#pilots travel center

[healthyboom]

Unlock the Secrets of Travel: A Traveler's Guide

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[vannamania]

[confused--robot]

Fuck a left turn.

in the US, you'll often see two gas stations across the street from the other. this can seem odd, or even like a design flaw, but the reason for this is to better accommodate drivers, without requiring people to turn around or drive through traffic to reach a station. there's a reason for it! and that reason is poor street design

[auto-destruct-sequence]

Giving Stargate a try since I see people talking about it. I always thought my Star Trek could he a whole lot more American imperialism.

[rabbitcruiser]

Top Gun Day

Host a watch party, with costumes and topical games, or simply gather your friends to watch the 1986 Tom Cruse classic Top Gun and its sequels.

In 1986, smack dab in the middle of the bodacious decade of neon, headbangers and The Brat Pack, the movie Top Gun roared into theaters like an F-14 Tomcat. It got a missile lock on the box office and shot down just over $356 million, making it what would eventually be the 11th highest grossing movie of Tom Cruise’s career. The movie centers on Maverick, a hot shot pilot, who is sent to the US Navy Fighter Weapons school, and all of the drama, pride and testosterone that scenario entails.

History of Top Gun Day

The actual Navy Fighter Weapons School was formed in 1969, during the time of the Viet Nam War, by the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral, Thomas Hinman Moorer, at the recommendation of Captain Frank Ault. The realization came that the Navy’s fighter pilots needed more training. 

During Operation Rolling Thunder, the United States lost nearly 1,000 aircraft over North Vietnamese skies. The USAF and Navy both sought the causes, but came to two different conclusions. The Air Force believed that the fault was mechanical: that MiG pilots caught American pilots in a rear blind spot. The Navy decided that the failure was in training. The Air Force responded by developing new technology, while the Navy started the Top Gun school, eventually paving the way for 110 minutes of heart pounding action, backed by a roaring theme song.

Top Gun Day Timeline

 1969

Top Gun school admits its first class 

The Navy Fighter Weapons School is opened for extra combat training at the height of the Viet Nam war.

 1981

Tom Cruise debuts on the big screen 

Playing a minor role in the film, Endless Love, Tom Cruise was beat out for the starring role (opposite Brooke Shields) by Martin Hewitt, an actor who would end up doing mostly random TV appearances afterward.

 1986

Top Gun is released 

Quickly earning a deep love from audiences, Top Gun becomes the highest grossing film of the year.

 1987

US Navy uses the film for recruiting 

In a “Join the Navy” commercial, songs from the movie are used along with shots that look like that came straight from Top Gun footage.

 2022

Top Gun 2 

After waiting more than 30 years, the world finally gets to see Tom Cruise in action again as “Maverick”.

How to Celebrate Top Gun Day

Top Gun Day celebrates the movie, but at its core is all about attitude. It teaches about the importance of teamwork…and shirtless volleyball. So how do you take the highway to the danger zone?

Get started with some of these ideas:

Reenact the best Top Gun Movie Scenes 

A good way to begin might be by reliving the adventures of Goose, Maverick and the Iceman. Go to a karaoke bar and sing “She’s Lost that Loving Feeling” and “Take My Breath Away.” Why not try to play a little volleyball with a group? Shirtlessness is optional, of course. Download some Kenny Loggins and blast “Danger Zone” out of those car windows as loud as is possible.

But maybe karaoke isn’t the thing and the weather isn’t good enough for sports. It is still possible to find other ways to enjoy the day!

Host a Top Gun Day Party

Get friends and family together for a cool party in honor of Top Gun Day. Invite people to dress up like their favorite characters. Entertain by playing Top Gun trivia games before settling in to watch the movie.

During the movie, don’t forget to grab a pair of dark aviator glasses and an old leather jacket. For an added challenge, try to find a pair of overalls to convert into a flight suit! It might even be fun to make it into a double feature with some other jet-fighter movies of the era, like the lesser known Iron Eagle, which actually came out a few months before Top Gun.

Snacks served at the party could include a variety of airplane and naval themed treats, such as patriotic m&ms in red, white and blue, cookies in the shapes of stars, airplanes or clouds, and even aviator glasses. Decorations can, of course, feature anything red, white and blue, stars & stripes, naval, airplanes, American flags or even quotes from the Top Gun movie.

Listen to the Top Gun Soundtrack

Of course, the music played at the Top Gun Day party is key. After all, the movie won more awards for its soundtrack and score than in any other category! It’s packed with quintessential 80s classic songs, like these:

Playing with the Boys by Kenny Loggins. Featuring in Tom Cruise’s shirtless beach volleyball scene, this song plays when Maverick (wearing full-length jeans) and Goose beat their adversaries. Of course, then Maverick bails because he has a date with his love interest, Charlie, played by Kelly McGillis. 

Take My Breath Away by Berlin. It must be good because this song plays in Top Gun no less than four times! Incidentally, the band named themselves Berlin in an attempt to make people think they were German, but they were really an American new wave band. 

Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins. Appearing in the movie three times, this is the ultimate fighter jet song. 

You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ by The Righteous Brothers. This one is a classic from 1964 that made a comeback more than 20 years later because of the Top Gun Movie. It plays in the movie when Maverick and the other naval officers lip sync it to Charlie in the bar while it plays on the jukebox. 

Show Off with Top Gun Quotes

The Top Gun movie offers a ton of quotable lines that can be used to make an impression. For instance, you can ask your friends for permission to buzz the tower. If they say no, do it anyway. If they ask YOU to buzz the tower, be sure to say “Negative Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” Just be prepared for them to buzz you anyway.

Or, even easier, simply tell everyone you see that you have the need, the need for speed. “You can be my wingman forever”, “Let’s turn and burn!” and “Remember boys, no points for second place” are also some other great lines from the film.

Learn Some Fun Facts About Top Gun

Even those who consider themselves to be pretty big fans of the movie might have something new to learn when it comes to Top Gun Day trivia! Here are some fun facts to impress friends and coworkers alike on the day:

Top Gun is set in San Diego, California and many of the sites for filming can still be visited, including Charlie’s little blue house and Kansas City Barbeque, which still features Goose’s piano.

Tom Cruise, at only 5’7”, wore lifts in his shoes to balance out the taller 5’10” Kelly McGillis as his love interest in the movie.

The movie didn’t originally have a love scene. That scene between Maverick and Charlie was added later, after test audiences said it needed one.

Bryan Adams was invited to sing on the Academy Award winning soundtrack, but he backed out because he thought the movie promoted war.

Play Top Gun Video Games

There are also two Top Gun video games currently available. The first is simply called Top Gun and was released for iOS devices by Freeverse Software. The second is called Top Gun: Hardlock. It comes from 505 Games, and is playable on PC, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.

Talk to a Member of the Armed Forces

There are many ways one could enjoy and relieve the excitement of the movie, but perhaps one of the more meaningful things you could do is to find a member of the armed forces, particularly an aviator, and thank them for keeping the skies safe. Ultimately, without someone up there, we might not have the movie, or the day, down here.

However you choose to celebrate, be sure to raise a glass for Goose, Maverick, Iceman and the rest of Top Gun class of 1986. Let the world know that you haven’t lost that loving feeling, even after all this time.

Top Gun Day FAQs

How old is Tom Cruise in Top Gun?

Top Gun was released when Tom Cruise was just 23 years old, just three years after his break-through role in Risky Business.

Are Top Gun pilots real?

Yes! Top Gun was an actual pilot training school in San Diego, California, known as the Navy Fighter Weapons School, until it merged with another school and moved to Fallon, Nevada in 1996.

When was Top Gun made?

The original Top Gun movie was made in 1986.

What is the most famous song in Top Gun?

“Take My Breath Away” by Berlin won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe. Other popular songs from the film include “Danger Zone” and “Playing with the Boys”, both by Kenny Loggins.

Did Top Gun win any awards?

Top Gun won most of its awards for the music and sound, but other awards include a People’s Choice Award and an ASCAP Award.

Source

[actual-corpse]

Having a set schedule

Sleep schedule is pretty good.

Friday and Saturday?

No. What is schedule?

