Spock, but pilot episode crossed over with DS9, and the character of Barkley crossed over from TNG on more than one occasion. In addition, in the episode Flashback there was an appearance by Captain Sulu, played by George Takei, who was last seen playing his character opposite Nimoy’s Spock. Most likely Prime universe

Enterprise: Predates the Spock schism and therefore theoretically belongs to all universes. It has been referenced in several of the newer series in various ways, however there is a continuity issue in regards to the Klingons, which may mean that the event which lead to Spock being played by someone other than Nimoy happen even further back in the timeline, with the majority of changes being negligible by the time of Enterprise other than the Klingon ridge thing, which Discovery and SNW do not follow

‘Kelvin’ movies: Two Spocks. Nimoy Spock is specifically stated to come from the future Prime universe and the events featuring Quinto Spock are now a new, branched timeline. Further proof for the theory.

Discovery: Peck Spock, new timeline. Other notable changes include the style and advancement of technology and the fact that the Klingons appear to have solved their forehead ridge-flattening troubles, plus added extra for good luck.*

SNW: Peck Spock, crossover with Discovery. Peck universe. This also means that major continuity changes like the Gorn being both known and evil monsters are due to the different universe. In addition, Dr. M’Benga hides his daughter in a transporter buffer to slow down her illness. As previously mentioned, this was god-tier engineering when Prime Scotty did it in 2294, however in this universe technology is more advanced as no one bats an eye at the doctor’s technical prowess when they find out what he did.

Prodigy: Nimoy Spock facsimile which uses Nimoy voice recordings, Prime universe

Picard: No Spock, pick your poison. Basically because there is no Spock this could be Prime or it could be the same universe as Generations. Clearly there are a lot of similarities between Prime and Generations universe, but as the ending shown in All Good Things is not the one we see in Picard, it’s possible, likely even, that we have crossed universes again. I blame Q.

Lower Decks: Somehow exists in a universe where all shows are simultaneously canon, including TAS, probably due to some weird phenomena  

*Challenges to the theory and how it has adapted.

It was pointed out to me that Michael Burnham watches a recording of old Spock once she goes to the future, and that this recording was of Nimoy Spock, and so I have had to alter my theory slightly.

The Spock Checkpoint can only be done when Spock is a young man. This is because once Spock approaches old age, regardless of who has been playing him, he begin to morph into Nimoy Spock. As Mr. Nimoy himself claimed in his second autobiography: I am Spock.

Dude wasn’t kidding.

Personally I find that this theory helps me deal with the more extreme continuity issues that NuTrek has brought to the show. It's easy to pretend that Turnabout Intruder's claim that women can't be captains never actually happened, harder to believe that everyone met the Gorn except Kirk, and that somehow they demonsterfied in about five to ten years, or that a doctor could rig a transporter as well as a master engineer with technology forty years more advanced. Spock theory has calmed my mind and soothed my soul so I can better enjoy Trek. I hope if you felt the same way then it can do the same for you.

Thank you for reading my waffle.

[ceilidho]

bro possessive best friend soap??? who 100% doesn’t renew his lease and decides to move in with you. he tries saying it’s because of rent going up, but it’s actually code for “lemme pay ur rent and lemme sleep in your bed” type shit

This'll be in part 2, but the place he's staying in right now is just a sublet and he keeps begging the entire month he's on leave for you to just take his stuff while he's away like

"C'mon, kitty, all my clothes smell like mothballs when I put them in storage."

"...Then leave them at your mom's house?"

"You've got a perfectly good closet - c'mon, honey, just until I get a place of my own."

And then :) he never takes his stuff back :)) he knows you won't accept money from him, so he discretely pays your landlord for the year in full when you're not looking.

[survive-object-poll-island]

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[hurtmyfavsthanks]

Febuwhump 2024 Day 1: Helpless

Content warning: young whumpee/caretaker. Not intended to be minors but could easily be read as such.

Five days after Whumpee went missing, Caretaker got a text from their phone number. It was simple, direct. An address, instructions to arrive alone, a threat of what would happen if they didn’t comply.

A picture of Whumpee, head pulled back by their hair, exposing a tearstained, bloodied face. 

Caretaker had been out of the door before they could think. 

