#skydive pilot job

[kleexfly]

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[tgmsunmontue]

You need to learn how to fall 3/10

Hangster (and IceMav) - Bradley is too tall to be a naval aviator and instead becomes a sky diver, specialising in spin recovery. He is a civilian contractor to the Airforce and Navy to teach pilots how to survive parachute spins from ejections. A more in-depth version of this post.

PROLOGUE 2003-2006

2007-2010 – The middle years

                He ends up with another part-time job, fortunately using his human performance part of his degree and working as a personal trainer, mostly early mornings. Jumping out of planes is expensive. He moves out of the house him and Mav usually live in, but months later ends up moving in with Ice when he’s diagnosed with cancer. They don’t sugar coat things, not now that he’s an adult. He has to listen to them talk about wills and property and investments and assets; wants to stick his head in the sand and just chant la-la-la until it all goes away. He doesn’t want to consider his life without them both in it. Hard enough to think he’s already lost his actual parents, he can’t lose them too.

                He sits through it though, signs forms he reads carefully because both Ice and Mav frown and look disappointed the first time he signed without even looking. They get similar forms for him, given his current career and he’s pretty sure Mav has to excuse himself to go and throw up when he says he doesn’t want to be kept on life support indefinitely if he has a bad fall. Ice just nods and accepts his decision with quiet equanimity and he wonders if it’s because he is facing his own mortality. He starts a YouTube channel, figures out how to take effective video and then edit it properly. Loads them up without commentary; originally it’s for those he’s taken up for tandem jumps, but then it’s for other instructors around the country, and then a couple of them move overseas. His channel has a small but dedicated following.

                One of the silver linings of Ice’s cancer diagnosis is the fact he seems to no longer give any fucks about what people might say about his relationship with Mav. Don’t ask, don’t tell is still in effect but it’s also definitely very firmly in the don’t tell realm as far as Bradley can figure out. Everyone who they interact with seems to simply know that they’re together, and have been for as long as everyone remembers. Definitely for as long as he remembers. No one wants to tell and he guesses that Ice is high enough up that there’s probably blind-eyes all over the place.

                Then Ice insists on Mav moving in, which he promptly leaves the house for, not wanting to hang around for listening to the argument or hearing the makeup sex that will surely follow. So they put the house on the market, then he’s given the money and told he can finally buy the plane he wants which he delays a little and carefully shops around, listening to the advice of his old instructors and also Ice and Mav. All his gifts for years are centered around either skydiving or filming and editing software. It doesn’t escape his notice that Mav’s gifts tend towards the safer indoor aspects, while Ice tends toward the safety needs. They’re both supportive in their own ways.

                Living together, all of them, properly for the first time, results in the sudden influx of photos that pop up, every flat surface has frames with photos and Ice starts taking more photos. All of their lives are visually documented on the walls and bookshelves, although Bradley notes the front room Ice uses as a study and work room remains very formal and devoid of any personal touches. Other than formal portraits, like his graduation photo. Regardless of what room he’s in he feels like he is at home.

…             …             …

                His nightmare becomes a reality, although not in full. The call he got was from Bradley, starting off with I’m alive but I’m on the way to the hospital. He’d then passed the phone over to someone else. Apparently he’d taken a bad landing after being forced to use his second backup shute. He’d been too close to the ground so had hit it hard. His hands are shaking as he walks down the hospital corridor, the only thing that has him not vomiting is the fact that Bradley is the one who called him. That Bradley was alive; maybe not alive and well, but alive enough to call him.

                “Bad fall,” Mav mutters. “Like he’s tripped over the front step and grazed his hands…”

                He pushes the door open to Bradley’s room. He’s pale, face covered in bandages, one arm in a cast and both legs in braces, but not as he’d imagined a broken spine and him being in something like full-traction it’s a little bit of a relief.

                “He’s damned lucky.”

                “Doesn’t look lucky.”