[tgirlwithreverb]

I saw that post about what to do if you're homeless again (the one that starts by telling you to spend all of your money on motel rooms lmao) anyway, here's a few thoughts, specifically for trans girls, cuz I don't really care otherwise tbh:

1) plan ahead, most trans girls are in precarious housing situations, you will have a much easier time when it falls apart if you already have a pack with most of the gear you need in it. Also, if you find yourself in a situation where you cant make rent, dont pay part of it, spend that money on gear, pocket the rest and leave, youll have a much nicer time. Look up your local eviction laws, you have plenty of time. (Gear list at the end)

2) travel! If you're in Arizona in May, leave. it's about to be hot as hell. If you're in Michigan in October, leave. It's about to be cold as hell. If you're in a big city, leave. It's way easier to be homeless pretty much anywhere else. Amtrak is cheaper and more comfortable than greyhound, hitchhiking is free and easy, if you're alone it's not that much slower than the previous two, and it's more fun, and sometimes people buy you food or whatever or give you money. I promise it's not scary and you're entirely capable of doing it, no matter who you are. 95+% of people who will pick you up are very nice. All you have to do is take the bus out of town, as far down the highway you can, to an exit with a truck stop if possible, then just stand on the side of the road with your thumb out until someone picks you up. You can stand at the bottom of the ramp(on the highway) near where the merge lane ends or at the top of the ramp(where there's usually a traffic light), the former is more likely to lead to cop interactions but will maybe get you a ride faster, check on hitchwiki for how the cops are in the area. don't be afraid to take a commuter bus or Amtrak to get out of a shitty cop area

3) skip shelters if you can (they are very occasionally a decent place to get stuff from) and encampments, good places to sleep include the trees near railroad tracks or highways, wooded areas behind shopping centers, sections of parks without paths, overgrown empty lots. Hang a tarp above you if there's an appreciable chance of rain, there's tons of YouTube tutorials on how to do this, maybe I'll make a post about what I usually do some day. There are many habits more fun than motel rooms, save your money for them lmao.

4) get on food stamps. This is easier in some places than others, but it makes the whole thing a lot easier. Just tell them you're homeless, if they don't give you a card the same day, you can probably ask to pick it up from that office, alternatively some drop in centers/day shelters can receive mail for you, or you can have it sent to general delivery(USPS service, look it up)

7) libraries are great for charging your phone and using wifi, but also keep an eye out, plenty of random outlets on the outsides of buildings are also powered

5) dumpster. sidewalk trash cans, Aldi, Einstein's, trader Joe's, pizza places, etc. You need to develop a bit of a sense for it but it's an easy way to get cooked food or travelling food or expensive food without spending resources. Also it's fun.

6) water is free, go into the bathroom of any gas station or grocery store in America(offer not valid in most big cities or on the west coast, but in that case just go to the library) and fill up your water bottle

8) hygiene notes: truckers get free showers from chain truck stops(loves, pilot/flying j) go there and ask them. convenient if you're hitchhiking, also you don't need to shower 3 times a day, really, you'll survive. Ditto with deodorant. Take care of your teeth though. Take your socks off every. day. Change them consistently. Safety razors give a good shave, work well without adequate water pressure, and the replacement blades are very stealable, they're kind of heavy though. Walmart makes these electric razors for women that take AA batteries and are pretty light but give a worse shave, also they kinda go through batteries, pick whatever works for you(cartridge razors suck)

9) traveling food notes: peanut butter is great, tortillas and bagels travel pretty well, tuna packets are pretty good protein for traveling(the ones with rice and beans or whatever are nice since theyre often the same price as the regular), condiment packets are free, hot sauce makes everything better, and mayo goes well with tuna and has a bunch of calories in it, salad dressing packets are free from truck stops and work well turning the Walmart shredded vegetable packages (labeled for making into slaw, next to the bagged salads) into a salad with real vegetables(not iceberg lettuce) in it or mixing in with tuna packets for even more calories than mayo

Gear world:

Necessary items(in order of importance): a gallon of water carrying capacity(an Arizona jug or other twist top jug is conventional, but a bladder+arizona bottles also works), a tarp(larger than 6'x9', not brightly colored), a hank of parachord, a sleeping bag (20° rated, synthetic insulation), a backpack with a padded hip belt(at least 50L, no more than 75), rain gear(a rain poncho might cover your pack too, a rain jacket can help with wind when its cold, a trash bag inside or outside your pack can keep it dry, a plan to watch the weather and not get caught also works), a z-fold foam sleeping pad, three pairs of socks, two pairs of underwear (at least one pair of boxer breifs strongly recommended if you arent incredibly skinny), a decent pair of shoes with good arch support, a functional jacket(skip if you got a rain jacket before), a base layer(wool or poly, absolutely no cotton)

Convenient items: a sleeping bag liner(cotton free, keeps you warm in winter and cool in summer), gallon zip locks to pack your stuff in(helps keep it dry and organized), no more than one change of clothes(as light as possible), a multi-tool(can opener, pliers, wire cutter), lighter(burning rope ends etc), spoon, floss and needles for patching

[millersfinest]

pluto and charon | e.w

astrophysicist!ellie & aerospace engineer!reader

wc: 4k

blurb: there’s a new planet that formed in the milky way galaxy—and it’s dr. ellie williams’ (and a few research assistant’s) job to prove that life can exist on it. oh, and you’re the second opinion there to back her up and steer the ship (whether she likes you or not). but, when a sector of the shuttle malfunctions, locking the two of you inside… what will two analytical scientist do to fix it? was it a dignified sign from the cosmos?

warnings: nothing much, vulgar language, enemies to lovers (?)

note: ellie loves space, so i wanted to write her as an astronaut—please, enjoy! i haven’t written anything in awhile so…. had to get this off my mind.

⋆·˚ ༘ *

The thick sound of silence and machinery crowded the ears of everyone on board. It had been approximately one hundred and twenty-five earth hours since you have taken off from the ground—to and through the stratosphere. The ship was in autopilot, cruising through the nothingness of the milky way; passing whirling planets and asteroids that shied away from prying eyes.

This wasn’t your first time estranged from earth. It was your second. But there was no feeling like floating in metal that you concocted—stitched together with wires, buttons, and joysticks. You marveled at the large windows that displayed your universe just as enthusiastically as the research assistants on board.

Jackson’s planet was where you were headed. Previously named, J-74.

Through many study sessions and research assignments, it has been theorized that it could withstand human life. Earth’s depletion of resources has been making it difficult to live—for average people. With the atmosphere rapidly thinning, livestock, farming, and health sustainability has been dramatically decreasing.

There needed to be an intervention—and Dr. Williams was the one to jump start it.

You have been working off and on with her since your early years at NASA. Initially, the two of you came in as forthright interns who were too smart for their own good—arguing every chance you got because you both wanted the same thing; to see what space looked like from space. Not from a camera or laptop or extreme telescope.

Eventually, you split into separate fields and concentrations. It was engineering that began to pique your interest. You worked hard to curate materials that could withstand dramatic changes in temperatures and weather. Still studying planets and galaxies, but with a distinct perspective.

The space shuttle was made for damage—only certifying the safety of the mission. There was very little risk traveling to Jackson’s planet.

You couldn’t decipher if it was morning, noon, or night, but you just couldn’t stay asleep. Checking the watch on your wrist you have only been asleep for three hours. How puzzling. Typically, you sleep well in silence and whirring, but it was different this time. The sounds prickled under your skin, pulling you from the absorbing mattress in your sleeping quarters.

Finding your way toward the center of the shuttle, you used a key card to enter each sector. A ziplock of dried fruit was pinched between your fingers—reaching inside every few minutes for a bite. Wanting to estimate time of arrival, you navigated toward the flight deck. A pair of dark sunglasses resting on the bridge of your nose to dim the fluorescent lights.

Shuffling your feet against the floor, you slipped into chair of the pilot seat. There were many screens and buttons before you. All bright in different colors and hues—blinking. However, you focused on the screen that determined the path of the shuttle. It showed the ship following a dotted green line, with the time in the far-right corner. Six hours.

Time of arrival was only a few hours out. You were almost at the very planet you’ve been studying for the past two years. A tired smile stretched onto your lips, leaning back in the cushioned chair.

In the comfort of silence, you watch the celestial bodies minding their own through the three panel windows. Legs folded up, comfortably. You were currently passing Pluto and Charon. There were four other moons of Pluto, but Charon was the largest. And even bigger up close.

The coolest thing about the pair was that they always shared a face. There wasn’t a time where they weren’t looking at each other—scientifically, it was called mutual tidal locking.

“I didn’t think you’d be up…” A raspy voice muttered from behind your chair. She must’ve heard you crunching on your dried raspberries.

Turning around, you noticed her walking toward the co-pilot chair with a yellow notepad in her hands. Her gray NASA jumpsuit was tied around her waist, exposing the white, ribbed tank top she had on. “I couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d kill some time up here.” You responded, watching as she sat down.