And that’s how Caretaker found themselves sitting in their mom’s car at 2 am, parked in front of the shadiest motel they’d ever seen.  It was dimly lit, with only the palest glow and the flickering ‘OPEN’ sign to give any hint it wasn’t abandoned. Even from the outside, the place looked dirty, like their fingers would come back black if they touched anything.  

It looked like the sort of place where a mystery bloodstain was simply covered up with a cheap rug, where some bastard could drag in a hogtied captive without causing a scene. And Whumpee was there. 

 Caretaker’s hands shook as they gripped the steering wheel, their knuckles white. They swallowed thickly, begging the panicked thumping in their chest to slow. It didn’t.

It took Caretaker an eternity to build the courage to leave their car. They felt exposed once they did. They all but ran down the rows of doors, not taking long to find the one they’d been ordered to enter. They found themselves frozen in front of it for a long moment.

Everything in them demanded they turn back. Every sense of logic said they were over their head, that this was dangerous. Their legs were jelly beneath them, anxiety threatening to bring them to their knees. The thought of Whumpee, bound and gagged and terrified, was the only thing allowing Caretaker to stand.

 They couldn’t back out now. They had to do something, they were the only one who could. 

Caretaker brought a shaking fist to the door and knocked once, twice, three, four times, just like Whumper had ordered. Each knock rang like a gunshot in their ears. 

The silence that followed was deafening. Each second felt like an eternity, time moving at a snail’s pace. The darkness around them was suffocating, and they couldn’t help but feel phantom eyes on them. They flitched at every noise, expecting Whumper to jump out at them from the shadows at any moment. 

They nearly screamed when they heard a chuckle from behind the door. “I can practically hear your knees shaking out there. Come in, and close the door behind you.”

Caretaker obeyed. For a moment, they felt relieved to be out of the darkness. That feeling left only a moment later, the fear of being exposed replaced with the fear of being cornered. Caretaker tried to swallow the fear, standing stall despite feeling so, so small. 

Their eyes locked on the figure lounging on the bed. They looked…unbothered, relaxed, arms comfortably folded over their middle as they leaned against the backboard. There was a lazy confidence that stood in stark contrast to the tension running through every one of Caretaker’s cells. It put Caretaker’s teeth on edge. 

Neither of them spoke. Whumper seemed satisfied to sit in silence, a lazy smirk on their face. Caretaker’s tongue felt paralyzed in their mouth. 

They forced their eyes to leave Whumper for a moment, quickly taking stock of the room. It wasn’t the torture dungeon they feared. It was an old, cheap motel. Yellowing wallpaper, a carpet the color of a filthy mop, and the smell of mothballs. It looked entirely normal.

Their heart stopped at what they didn’t see.

The room was small. The bathroom and closet door were wide open, giving Caretaker view of every inch of the space. There was nowhere a person could be hiding. There was nobody else there. 

Caretaker heart stopped. “What–you said…where’s Whumpee?! You said you’d let them go if I came!”

“They’re not here, and I never said they’d be; I said they’d be safe if you came,” Whumper shrugged, as if their words weren't tearing a hole though Caretaker's chest. “You came, and so they’re safe. For now.”

Their words felt like a slap to the face. Whumpee wasn’t here. They weren’t here, and that fact drained whatever strength that’d allowed Caretaker to confront Whumper in the first place. Suddenly, they didn’t feel like they were coming to save their friend. They didn’t feel like they were brave, that they were doing the right thing. They felt like a defenseless rabbit caught in a trap.

Panic, animalistic and untainted with any sense of duty, flooded Caretaker’s veins so rapidly that it nearly knocked them off their feet. They were alone, miles away from home, standing in a room with a known kidnapper. Nobody was coming for them, nobody even knew where they were. 

Caretaker’s stomach dropped. They took a step back—

“Walk out that door, and the police will be ‘finding’ Whumpee scattered around half the city for the next month.” 

–and froze in place, too terrified to do anything else. 

Whumper didn’t need to move to stop Caretaker in place. Their words felt like a pin holding Whumpee in place. Underneath their lazy posture, underneath the almost amused expression, there was something sharp, something that drained the bravery from Caretaker’s veins. 

“Now here's what you're going to do. First, you’re going to get any silly ideas about playing the hero out of your head,” they gestured to Caretaker’s side. Caretaker flinched. “Then you’re going to drop whatever toy you brought with you.”