“What’s our ETA?” Her green eyes focus on the destination screen.

“Oh-eight hundred— we have six hours left of travel.” You pushed the glasses above your head, eyes glancing at the screen. “Raspberries?” Holding the ziplock toward her, you offered.

Ellie shook her head, clicking the pen in her hands. Pressing your lips together, you shrugged, zipping it tight before placing in the crevice of the chair. She quietly scribbled on the yellow pages—her thick eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

The other moons of Pluto came into your line of sight. They weren’t all close on your path, but Hydra and Nix made a clear appearance. Their shapes were not as circular as Charon; they were like any other moon on any other planet.

She hummed to herself, clicking her pen in thought. “Can you check this equation for me? I’ve been thinking about this since we boarded The Firefly…” Ellie hands the notepad to you. “It’s an estimation of sustainable oxygen and energy— if Jackson’s planet doesn’t provide us with enough… How much can we manually create for it to be habitable?”

It was your turn to hum in thought. Dragging your finger along the inked lines of her equation, you sucked your teeth. The numbers appeared to be correct—Ellie was always good at the math part of theory. “This seems about right, but we can only theorize so much.” You begin. “The only way we can thoroughly verify this equation is by settling on Jackson—running physical tests.” You hand the notepad back to her. “We need specificity, not estimation.”

“I’m just making sure that we’re prepared.” She grumbled.

“We are prepared, Ellie. If we have too many hypotheses, it may confuse our students… Overwhelm them.”

She pressed her lips into a line, averting her eyes toward the three panel windows. You could feel her level of irritation rise, as she adjusted in her seat. The ship was slipping past Pluto and Charon, leaving the bodies in your wake. “Do you have to challenge everything that I say?” Ellie muttered, leaning her chin on her fist with a pinched expression.

You deepened your eyebrows. “I don’t challenge everything you say… You asked for my opinion.”

“On the equation!” She whisper-yelled, pinching the bridge of her nose to calm herself. “Not your opinion on how to teach my students.”

“Our students—“ You corrected, but she abruptly cut you off by standing to her feet.

Scoffing, she ran her fingers through her choppy auburn strands. Rolling your eyes, you watched as she threw an adult tantrum. Ellie’s capacity for managing her emotions has never changed; she’s always been angsty and easily frustrated. “I knew I shouldn’t have listened to him— I should have chosen someone else for this mission.” She tossed her notepad onto a table, shaking her head.

With that, you stand up. Leaning your arm against the back of the pilot seat. “Oh, yeah? Who?” You squinted your eyes, condescendingly. “Jerry the fucking receptionist? So, you can feel intellectually superior enough to feel good about yourself?” Raising an eyebrow, you chortle. “Wow, Dr. Williams… Didn’t know you could stoop so low.”

“Fuck off…” She sucked her teeth, shaking her head, dismissively.

“Gladly!” You snatched the bag of dried fruit from your chair, before stomping toward the sliding mechanical door. Before raising your key card to the receiver, turned toward her one last time. “This isn’t just about your findings. It takes a team's effort for a mission like this to succeed. Challenges foster discovery— even if I’m the one doing it.” You wave your card over the receiver, the door releasing air as it slid open. “See you in few hours…” And back to your sleeping quarters you went.

It was difficult, but you managed to get four extra hours of sleep after that little argument. Typically, bickering with Ellie lasted more than just a few minutes, but you’ve matured—you’d like to think. Times have changed, and you were in space; you were working. There was no time for petty, egotistical arguments. Even so, you couldn’t help but wonder why you ground her gears so bad. Yet, somehow, she was always around you—orbiting you like the beautiful celestial bodies you know and love. Was she stuck in a gravitational pull—unable to flee? Or was she fully conscious?

Two hours until Jackson’s planet arrival!

The automated voice announced over the intercom. Which pulled everyone on board from their own devices—whether that was sleeping or exercising. The classes you and Ellie taught were basically conjoined; two in one. So, each of you had your own research assistant that tagged along on this mission. But they both worked for the both of you— you were their supervisors.

However, for some reason, Ellie’s assistant appeared to be distant from yours. Allan was his name. When everyone met at the breakfast table, there was a quietness in the room that felt unfamiliar. Usually, Allan and Sophia, your assistant, would be filling the room with casual chatter. About their personal lives. This morning was drastically different. Scraping your plastic fork against the plate, playing with your powdered eggs, you glared at Ellie. “Dr. Williams, how old are you again?”

“Dr. Jones, isn’t it disrespectful to ask a woman her age—?”

“Thirty-one, right?” The legs of your chair screeched against floor as you stood up. Taking your plate, you toss the food into the trash bin. Scoffing, you use your key card to leave the eating area. You navigated toward the flight deck to guide the ship the rest of the way. Flicking off the autopilot switch and taking ahold of the joystick. For as long as you’ve known her, you never thought she’d stoop as low as admitting to choosing another for the job.

You’ve never done anything to Ellie for her to be so adamant about being a pain in the ass. Academically, you rivaled each other, but that was it. At least, that’s what you thought.

In the distance you could see the blue-green planet ahead. Looking like the long-lost sister of Earth. You mused at the sight, grinning to yourself. That was what you were here for.

The sound of air puffing from the sliding door leading to the flight deck, caught your attention. For a moment, you thought it was Ellie, but a much softer voice called your name. “Dr. J,”

It was Sophia wandering into the room. “Tense morning, huh?” She raised her slender eyebrows, taking a seat in the copilot chair. You jutted your eyebrows in response. “I thought it’d be more enthusiastic considering we’re almost there…” Her light eyes glanced toward the three-panel window, glimmering with excitement.

“You and me both.” You responded, dryly.

A beat passed between the two of you. Sophia awkwardly rocking in the chair. “I can’t help but ask— what’s going on between you and Dr. Williams?” She questioned, softly. “I’ve seen you guys' bicker before but…” She dragged on, hoping you’d respond before she rambled.

You sigh, glancing at her. “We’re just having a disagreement. That’s all.” You swallowed, clenching your jaw. Keeping the relationship between you and your student professional, you change the subject. “We’re nearing Jackson. I suggest you suit up and start taking notes on what you see as we approach. Meaning asteroids, moons— anything.”

“Copy that.” Sophia quickly got up, to leave the flight deck.

Focusing, within the next hour you enter the atmosphere of the planet. The ship shuttering through turbulent clouds and temperatures. The ground resembled the dirt of Mars, just darker and muddier. The ship released stilts to prop itself on the ground of Jackson. With a hopeful sigh, she jumped from her seat. Going to slip into her protective suit and helmet. The whistling of heavy winds sounded against the ship, rocking it slightly.

You met the rest of the group in the airlock. Allan was about to press the button to shut the door into the hall—locking them out with an airtight seal. But Ellie stopped him with a wave of her gloved hand. “Your suits not zipped up all the way. Turn around.” She told you, gesturing with her hand for you to turn. Her voice echoing in your helmet, you do as she says; as it’s a safety concern. But you were still annoyed with her—and you were sure that she was still annoyed with you.

She zipped up the back, latching it with a metal button. Ellie even made sure that your helmet was sealed and secure. You grabbed your pack, swinging it onto your back. Then began locking everything into place with buckles and latches. “Thanks…” You muttered, barely sparing her a glance. “Allan, the door.”

He glanced at Sophia with eyes you couldn’t read, before pressing the button. The airlock sealed, puffs of air releasing from the hinges.

The hatch creaked as it fell open, hitting the ground with a thud. The assistants marveled, stepping toward the threshold. You and Ellie mirroring them, approaching where they stood. The morning sky’s were clear and blue. With the reflection of two, perfectly circular moons in view. Allan turned around, looking at his main supervisor.

“It’s your mission— you should be the first to step foot on it.”

Ellie smiled through her helmet, glancing at you, briefly. You didn’t spare her much of a glance, you just rocked on your feet. She should be lucky she has such supportive students.

“I think its just as much as Dr. Jones’ mission as it is Dr. Williams’.” Sophie spoke up, lifted her eyebrows. “If it weren’t for Dr. J… We wouldn’t have The Firefly; I think they both should go. Together.”

“Holding hands…”

You put your hand up, scrunching your eyebrows. “All right, that’s enough.” Rolling your eyes, you chuckled, dryly. “We can go together… If you don’t mind.”

Ellie shrugged. “It takes a team’s effort to succeed…” She held out her gloved hand.

Sighing, you took her hand. She held onto your gloved hand, gently, pulling you toward the hatch. The wind whistled, nearly blowing the two of you over, but when your feet jumped into the mud—the assistants cheered. “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!” Ellie exclaimed, swinging your arm, unintentionally.

You meet her eyes, laughing at the reference. “Be original.” You playfully, jested. Turning back to the team. “Let’s begin our testing— shall we?”

The team was out there for hours with test tubes collecting matter of different forms. You grabbed bites of temperature and took notes of the environment. The assistants diligently worked—doing exactly what they were told. Ellie kept her distance from you, but never forgot to spare you a glance every now and then. Pretending not to notice, you kept to your work. Walking in and out of the shuttle, collecting data. Trying not to mind it one bit.

Fatigue began to rain over everyone—including yourself. Despite your incessant need to prove otherwise. It was reaching twenty-one hundred; it was past their bedtime. Allan and Sophia had grabbed the supplies propped outside, bringing them back into the shuttle. They were the last touch the ground for the evening. But, you and Ellie had been hibernating inside the shuttle running chemical tests on the matter collected.

A makeshift dinner was prepared by the leading astrophysicist as a prized delight. She was proud with how hard everyone worked—giving the pep talk of a lifetime. Her influential words were really meant for your students. You even added a few supportive statements to hers. Applauding their work. Then, eating ensued; chowing down on the blandest food known to mankind.

It was not long before half the crew went to bed. You disappeared into the comms room to film the first scientific update of Jackson’s planet. The sliding door shutting with a smooth sss sound. In your hand, you held a personal vial of the dirt you found. With pieces of rocks and, what you could only assume to be, grass stuffed into the top. White scotch tape labeled the small glass: J-74.

There was a small television screen built into the wall. Touch screen. With a little camera at the top center of the shape. You pressed the screen until the recording option came up. Clearing your throat, you started by saying the date and time, then your name. “We just finished day one on Jackson’s planet— it was a busy day.” You held up the vial of dirt, shaking it around. “But it was well worth it.” A grin stretched across your face.

“The team has loads of research ahead— thank God for Allan and Soph; they’ve already made this trip easier— but the odds are looking up.” You nod, continuing. “Jackson just might be everything that we need for our survival. Just like Dr. Williams anticipated.”

Sss!

The door opened, revealing the auburn-haired academic. “Shit-talking me in the comms room?” Ellie raised an eyebrow as she entered. But, upon noticing your filming, she paused in her steps. Cursing to herself. “Fuck, I’m sorry.” She cursed herself, again, for swearing on company file. Her notepad was glued to her hand—as per usual.

“Speak of the devil and she shall appear.” You chortle after glancing over your shoulder at the woman. “Dr. J, signing off.” Ceasing the recording, you swiveled around in your rolling stool. Ellie wandered around the room with a nervous aura. Bending the notepad back and forth. “I hope you’re not wanting my opinion on another equation… I’m on too much of a high to bicker tonight.”

Ellie chuckled, dryly. “Not this time. I actually wanted to apologize for this morning.” She inhaled, stiffly. “I was unprofessional— you’re the best this team has; I could never replace you—“

“Okay, I get it. Apology accep—“

“Let me finish!” She held up a hand. You blinked with a slightly surprised expression, pursing your lips. “I could never replace you nor would I want to” Ellie paced the floor before you. “And, yes, it was very childish for me to ask Allan to take a vow of silence when communicating with Sophia and you. That was wrong. But, in his defense, he argued me down about it…” She rambled, messing with her hair, notebook, fingers—everything to busy herself.

This may have been the first time that she has ever thoroughly apologized. Usually, the two of you let the frustration from arguments simmer; then, eventually talk to each other. “Where’s Ellie Williams and what have you done with her?” You joked, standing to your feet. She was a nervous person, but never this nervous. “Seriously, it’s fine. No hard feelings— we do this all the time.”

You move to leave the room, pressing your key card against the receiver. That familiar puffing of air doesn’t sound—the door doesn’t open. The light flashes red. Deepening your eyebrows, you try again. Ellie watches you, intently. Her lips parted, wanting to speak. The focus on you breaks when she realizes she can’t leave either. “Let me try.”

She waves her card, and it flashes red. You swear, stepping backwards, in thought. Was it the high winds? When you built The Firefly, you made sure to consider every possibility externally. Did you really forget about the smaller details—like doors? You weren’t the only one working on this contraption, so this issue couldn’t have been on you. “Have there been any complications in any of the other sectors of the shuttle?” You asked.

“Uhm, not that I know of— I haven’t had any problems.”

“So, it’s just this one… Hm.” You hum, feeling the gears of the door. Bracing your hand on the part of the door that opens, you attempt to pry it open with your hands. Grunting, using most of your strength. Sighing, you look at the woman next to you—gawking. “Are gonna stand there or are you gonna help me?” You exhaled. “You must want to be locked in here with me.”

She jumped to action, tossing her notebook aside to try to pry open the door. “To be honest, I’m not complaining…” Ellie muttered to herself. But she was close enough for you to hear.

Abruptly, you stopped pulling. “What?” Your eyebrows deepened, placing your hands on your hips. “What did you just say?” You questioned, gently. Confusion written along the faint fine lines across your face. Ellie pressed her lips into a line, stepping back from the door as well.

“I have a confession.”

“A confession? Am I being punked?”

She crossed her arms. “Do you seriously think I’m incapable of being nice to you?”

You shrugged, pursing your lips. “For longer than ten minutes… Yeah, I find it a little hard to believe.” Ellie scoffed, dropping her hands at her side. She began to pace, again, but in a different way. Leaving a trail of frustration and irritation in her path. “Ellie, we’ve been butting heads since we met. Excuse me for being a little surprised at the word confession.”

The scientist looked over her shoulder, partially glaring. “Did you ever consider why we bump heads so much?”

You cleared your throat, awkwardly. “Uhm, you hate that I’m smarter than you.” You chortle, but she doesn’t laugh. “Kidding.”

Swiveling around, her freckled cheeks were as red as a tomato. “Ellie, I’m kidding.” You tried, approaching her slowly, remorsefully. You’ve never seen her this way before. Her foresty eyes were glistening and wide like she wanted to cry. Placing a hand on her bare arm, you felt her muscles flinch. “You’re probably the only person at work that actually meets my intellect— maybe even exceeds it at times.”

“Pluto and Charon.” Ellie mumbles, examining your features. Overthinking the feeling of your hand on her bicep.

“What about them?”

“Do you think Pluto always noticed Charon?”

You thoughtfully averted your eyes, but your fingers remained against her warm skin. “She’s so large, I doubt Pluto didn’t always notice Charon. How could she miss her? I mean, they share a face.”

A beat passed between the two of you, leaving room for you to finally understand. Were you that stupid? The most remarkable thing about you was your intellect. So, you wondered, how this could slip by so easily? Ellie had to frame her words in a way that you’d understand. Astronomy.

“Oh.” Your hand drifted up her arm, over her bones shoulder, resting lightly over her trapezius. “Ellie… You have a thing for me?”

She tries to brush your hand off her skin because she was beginning to feel claustrophobic. But, you resist, taking her other hand in yours. Perhaps, you never fully thought about it—drowning yourself in your work. However, when you do think about it, you loved working with her. Even if that meant arguing and bickering every few minutes. At least you got to be around her; seeing her pretty freckled face for hours at a time. Watching her eyebrows twitch in thought as she solved equations.

“Don’t shy away from me now.” Your hand reached to cup her cheek; drawing comforting lines across her skin. Pluto always noticed Charon. It was natural for them to be in each others orbit—stuck like glue.

Despite her nerves, Ellie’s hands found solace at your hips before she leaned in for your lips. You pushed your body against hers, wrapping your arms around her neck; somehow wanting her closer. Her lips were soft and slow moving against yours��melting with passion and warmth. You could tell that she yearned for you, unlocking a part of you that yearned for her. Slowly, the kiss intensified. Ellie’s hands clenched at your tank top, slipping her fingers under the hem.

While your skin was being set aflame by her touch, you pulled away. Eyeing her with glimmers of lust in your irises. “This is great, uhm, but we’re still stuck in the comms room…” Your brushed hair from her face. “I don’t want the entirety of Houston to see or hear what we’re doing.”

“We’re not doing anything…” She smirked, keeping your hips flush to hers.

“Right.” You grin. “Let’s wake the assistants.”

The two of you separated, hesitantly. Ellie reached for the intercom button, but when you both heard giggling from the other side of the door—all movements ceased.

“Those little assholes.”

The cosmos.