Instictually, Caretaker’s hands moved to cover their left pocket. They realized too late how stupid that was. “I don’t–I, I didn’t bring anything…” they could only mutter, eyes dropping to the floor.

Whumper raised an eyebrow. “Are we really going to do this? They always bring something. Maybe your dad’s gun, a knife from your old kitchen set, something. Don’t waste my time. Drop it.”

For the briefest of moments, the idea of fighting flashed in their mind. But their hands felt clammy and uncoordinated at their sides. Even if they brought out their weapon, they weren’t sure if they’d be able to do anything with it. They couldn’t stop shaking.

Whumper’s eyes didn’t leave Caretaker for a moment, and the eye contact alone nearly brought Caretaker to tears. They watched, frozen, as Whumper’s hand reached towards their waist, grabbing at something. Caretaker could’ve sworn they saw the glint of metal. 

Caretaker’s hands were digging into their pockets before they could think. The contents of their pockets fell to the floor a moment later. 

A small, cheap switchblade and greasy wad of bills bound in a rubber band plopped onto the carpet. A weapon and a ransom, all they could get their hands on in the little time they’d been given. It was all Caretaker could think to bring. 

Whumper chucked, low and amused, and made a show of returning their hands to their torso. The sigh of relief that forced its way from Caretaker’s throat was a half sob.  “Good kid. We both know you’re in way over your head. Just follow my lead, and we’ll all walk away happy. Alright?”

Caretaker’s tongue was led in their mouth.

“Alright?”

Terror forced them to speak. “Y-yes.”

Whumper gestured towards the chair in the corner of the room.

“Good. Now sit,”

Their body moved on command, mind too numb with fear to think of resisting. Everything had fallen apart so quickly. Their mind reeled from the whiplash.

They could only drop boneless in the chair. they didn't know if the tears dripping down their face were from frustration, shame, or pure terror.

From the chair, they could see what Whumper had been reaching for. A large pistol sat at their waist. Whumper followed Caretaker’s gaze and grinned. 

“Now, here’s how things are gonna work from now on.”

[usafphantom2]

About the A-12 Oxcart

CIA developed the highly secret A-12 OXCART as the U-2’s successor, intended to meet the nation’s need for a very fast, very high-flying reconnaissance aircraft that could avoid Soviet air defenses. CIA awarded the OXCART contract to Lockheed (builder of the U-2) in 1959. In meeting the A-12’s extreme speed and altitude requirements, Lockheed — led by legendary engineer Clarence “Kelly” Johnson — overcame numerous technical challenges with cutting-edge innovations in titanium fabrication, lubricants, jet engines, fuel, navigation, flight control, electronic countermeasures, radar stealthiness, and pilot life-support systems. In 1965, after hundreds of hours flown at high personal risk by the elite team of CIA and Lockheed pilots, the A-12 was declared fully operational, attaining the design specifications of a sustained speed of Mach 3.2 at 90,000 feet altitude.

CIA’s operational use of the A-12 was beset by not only many technical problems but also political sensitivity to aircraft flights over denied areas and competition from imaging satellites. After the U-2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union in May 1960, all Soviet overflights were halted, thus blocking the A-12’s original mission to monitor the Soviet Bloc. By the time of the CIA’s first A-12 deployment in 1967, CORONA satellites were being launched regularly to collect thousands of images worldwide each year. Although its imagery was less timely and of poorer resolution than the A-12’s, CORONA was invulnerable to anti-aircraft missiles and much less provocative than A-12 overflights. At the same time, the US Air Force was developing the SR-71, a modified version of the A-12. Seeing little value in maintaining both overt SR-71 and covert A-12 fleets with similar capabilities, President Johnson ordered the retirement of the A-12 in 1968.

The only A-12 reconnaissance operation codenamed BLACK SHIELD, took place from May 1967 to May 1968. A detachment of six pilots and three A-12s based at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa flew 29 missions over East Asia. The panoramic stereo camera aboard each aircraft yielded considerable high-quality imagery that within hours of landing was processed. From the images, photointerpreters provided key intelligence information in support of US military operations during the Vietnam War.

The A-12 on display at CIA Headquarters — number eight in production of the 15 A-12s built — was the first of the operational fleet to be certified for Mach 3. No piloted operational jet aircraft has ever flown faster or higher.

I found this article on the CIA website. This is the Central Intelligence Agency's opinion about the Oxcart. Interestingly, the A-12 was taken from the Minnesota Air Guard to be placed in front of the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The pictures are of that very A-12 that used to be in Minnesota.

CIA did not give up the A-12s without a fight. They wanted to keep them. They did insist that for about a year during the transition from the A-12 to the SR 71s to have civilians from the CIA fly the SR 71 on covert missions if necessary. I have a paper called “ Memorandum for the President” from my father‘s book “The Very First’’ about the CIA flying the SR 71. What was decided during that congressional committee with Senator Russell as a key person on this matter was to reduce the overall fleet size by mothballing eleven A-12 aircraft and phase out the CIA fleet capability by January 1968 with all missions assigned to the SR 71 fleet under Air Force management with the possible use of civilian crews. The date on this document is December 26, 1966 . ~Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X

[sls-manchester-official]

Precentor Devlin Jacobs stood in zero G on the bridge of the Erinyes, his magboots locking him to the deck. Outside the bridge viewports, he could see the latticework structures of the drydock, cradling the massive vessel that he was temporarily calling home.

Each vessel in the Helios Mothball Fleet had a rotating skeleton crew, the minimum number necessary to maintain vital ship systems while they were shut down. Rumor had it that when their ancestors had arrived, they had set up a fully operational SDS system centered on Helios, but everyone said that was all coordinated via the AI research base on Helios' moon, and in any case no one had seen an SDS vessel in decades - if there were crews going out to perform maintenance on those ships, they weren't telling anyone about it.

Only a handful of small corvettes and frigates remained active and operational, alongside a swarm of DropShips that handled most intrasystem transit and transport. It was ironic, thought Devlin, that getting posted to one of those vessels was regarded as a fate to be avoided among those of the Heliosan navy - sure, you were on active duty, but conditions were cramped, the ships were old and cranky, and most of the command officers aboard were hard drivers, almost as fanatic as the ROM weirdos on Helios itself.

No, it was far better to be on one of the skeleton crews. Sleeping ships couldn't be cranky, the quarters on these larger vessels were much better, and while there wasn't a lot to do, it at least left a lot of time for relaxation. Each of the systems two mothball facilities - one each at the L4 and L5 Lagrange points - had their own space station, each of which served as a home away from home for those crews assigned to care for the mothballed vessels. Each station was a stack of five grav decks, each 2 kilometers in radius, arrayed around a central core.

Considered "wonders the system" by Heliosan tourists, a portion of the traffic to and from the stations was indeed civilian - they were dual-use structures, leftovers from the early days of the Diaspora before Helios had been fully settled again, with little permanent population other than their own crews. The station crews had been originally drawn from the Belter populations of the Sol system, and were generally as oddball as many of the stories told about their ancestors.

But, as much as the civilian amenities and personable crews made living on the stations comfortable, it was when he was aboard the Erinyes that Devlin felt truly at home. He knew what she had been built to do, of course, and that purpose had terrified him. But Erinyes, like a great dragon, slept. Had slept for years and years. She was his to care for, and he knew that to wake her meant something was going horribly wrong. Out of the viewports, past the drydock in which Erinyes slept, Devlin could see dozens of other vessels - a score of Diaspora class JumpShips, a pair of cruisers, a battleship, and support vessels.

And then, suddenly, with the lensing bubbles and bright flashes of successful Kearny-Fuchida jumps, three more vessels were among the mothball fleet. Devlin stared at them, at the symbol on their sides he could easily see through the massive bridge viewports. Devlin's stunned brain supplied only two thoughts.

The Star League? What the hell is going on?

( @is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not )

Commodore Mikolaj looked out at the dozens of Heliosan ships scattered across the starfield before them, floating in the void near a considerably-sized space station which, if the HUD painting the bridge windows in blue light was correct, sat exactly at the Lagrange point of the system.

"Status report." She ordered, glancing across the array of officers at terminals all around her as they gave their reports in clipped tones, all systems operational and ready, with boarding parties ready to go, just as she'd ordered.

"Excellent work, ladies and gentlemen," she said. "Now get me a reading on those ships. Intel says it's a mothball fleet, but I'll confirm that for myself."

After a few tense moments, one of the officers spoke up. "No signatures that would indicate an enemy combat-ready ship in the local voidspace, Ma'am." Collen nodded, thanking the man with a nod as she turned to her comms officer.