[nasa]

Moonbound: One Year Since Artemis I

On this day last year, the Artemis I rocket and spacecraft lit up the sky and embarked on the revolutionary mission to the Moon and back. The first integrated flight test of the rocket and spacecraft continued for 25.5 days, validating NASA’s deep exploration systems and setting the stage for humanity’s return to the lunar surface.

On Nov. 16, 2022, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket met or exceeded all expectations during its debut launch on Artemis I. The twin solid rocket booster motors responsible for producing more than 7 million pounds of thrust at liftoff reached their performance target, helping SLS and the Orion spacecraft reach a speed of about 4,000 mph in just over two minutes before the boosters separated.

Quite a few payloads caught a ride aboard the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission: In addition to a number of small scientific satellites called CubeSats, a manikin named Commander Moonikin Campos sat in the commander’s seat. A Snoopy doll served as a zero-gravity indicator — something that floats inside the spacecraft to demonstrate microgravity. 

During the mission, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles from our home planet, more than 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station orbits Earth. This surpassed the record for distance traveled by a spacecraft designed to carry humans, previously set during Apollo 13.

The Orion spacecraft arrived back home to planet Earth on Dec. 11, 2022. During re-entry, Orion endured temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the Sun at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Within about 20 minutes, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph to about 20 mph for its parachute-assisted splashdown. 

Recovery teams successfully retrieved the spacecraft and delivered it back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for de-servicing operations, which included removing the payloads (like Snoopy and Commander Moonikin Campos) and analyzing the heat shield.  

With the Artemis I mission under our belt, we look ahead to Artemis II — our first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years. Four astronauts will fly around the Moon inside Orion, practicing piloting the spacecraft and validating the spacecraft’s life support systems. The Artemis II crew includes: NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen. 

As we look ahead to Artemis II, we build upon the incredible success of the Artemis I mission and recognize the hard work and achievements of the entire Artemis team. Go Artemis!

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space!

[fatehbaz]

About the entanglement of "science" and Empire. About geographic imaginaries. About how Empire appeals to and encourages children to participate in these scripts.

Was checking out this recent thing, from scavengedluxury's beloved series of posts looking at the archive of the Budapest Municipal Photography Company.

The caption reads: "Toys and board games, 1940."

And I think the text on the game-box in the back says something like "the whole world is yours", maybe?

(The use of appeals to science/progress in imperial narratives probably already well-known to many, especially for those familiar with Victorian era, Edwardian era, Gilded Age, early twentieth century, etc., in US and Europe.)

And was struck, because I had also recently gone looking through nemfrog's posts about the often-strange imagery of children's material in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century US/Europe. And was disturbed/intrigued by this thing:

Caption here reads: "Game Board. Walter Mittelholzer's flight over Africa. [...] 1931. Commemorative game board map of Africa for a promotional game published for the N*stle Company, for tracking the trip of Walter Mittelholzer across Africa, the first pilot to fly a north-south route."

Hmm.

"Africa is for your consumption and pleasure! A special game celebrating German achievement, brought to you by the N*stle Company!"

1930s-era German national aspirations in Africa. A company which, in the preceding decade, had shifted focus to expand its cacao production (which would be dependent on tropical plantations). Adventure, excitement, knowledge, science, engineering prowess, etc. For kids!

Another, from a couple decades earlier, this time British.

Caption reads: "The "World's globe circler." A game board based on Nellie Bly's travels. 1890." At center, a trumpet, and a proclamation: "ALL RECORDS BROKEN".

Same year that the United States "closed the frontier" and conquered "the Wild West" (the massacre at Wounded Knee happened in December 1890). A couple years later, the US annexed Hawai'i; by decade's end, the US military was in both Cuba and the Philippines. The Scramble for Africa was taking place. At the time, Britain especially already had a culture of "travel writing" or "travel fiction" or whatever we want to call it, wherein domestic residents of the metropole back home could read about travel, tourism, expeditions, adventures, etc. on the peripheries of the Empire. Concurrent with the advent of popular novels, magazines, mass-market print media, etc. Intrepid explorers rescuing Indigenous peoples from their own backwardness. Many tales of exotic allure set in South Asia. Heroic white hunters taking down scary tigers. Elegant Englishwomen sipping tea in the shade of an umbrella, giggling at the elephants, the local customs, the strange sights. Orientalism, tropicality, othering.

I'd lately been looking at a lot of work on race/racism and imperative-of-empire in British scientific and pop-sci literature, especially involving South and Southeast Asia. (From scholars like Varun Sharma, Rohan Deb Roy, Ezra Rashkow, Jonathan Saha, Pratik Chakrabarti.) But I'd also lately been looking at Mashid Mayar's work, which I think closely suits this kinda thing with the board games. Some of her publications:

"From Tools to Toys: American Dissected Maps and Geographic Knowledge at the Turn of the Twentieth Century". In: Knowledge Landscapes North America, edited by Kloeckner et al., 2016.

"What on Earth! Slated Globes, School Geography and Imperial Pedagogy". European Journal of American Studies 16, number 3, Summer 2020.

Citizens and Rulers of the World: The American Child and the Cartographic Pedagogies of Empire, 2022.

Discussing her book, Mayar was interviewed by LA Review of Books in 2022. She says:

[Quote.] Growing up at the turn of the 20th century, for many American children, also meant learning to view the world through the lens of "home geography." [...] [T]hey inevitably responded to the transnational whims of an empire that had stretched its dominion across the globe [recent forays into Panama, Cuba, Hawai'i, the Philippines] [...]. [W]hite, well-to-do, literate American children [...] learned how to identify and imagine “homes” on the map of the world. [...] [T]he cognitive maps children developed, to which we have access through the scant archival records they left behind (i.e., geographical puzzles they designed and printed in juvenile periodicals) [...] mixed nativism and the logic of colonization with playful, appropriative scalar confusion, and an intimate, often unquestioned sense of belonging to the global expanse of an empire [...]. Dissected maps - that is, maps mounted on cardboard or wood and then cut into smaller pieces that children were to put back together - are a generative example of the ways imperial pedagogy [...] found its place outside formal education, in children's lives outside the classroom. [...] [W]ell before having been adopted as playthings in the United States, dissected maps had been designed to entertain and teach the children of King George III about the global spatial affairs of the British Empire. […] [J]uvenile periodicals of the time printed child-made geographical puzzles [...]. [I]t was their assumption that "(un)charted," non-American spaces (both inside and outside the national borders) sought legibility as potential homes, [...] and that, if they did not do so, they were bound to recede into ruin/"savagery," meaning that it would become the colonizers' responsibility/burden to "restore" them [...]. [E]mpires learn from and owe to childhood in their attempts at survival and growth over generations [...]. [These] "multigenerational power constellations" [...] survived, by making accessible pedagogical scripts that children of the white and wealthy could learn from and appropriate as times changed [...]. [End quote.] Source: Words of Mashid Mayar, as transcribed in an interviewed conducted and published by M. Buna. "Children's Maps of the American Empire: A Conversation with Mashid Mayar". LA Review of Books. 11 July 2022.

Some other stuff I was recently looking at, specifically about European (especially German) geographic imaginaries of globe-as-playground:

The Play World: Toys, Texts, and the Transatlantic German Childhood (Patricia Anne Simpson, 2020) /// "19th-Century Board Game Offers a Tour of the German Colonies" (Sarah Zabrodski, 2016) /// Advertising Empire: Race and Visual Culture in Imperial Germany (David Ciarlo, 2011) /// Learning Empire: Globalization and the German Quest for World Status, 1875-1919 (Erik Grimmer-Solem, 2019) /// “Ruling Africa: Science as Sovereignty in the German Colonial Empire and Its Aftermath” (Andrew Zimmerman. In: German Colonialism in a Global Age, 2014) /// "Exotic Education: Writing Empire for German Boys and Girls, 1884-1914". (Jeffrey Bowersox. In: German Colonialism and National Identity, 2017) /// Raising Germans in the Age of Empire: Youth and Colonial Culture, 1871-1914 (Jeff Bowersox, 2013) /// "[Translation:] (Educating Modernism: A Trade-Specific Portrait of the German Toy Industry in the Developing Mass-Market Society)" (Heike Hoffmann, PhD dissertation, Tubingen, 2000) /// Home and Harem: Nature, Gender, Empire, and the Cultures of Travel (Inderpal Grewal, 1996) /// "'Le rix d'Indochine' at the French Table: Representation of Food, Race and the Vietnamese in a Colonial-Era Board Game" (Elizabeth Collins, 2021) /// "The Beast in a Box: Playing with Empire in Early Nineteenth-Century Britain" (Romita Ray, 2006) /// Playing Oppression: The Legacy of Conquest and Empire in Colonialist Board Games (Mary Flanagan and Mikael Jakobsson, 2023)

[blueikeproductions]

The Quintessons also got cards.