"Wilson, what's the chatter like? Any orders for battle stations?" The balding man turned slightly, though his eyes stayed locked on the rapidly-scrolling wall of text before him.

"Mostly confusion, Ma'am. It seems they had no clue the invasion was even happening. As far as they're concerned, we've undergone temporal displacement from Amaris' War."

"Very good," she said, reviewing the sensor readouts that were just now beginning to fill her command console, indicating that the entire fleet was on external power from the station, with not a single weapon powered up. "Prepare to broadcast on all frequencies, let's serve up our demands."

Colleen leaned forward, ensuring the microphone in her console would pick up her voice loud and clear, and when Wilson gave her the nod, she began.

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not

[radioactive-metal]

AL Warship classes

ok I reckon this will be my last long pure conjecture post for the AL. But here we go! Ship classes (Tyler isn’t even a real person and I can tell he is salivating over reading this list lol)

Struck through vessel classes indicate they are out of service.

Terran Cutter Class picket ship: the original 6 man AL vessel. Huge amounts of these were mothballed after the end of the Terra-Trask war due to a radical shift in TDF doctrine away from Quantity over quality. The AL were effectively given the ships, as the mothball maintenance costs on the TDF were huge. These ships were taken to shipyards orbiting Trask, and given full refits to A: better accommodate their beretreskan crews, and B: receive modernization packages. This vessels had a prodigious service history, with the last one only being removed from frontline service in AL:75. Further Aurora labs upgrade packages means that some hulls still see use as specialist SIGINT, Reconnaissance, and repair craft. 2 base models still in service with the Aurora Legion Memorial Flight.

Kysshakk Class frigate: One of two classes of non AL frigates to serve with the legion, these ships hailed from Trask’s Orbital dockyards, where they had been sitting due to the end of naval conscription. These ships would operate in pairs, and would very rarely not fly with Cutter class vessels, or even later Longbow MK.1s. One remains in service with the ALMF, one is a parts hulk, and the other 4 vessels were lost in the line of duty.

Terran Indomitable Class Destroyer: These were the heavy weapons of the early legion. They exclusively operated Anti-Piracy missions, and even after the introduction of the Stream System, did not carry brains or faces aboard. These were warships, and were the spearpoint of the legion. Multiple times, pirate fleets were noticed fleeing immediately upon the appearance of an Indomitable class in AL colors, due to the reputation these vessels carried. Last vessel retired in AL:90 after a policy ship away from military might.

Terran Dreadnaught Class light Cruiser: These were the weapons of last resort for the legion, only being deployed to combat upstart pirate kings or large scale terrorist organizations. These were officially the only vessels to ever use nuclear warheads while flying under AL colors, during the Centarian succession crisis of AL:80. These vessels remained in service until the Battle of Orion, where the last vessel was destroyed by a Warbreed vessel ID’d as the Andarael.

Titan Class Battleship: The Original flagship of the legion, the Titan class, known as the Indefatigable, was 1.2km of weapons and fighters, but also of Medbays and machine shops and refugee accommodation. She was retrofitted through AL:10, retaining her punching power but also adding facilities for humanitarian aid. She became a Hospital Ship, a Refugee Transport, A battleship, and a Symbol. She was lost in Black ‘63 along with admiral Nari Kim while responding to a Terran colony distress call. Later review of the data after The battle of Orion ID’d the fleet she fought as a Syldrathi Hunter killer fleet.

Long Bow MK.1: The first internally produced AL vessel, the Long Bow MK.1 took all the lessons learn from the Cutter Class and made them into a truely formidable foe. Widely considered to be one of the greatest Naval craft of its Era, the longbow MK.1 was versatile, easy to repair, cheap to produce, punchy, and survivable. In the few outright wars the AL participated in, 9 times out of ten, a total loss of a longbow would have 0 casualties. Quite often downed squads would be issued a new vessel within the week, and the shortest turnaround was Squad 926, who were downed, and flew their next combat sortie 1.5 hours later, a record that stands to this day. Depending on the mission, Longbows were fitted with extra medical equipment, extra armor, more weapons, external cargo pods, and even on rare occasions, a Orbital drop pod for Spec ops. Multiple serving with the ALMF, Aurora Labs as test beds, and Several serving with [DATA REDACTED].