While we don’t know for sure if there’s other members of their race yet, these are a pretty big departure from the original designs, which have remained somewhat consistent.

Most notably the absence of the most recognizable Quintesson Judge is curious. There’s nothing that says they’re not there, but usually the Judge types are front and center for things, so removing them for a new High Command version is interesting.

The High Command and Soldier designs seem closer to some one off Quintessons from the 80’s cartoon.

The Quintessons have a somewhat complex conceptual history.

Their earliest concept looked like this.

A psychic biomechanical humanoid whose psychic abilities were so great they could make a horde of Sharkticons from scrap metal in an instant and probe the galaxy with a simple mind scan. Their head was apparently their true form, as it would eject and fly to another body when Hot Rod tried threatening it. The biomechanical look would persist for their final designs, but more modern media via Aligned and Cyberverse would instead state they’re actually organic creatures that look something like this:

Revealing their robotic bodies as merely being suits they pilot. It’s not clear yet if this is also the case in EarthSpark or ONE, though ONE feels like this is what they’re supposed to actually look like, but more organic this time than robotic as they typically are.

Some further revisions to the 80’s movie scripts and marketing of the time originally cast the Quintessons as working directly for Unicron, their mock trials were to punish and destroy any lingering survivors of Unicron’s wrath that passed by Quintessa. While this idea never made it into the original film, it was used in the Marvel comics and later revisited in early BotCon comics, but never became hard canon. The UK comics would make them into aliens clinging for survival as their home planet was destroyed by a time anomaly caused by the time traveling Galvatron. Running out of options, the Quints attacked Autobot City on Earth to try and colonize it, but were driven off by Rodimus Prime and Metroplex, their fate unknown but nevertheless swearing revenge on the Transformers.

The final version of the Quintessons in the cartoon cast them as the ancient creators of the Transformers, with some media explaining they also created Cybertron by terraforming a planet into a factory world (at least it wasn’t a parking structure planet). The cartoon would also establish them as slimy business men, having their tentacles in the affairs of other species for financial gain. Along with the Transformers starting out as in universe products to sell, it seems the writers might’ve been having a laugh at Hasbro.

The Quints’ primary goal in the cartoon was to push the Autobots aside so they could regain control of Cybertron, often conning the Decepticons into doing their dirty work for them. Where the Quints came from is never clear, as the show implies Cybertron was more their home planet originally due to their sentimental attachment to it. Their supposed home planet, Quintessa, is implied to merely be another planet they terraformed after getting booted off Cybertron.

Due to the more popular Primus origin from the Marvel comics, the Quintessons and their hand in the creation of Cybertron and its people was largely ignored in most mainstream media. While they saw a homage in Alpha Q in Energon (the connection to the Quintessons made stronger in the Energon Dreamwave comics), they didn’t really start resurfacing as major characters again until recently. The BotCon comics attempted to reconcile the two origins, stating the Primus origin was also the case in the cartoon, with the Quints interfering in the process, and this early idea served as the basis for the Aligned canon, where the Quints did the same in Cybertron’s early years, conning the young race into becoming their allies (servants), by bestowing both the futuristic space fairing technology Cybertronians enjoy today, their modern hierarchy (that became the corrupt caste system Megatron fought against) and the ability to Transform. Apparently the robots technically could already Transform as they all had Cogs, they just hadn’t LEARNED to Transform yet. Like the 80’s cartoon, these Quints intended to sell off the Transformers as products to the galaxy, with Sentinel (Zeta) Prime installed as their figurehead leader like in TFONE. Eventually they were chased off like in the old cartoon, but Prime nor RiD15 would ever revisit the Quintessons, though the prequel novels nobody read did claim the Autobots and Decepticons briefly became antagonized by them once more during the hunt for the Allspark in space.

Aligned’s main difference that’s fueled most modern interpretations is the Quintessons are the creations of Quintus Prime one of the newly established 13 original Transformers.

Aligned implies they killed Quintus and stole what they needed from him to become space fairing and eventually go to Cybertron, conquering other planets along the way.

The Quints were intended to be allies to Cybertron, as were other Quintus borne races, but this was not meant to be, due to the Quints’ hubris. EarthSpark’s version says the Quints were the first sons of the Prime, and in trying to discover their purpose, they became bitter and developed daddy issues, going around and killing off their cousins on other planets, attempting to acquire the Emberstone for their own use. The Quints and Transformers are strongly aware of each other, and clearly fought before, but their exact relationship has not been established yet, if at all.

TFONE greatly simplifies it to the Quints being an alien race that attacked Cybertron during the time of the Primes, though the hows and whys aren’t clear. What is clear is the jealous Sentinel made a bargain, helping them destroy the Primes and letting him be in control in exchange for paying them off in Energon to leave Cybertron alone. It’s not clear if Quintus Prime created the Quints in this universe, but there is a resemblance.

Quintus at some point: Sorry guys, you know how kids are!

Despite the Quintus origin, some modern media has gone back to the 80’s cartoon origin. Notably Age of Extinction and The Last Knight returning to the aliens created the Transformers idea, but the movies not directly using the Quintessons. However concept art does suggest the original intent WAS supposed to be the Quintessons…

Instead all we have is an alien hand and later Quintessa to go by.

It’s never clarified if the two are related, with Quintessa possibly being a Transformer and a Prime as well, but she is also called a liar by those formally in her employ so… She IS able to reprogram Optimus into doing her bidding however, so there’s that. She’s clearly inspired by Quintus, but isn’t connected beyond that. Her goal was to restore Cybertron by draining Earth of its life force and destroy Unicron in one fell swoop (as Earth is inexplicably Unicron again like in Prime). The organic Creators meanwhile were responsible for the extinction of the dinosaurs, deploying bombs that converted organics into cyber matter that made the metal of the Transformers. Lockdown was working for the Creators, but with the abrupt inclusion of Quintessa, it’s not clarified if he was working for her instead/also.

Cyberverse cast the Quintessons as major villains, but instead of the creation origin, they depicted them as trans dimensional entities that travel to other Transformers universes to judge them guilty and destroy them for no other reason other than they can. Truly the best kind of villain: petty. Still this Dr. Who meets The Matrix direction with them doesn’t appear to be at all popular despite the arc being regarded positively. I still think Cyberverse is awful top to bottom, but the general idea they went for is decent. The Primes exist here, as noted previously with Alchemist Prime, but it’s never stated if these Quintessons are related to Quintus Prime.

Netflix War For Cybertron and Skybound Energon Universe also return to the Quintesson origin for the Transformers, though in the former’s case, their connection, if any, to the Allspark is never clarified. Skybound’s Void Rivals is currently the main component using the Quints, and dialog heavily implies the cartoon origin, though some minor Aligned concepts creep up as well. Nevertheless the Quintus origin doesn’t appear to be as… nailed down as Hasbro probably would like.

Indeed despite the resurgence in relevance, Hasbro seems somewhat reluctant to use the Quintessons still. The Quintus origin in the modern era had only been used in EarthSpark, and even then it’s not used… super well. The Steven Universe Diamonds that need a family intervention, never mind the genocide they caused, persists here to much chagrin. With the inconsistency on how the Quints came to be in modern media, it also makes Quintus Prime unnecessary, if some media is treating the Quints as separate beings. Even IDW didn’t do anything with this, despite using a lot of the Aligned concepts, and for now Skybound seems content to ignore it also.

I think the reluctance is due to toys of them not doing well, with the Cyberverse ones doing especially poorly. The High Command guy being able to Transform toy wise seems to be an attempt to make it clear they fit in with Transformers, but their peg warming doesn’t seem to be fixing that.

Along with Hasbro and Paramount not handing the transition from Bee to ROTB properly (like how do we jump from what Bee did to suddenly Unicron attacks?), I don’t have high expectations that the Quintessons will be handled well for a possible TFTWO, if they’re even used at all.

Which is a shame because the ONE designs are pretty cool, they made the Quints more appropriately scary and intimidating vs the slightly goofy looking egg shaped Judges. And I like the Judges but still.