Longbow MK.2: If the MK.1 was one of the best of its time, the MK.2 was THE best. The already famous ease of repair was augmented by auto repair systems, the reactor was uprated, and engine output was increased by 25%. A Longbow MK.2 currently holds the all time speed record (with out gravity assists) of a production vessel at 16% the speed of light. Currently still in active frontline service, though being phased out for the MK.3

Polearm MK.1: the first Frigate to come out of Aurora Yards, the Polearms are designed to fill the roles of the Kysshakk class Frigates, the Indomitable Class destroyers, and Mercy class Hospital ships (not discussed here). Manned by 6 squads, they are stuffed to the gills with the finest tech Aurora Yards could “Borrow” from Aurora Labs. Most of the ship is designed to be swapped out depending on the mission, so everything from fleet defense to hauling is possible. One vessel during the Terra-Syldra War scored a total of 50 victories against Other vessels, and was officially bestowed the honor of the Flagship of AL Group 4.

Blockhouse MK.1 Carrier: Aurora Yards first foray into Capital class ships, The Blockhouse is designed to remain at the back of fleets and provide overwhelming fighter support. Capable of carrying no less than 50 Wraith class Fleet defense fighters, it is the spaceborne equivalent of a wasp nest. And Like any good wasps nest, it has a Queen. Generally a heavily modified cutter class, though recently some have been deployed with Longbow MK.3s with Speical equipment packages, the queen acts as a traffic controller, shuttle, and SWACS (Spaceborne warning and control ship) all in one. On more peaceful missions, the phantom bays are swapped out for launch tube for Hospitaller class aid shuttles and Kindness class orbital supply pods.

Longbow MK.3: the Pinnacle of Aurora yards shipbuilding, the MK.3 is stronger, faster, and hardier than the MK.2. Most electronics have been hardened against electromagnetic interference, hauling capacity has been increased, and fuel burn has been reduced. The auto repair systems have been upgraded to the level where anything besides the reactor can be repaired given enough time. Most functions can be swapped by mission modules, allowing for extra hauling capacity, increased firepower, or even extra speed. Production halted after AL:150 due to resource constraints. Next vessel expected AL:156.

Iron Cannon Class cruisers: a much rarer ship, built from the same basic design as the Blockhouses, but with the fighter wings and control craft replaced with anti vessel railguns and torpedo launchers. These craft are mean lean killing machines, and do not carry faces or brains aboard. They are the spiritual successor to the Dreadnaughts, and inherit the same naming scheme of their ancestors. First three were the Dreadnaught, the Inflexible, and the Formidable. Having seen service at the tail end of the Terra-Syldra war, they maintained a kill ratio of 5:1. Notably, no one of these vessels was seized by the Rahaam, though 3 were lost when their captains overloaded their reactors rather than risk capture and assimilation.

Gladius Class Gunboat: Built from the stripped down hulls of Longbow MK.1s, the Gladius class is the first new class of vessel commissioned by the legion since AL:150. Due to manpower shortages across the legion, these vessels are designed to operate with only 4 crew, with empty positions filled with advanced automated systems. Due to these limitations, these vessels only serve humanitarian missions, and are never used on the front lines unless desperately needed. Due to glaring shortfalls in overall effectiveness, the class is slated for retirement by AL:160.

[Admin Credentials Accepted, Welcome Founder_03]

Longbow MK.4: Equipped with experimental AL manufacture Pulse Cannons, Beretreskan plasma drives, and the finest ballistic grade titanium composite plating the Legion can build, the MK.4 is the crème de la crème of legion ship building. In simulated combat, 3 MK.4s can defeat Iron cannon class Cruisers, 50x their displacement. When these vessels reach mass production and issue, it will represent the largest jump in AL fleet capabilities since the introduction of the MK.1. Current low rate production estimates suggest it will be AL:158 before non spec ops squads are issued the MK.4.

Special Project 274, Codename “Brannock”: The Hulk of TDF carrier Kusanagi was recovered in exceptional condition after it was found in late AL:181. The hulk was then towed to site 00 and gutted. It was decided in AL:183 that the ship was to be converted into the newest flagship for the legion, the Brannock. Currently under development, most hangar bays are being replaced with railgun mounts, torpedo tubes, and in one case, the largest pulse cannon ever manufactured. She will be the red right hand of the legion, and instill a warning into the pirate fleets that ravage the galaxy: “We are coming. Run”

Special Project 275, Codename “Madran”: much like project 274, The Madran is built from a recovered ship hulk, this time the wreck of the original Indefatigable, recovered from an Unbroken salvage fleet circa AL:154. Currently undergoing extensive repair and upgrade, the Madran with be the kind smile of the legion. Almost all weaponry is being stripped, and replaced with further humanitarian facilities, to in effect become the single largest aid vessel in the galaxy. She is designed to be the sister ship to the Brannock, and will, when deployed alongside her, act as a huge Signal jamming and targeting vessel. Giving free rain for rail guns and pulse cannons to shred renegade syldrathi and pirate fleets

[runwayrunway]

MISS CONENGINALITY - BRITTEN-NORMAN BN-2 ISLANDER

Remember when the UK made the best airplanes in the world? Me neither, I wouldn't be born for several decades. Anyway, Britten-Norman Islander.

image: Air Seychelles

The last holdout of the UK making really fantastic planes, the Islander is a popular regional airliner and utility plane used for things like skydiving and air ambulance service as well as the typical passenger and cargo flights. At first glance she's a pretty regular high-wing twin-prop that seats 10, but look closer and you may begin to notice things.

Upfront, I love the Islander. (Obviously, or I wouldn't be making this post about it.) My love for this plane isn't solely organically developed, because it does also hold a special nostalgic place in my heart for being the first propeller plane I ever flew on, with Cape Air in 2015 from San Juan to Vieques. (As Vieques Air Link also operates these, they're a common sight down there! The name of the model is, as it were, very apt.)

image: Cape Air This is the exact plane that I flew on!

Now, from this image you can already see that the Islander has some lovely features, from those absolute bollards coming out of the engines to the wildly pointy nose (not the first plane I've discussed that's giving DUKW), but despite looking goofier the closer you look at it this thing is an incredibly beloved and reliable plane.

image: Bonham's Behold, a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander.

Also of note is the Islander's extremely low wing aspect ratio, and I've always thought the tailplane looked a little too small for the tailfin from the side despite looking giant from below. The general ratios on this plane, in every single possible place, look just ever-so-slightly off, and I love it.

image: Mark Harkin I mean. She's just blocks.

Still, this is an incredibly well-designed plane. It's cheap, rugged, utilitarian, reliable, versatile, and remarkably stable in flight, which is why over 1,000 have been built to date. (Personally, I didn't find the cabin to be the roomiest even for an aircraft of its size, but I remember it being a comfortable enough flight.) The Islander is still in production today despite first flying in the mid-1960s, which is something few models can claim. You can use an Islander for basically anything, with their big doors and STOL capability, and it's even used for the world's shortest flight and an entry on my bucket list, the two-minute hop between Westray and Papa Westray operated by Loganair.

image: National Museum of Flight Scotland Despite being shown outside in this photograph, she currently lives in the civil aviation hangar, a top pick on my list of places I would like to secretly live in for the rest of my life.

image: own work, taken inside the civil aviation hangar at the National Museum of Flight, Scotland

In late October I visited the National Museum of Flight, Scotland. It was an incredible experience and I will be discussing it across several future posts due to the sheer variety of preserved airframes they had, including everything from a Puss Moth to a jump jet. (The general museum will probably get a dedicated post as well in the future - suffice to say I had a fantastic time.) Among their preserved aircraft is a BN-2 Islander registered G-BELF, painted a vivid highlighter-yellow which pictures really can't do justice in homage to Scottish air ambulances which serve isolated island communities in the North Sea.

I was absolutely delighted to see her in person. Seven years after I last stepped foot in an Islander, it felt like something of a reunion to just stand next to a mothballed airframe and admire how...really strange-looking these planes actually are.

own work, obvi

I mean, for one thing, they're a lot shorter than you might think they should be. Pictured for scale is a 165cm/5'5" tall human with a PSA Lockheed TriStar for a face. I couldn't get that good of an angle on it, but my head is only a few inches short of the wing, and you can see that I'm well taller than the cabin windows. An entire Islander is shorter than a single Concorde tire.

Plus, that wing chord is so long I could use her as a shelter in the rain.

So, yeah. That's the story of how I met my favorite commuter airliner. I hope to fly on one again someday, but for the moment I'll have to be content with looking at pictures of these weird-looking planes that can fool you for a moment into thinking they're regular.

Also they tried to put propeller shrouds on one once.