[fadingplaidlibrary]

harvey headcanons

dr. harvard gregory mcclintock. what a man

our sweet boy was raised in a small town just east of stardew valley. his parents lived with his maternal grandmother, and regularly hosted a revolving door of cousins and extended family. he grew up in a very full house

he’s the third of four children. his older twin sisters, charlotte and eleanor, both live in zuzu city. charlotte is an executive chef and eleanor is a personal trainer. his younger brother robbie is a skydiving instructor who travels for work

he’s not really allergic to salmonberry or spice berry, he just grew up foraging and picking so many fresh berries in the summers as a kid that one day he got sick of them

he is mildly allergic to joja cola though, which he didn’t find out until he mentioned to a friend in college that he doesn’t like the spicy aftertaste of the drink (that beverage is… not supposed to be spicy)

he was a quiet kid growing up. he wore big green glasses, he had a lisp, and he was kinda gangly. he liked running and swimming, but was never particularly well-coordinated when it came to sports or dancing

he got his first growth spurts pretty early, but he was a late bloomer when it came to dating. he went on his first date in college, and he didn’t even realize it was a date until his lady friend kissed him on the lips when they got to her door

despite being a doctor, he’s entirely too squeamish to do any procedures on himself. no drawing blood, no sutures, not even finger pricks. he got a splinter in his foot once while he was down at the docks, and he had to look away while elliott removed it for him

he’s really good at skipping stones across the lake but he can’t do it if he knows anyone is watching him

besides his established fear of heights, he’s also scared of spiders, snakes, clowns, public speaking, and venus fly trap plants

speaking of plants, he’s killed every plant he ever had except one - a snake plant his sisters sent him to cheer him up while he was in med school. he nicknamed the plant bertha and it’s been with him ever since

he’s very careful about his grooming. nothing too elaborate, but he does wear sunscreen every day, flosses daily, gives himself regular manicures and pedicures, and irons his work clothes like his grandma taught him. and of course, he keeps his signature mustache neatly trimmed

he sleeps in whatever old sweats or gym shorts he can find in his drawers, but that man sleeps with a satin pillowcase to protect his curls and you cannot convince me otherwise. also, his grandma gifted him a heated blanket for the holidays one year and it’s his prized possession

he’s really close with his dad. his dad is a retired commercial pilot, and even though harvey couldn’t follow in his footsteps, they share other interests and hobbies. his dad is a real cheerleader for all four of his kids, but especially his little harvey-bear

sometimes when he has insomnia, he walks to the park next to the community center and lays on a bench to stargaze. one time, linus and gil even found him fast asleep there when they did their pre-dawn patrol sweep

[thisisnotthenerd]

misfits & magic ii stat tracking: episode 1

the spreadsheet, for all to see

it's aabria autumn again, and she's back with with never stop making magic. this series will include both the progressive notes throughout the season as well as my commentary on the mechanics of the system as it's been adapted from KOB and NSBU. the tag is #mismag ii stat tracking, if you want to follow along.

we're just starting out and there's been a ton of fun little details: the pedal pub, tabby (carlos luna), where the characters have been over the last 3 years, the carvings, the orrery, the handles, the new stat trackers with the metal beads, it's all so fun. the art department said yes to carving out the middle of the table this time. i'm waiting for the trackers to do something interactive or have hidden messages or something, like the clipboards did in burrow's end.

this season already feels much more like a traditional fantasy adventure than a school novel. they're traveling, following an esoteric map to the center of a storm, facing old and new foes, human and monster alike. The emphasis is on community and bringing magic to fit the world as it is now, not as it was before the pilot program.

mechanical notes:

all stats have been adapted to have names that start with m:

fight -> melee

brains -> mind

charm -> magnetism

flight -> maneuver

brawn -> matter

grit -> mettle

a secret 7th stat called mark has been added, to cover notice rolls, which no longer fall under mind/brains

magic still exists, and works on a graduated explosion system adapted from nsbu. i'm assuming they get magical artifacts or something of the like when they bounce back down to d4s from d20s.

the common fucking sense die no longer exists, as they are out in the real world instead of whimsical wizard land.

each character has a motive--when they act meaningfully toward or away from that motive, they move along their track. this is adapted from the reputation trackers from acofaf, which came from good society. the progression grants mechanical benefits with significant moves.

the characters start each session with two motes of magic--these replace the adversity tokens. whenever they fail a roll/attempt magic, they add one to the pile, to be used as needed.

each character has a mangle track that tracks the harm to them. death is a possibility, with 6 injury levels that they can take. presumably these come with mechanical penalties as they take injury, i.e. higher costs for magic, higher dcs, etc.

the players got to make some alterations to their stats; they either got more modifiers across the board, or they chose die improvements with fewer modifiers overall. jammer and k lean more towards modifiers while sam and evan changed more of their die values, though the latter two retain their high modifiers in magnetism and melee respectively.

character profiles:

whitney jammer:

teamwork

melee: d10 (+1)

mind: d6 (+1)

magnetism: d6

maneuver: d12 (+2)

matter: d20 (+1)

mettle: d10 (+1)

mark: d4 (+1)

magic: d6

k tanaka:

network

melee: d6 (+1)

mind: d12 (+1)

magnetism: d12 (+1)

maneuver: d10 (+1)

matter: d4 (+2)

mettle: d20 (+2)

mark: d4 (+1)

magic: d4

sam britain:

community

melee: d8 (+1)

mind: d4 (+1)

magnetism: d20 (+3)

maneuver: d20

matter: d6 (+1)

mettle: d12

mark: d6

magic: d4

evan kelmp:

belonging

melee: d20 (+8)

mind: d20 (+2)

magnetism: d4

maneuver: d6

matter: d6 (+1)

mettle: d10

mark: d8

magic: d4

[skycowboys]

Hello, I adore your work, I was wondering in this world does any other form of transportation exist such as locomotives 🚂 (I’m an avid Railway/rail fan enthusiast and considering there were races between horses and the earliest locomotives, with horses and other four legged critters helping building the lines before being replaced) I feel like these “iron horses” wouldn’t exactly be much of a threat.

Hello!

That's so cool. Trains are so cool. I seriously wish we had more of them here in America - both historical trains and tracks but also highspeed rail. I will die and go to heaven of happiness the moment I can take a reliable train to a destination other than the metrodome on a Twins game day sob.

The old west history of trains is fascinating and a little tragic, but yeah you're correct about the SC world. Due to the chasms, trains aren't really that viable for cross-country travel and shipping of goods. Here's a quick rail line theoretical -

The main cities are circled in purple -

West/North/South Rook and Southcut are a farming and nymbak center due to the relatively large swaths of unbroken land and the river.

Denavi and Oakridge are known for their timber (and Denavi for lightning fish products).

Woodloch and Vale have universities.

Slipshod and Carver Canyon Falls are known for their mining, and the area north of Carver Canyon is another bread basket.

Almost all the space in between is free-range farm, timber, and livestock land.

I've drawn potential rail lines between them and you can see all of, uh, the problems lol. If there would be a maintained line, it'd be in the middle of the farmland north of the Rooks to transport grains southward to the Rooks, but people are so accustomed to skimmers (flying pegasi pulling wheeled carts on the ground) and shortwings pulling carts along paved roads, it'd be hard to convince them to put in rail lines. The people of SC are used to using what's in their local area to make a good living for themselves, supplemented with goods and knowhow brought in by pilots and trade routes supported by bridge and cable cars.

Eventually I want to make a map that includes bridges and cable cars because that might switch this up a bit, but first I gotta finish the book :)

But yeah, the pegasus is the main mode of transportation in the SC world, and other than footpaths there aren't really any others that get close to the popularity and efficiency of pegasus-centered methods.

~ Larn

[f1crecs]

Fic Rec List - Action AUs (Giveaway Winner Post)

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hi @onboardsorasora thank you SO MUCH for your request, and congratulations again for winning the giveaway ❤️ we are so sorry that this took such a long time to get to you... unfortunately the mod team have been rather busy with all sorts of things: wedding planning and driving lessons and travelling abroad and writing copious amounts of smut. we hope this was worth the wait ❤️

Daniel/Max

nsfw: I struck a match and blew your mind by @33max | Not Rated | 4.1k

Max is a getaway driver and starts to work with Daniel on jobs. I loved the pacing of this fic. There's so much detail and progress within this and the author really did a great job of picking which parts to highlight for the plot progression. I loved Max's commitment to Daniel.

“I am, I promise. I think it’s just a broken rib or two.” Daniel says, and his hand comes up to squeeze Max’s shoulder from the backseat. There is blood on his knuckles. “C’mon Maxy, be a good boy and get us out of here.” So Max does. He gets them out of there, but he feels sick. Not because they almost got caught, but because he knows that if Daniel really had needed to go to the hospital he would not have been able to leave him there. He would have let them both get caught over leaving Daniel alone and hurt on a hospital doorstep.

nsfw: strangers by bloodmoonforme | E | 37.9k

Daniel, a detective, is on a not-quite-dead-end murder case when they bring in Max from out of state to help him solve it. They have history and havent seen each other in four years. I loved the tone in this so much. The author has a very coherent narrative that build just right, its really intriguing. I also love how the reader almost solves the case too. Not only the murder case, but the /what happened to Max and Daniel/ case that gets revealed throughout. Its a truly well written fic with a lot of action and feelings!

He gets up, his stomach feeling heavier and colder by the second. There's something creeping all the way from his fingers, up his arms and to his belly, a prickly sick thing. Then he looks towards the center of the room, marked by a well-worn rug. Daniel stands there, alone in Esther’s bedroom, standing in the half-light. He's there, and suddenly he’s not.

nsfw: Bite Down and Taste Red by @mysticalbreadcollective | E | 46.5k

Max works in a bar, and Daniel is the Mafia Boss who keeps buying drinks. This story is absolutely captivating - from beginning to end, it is so beautifully written and paced, with just enough angst to make things truly delicious. Daniel is so much fun here - hot and charismatic and so very head over heels for his bartender!

He finds out that Max speaks several languages, and he’s from a place called Hasselt, which means absolutely nothing to Daniel. He’d looked it up later, on the map on his phone, squinting at it. Compared with the US, its miniscule. He can’t imagine Max being born in a place so small. When Max is so – much.

Carlos/Lando & Daniel/Max

i'll race you for pinks by @chubbydinosaur | M | 30k

Lando is brought on to a heist by professional criminal, Carlos. Sparks fly. This story is such a fun ride - as always, this author perfectly balances humour, emotion, and high stakes action, and it makes for a thrilling read. Lando is so disarmingly charming in this - I adored him!

Daniel/Lando

til the bone crush by @clementiaes | T | 19k

Pacific Rim is perfect for Formula 1 AUs, and this is one of my favourite examples. Daniel and Lando are paired as Jaeger pilots. Both are coming off of other drift partners with baggage - Daniel from Max after Max’s career ending injury, and Lando from something that could have been a relationship with Carlos, had Lando’s insecurities not buried it before it started. Lando is prickly, closed-off and miserable at the start of this story, convinced he is unlovable. This story is about him gently and gradually being opened up to the realisation that people love him, and that he deserves to be loved.

The point is, no one is getting tired of you any time soon,” Daniel says. “Seriously, who even told you that?” Lando looks down at his hands, picking at a hangnail. “No one. I just — I know I’m not easy to get along with.” Daniel frowns. “You deserve to be happy,” he says, finally. “You know that, right?” Lando looks down at his knees. “Look at me, Lando,” Daniel says, but Lando doesn’t. His shoulders are starting to creep back up near his ears again. Daniel’s moving before he quite knows what he’s doing. He gets one hand on Lando’s shoulder and one on his chin, turning his face so that he’ll look at him. Lando sucks in a sharp breath, eyes wide, but to Daniel’s surprise, he doesn’t pull away. “I don’t know how you got it into your head that you’re like, unlovable, or something, but it’s not true,” Daniel says. “Really. You think you can believe that for me?”

Charles/Sebastian

He Is All, And He Is More by @effervescentdragon | M | 15k

In this AU of The Old Guard, Sebastian and Charles are immortals that meet on the battlefield during the Crusades. They kill one another over and over, until they reach a tentative understanding. Their relationship deepens over the centuries. It can be difficult to write characters as ancient and make them feel ancient, and Akira really does. I love the tentative way they negotiate one another, and the understanding they gradually come to. Battlefield enemies to lovers is quite the relationship arc.

"And if we only met a thousand of years from now, you would still be wearing red.” “Why?” Sebastian shrugs, a grin evident in the dark. “Your red string dictates it. Fate, or something. Destiny. Red suits you. You look good in red.” Charles bites his tongue. “So do you.���

Lewis/Nico/Sebastian

on golden sands by sionisjaune | T | 6.2k

Lewis Hamilton is planning the heist of the century and he wants Sebastian Vettel on his team. The target - Baron Nico Rosbergs car collection. Sounds simple on paper but reality never is. Oceans Eleven heist!au. Who doesnt love a good heist!au? This author writes some of my favourite sebcedes, the characterisations are spot on and the vibes are at turns wholesome and rancid. Perfection in a fic!

Rosberg greets Seb at the gate, behind the windshield of a pale blue Bentley. The paint job sparkles in the golden sunlight, and the hood ornament gleams chrome. The gates roll open at his whim with an ear-splitting, metallic sound. Rosberg beckons animatedly from behind the wheel, and Seb gets the message that he should leave his car and join Rosberg in the Bentley for the ride up to the house. […] Before Seb can slide into the passenger's side of the Bentley, Rosberg has to shoo a pudgy English bulldog into the backseat. It clambers, ungainly, over the console and waddles into the back, collapsing in a happy, wrinkly lump on the leather seats. “Who’s this?” Seb asks, watching long strings of drool ooze from the dog’s flabby mouth onto the pristine interior of Rosberg’s classic Bentley. Seb once saw an R-type Bentley much like this one go for two and a half million at auction. “This is Roscoe,” says Rosberg, long-sufferingly. “The result of an unfortunate affair.”

Charles/Pierre

Hic Svnt Leones by @cerona10 | M | 32.6k

Charles is different to how Pierre remembers him. The world-building in this fic is second to none - it’s absolutely stunning! The world feels so full and alive, and it’s easy to get completely sucked in. The way they build in exposition is so clever and natural feeling, and the action is exhilirating and fun to read. Perfect!

His shadow isn’t his own, not anymore. It shakes and shimmers, fighting against its own shape. His shadow’s head twists and breaks before mending itself into that of a horse, neighing and trashing, a single horn jutting out from its forehead. Its jaw unhinges and it begins breathing heavily, drool escaping its mouth like a waterfall.

Fernando/Lance

nsfw: Venus Flytrap by @pitconfirm | E | 25.7k (wip)

Professional criminal Fernando Alonso is recruited for a job. His mission: seduce Lance Stroll. This fic is RED HOT. From the very first few sentences, Fernando exudes this confidence that is so much fun to read. Contrasted with Lance - pouty, privileged, and surprisingly vulnerable - the dynamics are gorgeous. This author is so fantastic at dialogue and pacing, and this fic flows so beautifully. I can't wait to read more!

Once they reach the games room, it’s easy to spot him among the crowd. For the past few days, Fernando has been memorising every freckle on Lance’s skin. He could recognise him from just the curl of hair on his tender nape, but the most striking thing about Lance is his demeanour—elbows rested on the roulette table while he boredly holds his head in his hands, huffing in disappointment when he loses again. His carelessness stands out starkly against the opulent golden trims and old paintings covering every wall. A boy like Lance doesn’t belong in a place like this, but money talks.

nsfw: green light, red wine (and i don't feel fine) by @vicsy | E | 18.8k (wip)

Fernando is the Mafia boss who owns the club that Lance Stroll - son of his biggest rival - wanders into. This story is SO HOT. The tension between them is palpable, and they bounce off each other so well. You get the feeling that both of them are underestimating each other, and it makes for so much delicious tension. Amazing!

There aren’t many opportunities Fernando deliberately missed in his life. He wouldn’t be on top if he did. Right next to him, clad in a tight white t-shirt, sits an opportunity for a power move, the one Fernando would take all the way.

[usafphantom2]

The pilot’s job was to handle the aircraft and watch over the automatic systems to make sure they were doing their jobs properly. Meanwhile, the RSO handled the cameras, sensors, and the all-important Astroinertial Navigation System (ANS).

The ANS was the 1960’s version of GPS, but instead of using satellites to locate itself, the ANS used the stars. This is because, before the invention of the modern satnav networks, there wasn’t a way to navigate the SR-71 in the areas where it operated. The SR-71 needed to be able to fix its position within 1,885 feet (575 m) and 300 ft (91 m) of the center of its flight path while traveling at high speeds for up to ten hours in the air.’

The ANS works by tracking at least two stars at a time listed in an onboard catalog, and with the aid of a chronometer, calculates a fix of the SR-71 over the ground. It was programmed before each flight. They had to double check to make sure the navigational system was not aligning the floodlights in the hanger. The aircraft’s primary alignment and the flight plan were recorded on a punched tape that told the aircraft where to go, when to turn, and when to turn the sensors on and off. The stars were sighted through a special quartz window (located behind the RSO cockpit) and there was a special star tracker that could see the stars even in daylight.’

~Linda Sheffield

@Habubrats71 via X