                “He had his legs tucked up, hit the ground and rolled. Like it was as natural as breathing. He dislocated his shoulder but continued with the momentum… most people I know would have hit the ground feet-first despite years of training and the shock would have caused spiral fractures. They’ve braced his ankles as a matter of precaution because the x-rays showed no damage, which is a miracle but also isn’t surprising considering he walked into the hospital. We don’t usually say that you can be a natural at skydiving, but this kid is definitely a natural.”

                Mav sighs.

                Of course he is.

…             …             …

                “If the cancer didn’t get me, then I’m sure jumping out of a plane isn’t going to kill me either.”

                “Fighting words. It’s a good thing I’m taller than you. When we come into land you’re going to lift your legs.”

                He listens as Bradley takes him through everything, despite the fact that he knows it all, having listened to it so often he’s pretty sure he could repeat it back, learning it alongside Bradley and quizzing him on it. He can follow Bradley’s instructions, he’s in the Navy. When he’s strapped to Bradley, waved the all-clear he feels a little frisson of abject terror but it’s too late, he’s falling toward to the ground and then his fear fades away and he lets out a whoop of joy, hears Bradley’s amused laughter before it’s whipped away by the rushing air. They hit the ground and it’s gentler than he thought it would be.

                “Woo! What a rush!”

                “Yeah? You like it?”

                “It reminds me of my first launch off a carrier. Damn. Yeah. I get it now. Love you kid,” he says, knocking his own helmet against Bradley’s, the words aren’t ones he says often, but feels the need to say them more often now. Doesn’t want Bradley to ever doubt how he feels. Mav either for that matter…

                “Love you too.”

…             …             …

                “You were both up there, together.”

                He should have known it would give Mav another nightmare and he curls himself around him, makes gentle shushing noises under his breath, glad now that he doesn’t have to try and do this over the phone.

                “Do you trust him?”

                “Of course I do!”

                “Then know that skydiving, especially tandem skydiving is safer than driving to and from the hangar. Car accidents are far more common and hurt far more people than skydiving does. You’ve seen him with his gear. Hell, we check it. He’s damned good at what he does. He’s meant to be up in the air just as much as you are…”

                Mav lets out a little hiccupping breath and Tom knows he’s got something that’ll definitely take his mind of everything else.

                “You know, there’s something else I want to check off on my bucket list…” Tom says, and he’s not going to move, but his otherwise grand plans aren’t getting a look in right now. This feels right.

                “What?”

                “Pete Mitchell, will you marry me?”

…             …             …

                Ice and Mav leave plans on the table one night. An extension to the house, with a shared internal door but his own front door; effectively making two houses. A large bedroom, another room for an office with a desk, extension to the garage so he can store his gear, enough room to roll out his chutes and carry out checks. It’s very clearly an invitation to never move out, but also to live independently and he finds the sticky notes they use to communicate when they’re too busy to actually stop and talk. Simply draws a heart and writes love it in the center.

                He doesn’t bother looking at moving out of home again.

2011-2015 - The later years (NEXT PART)

[fluffy-lee-boa]

Squealing Santa 2k23

Of Buddies and Bros (a barbieverse tickle fic)

Fandom: Barbie (2023)

Characters: Ken and Allan

A/N: Hello @sweettallahassee! It is I, your secret santa >:3 I was so excited to get this assignment- The world could definitely use some more Barbie t fics. Especially ones with Allan. I really hope you like it! I saw the words “cheer-up tickles” and was possessed to write way more than I anticipated haha. Happy Holidays!

This was super fun, and I can’t wait to participate again, since this was my first time and now I think I’ve really got a handle on things. Thank you so much to @squealing-santa !!!

.　 . • ☆ . ° .• °:. *₊ ° . ☆

It had been a good amount of time since Stereotypical Barbie had left Barbie Land altogether, with Allan having become Ken’s closest confidant and friend from there on out. It was a pretty surprising change, and one that took some getting used to, as Allan had been used to being number 3 in a world of couples. But now? Well, it was practically his job to stick by Stereotypical Ken, and help him along his journey in self-discovery. Help him find some sort of identity outside of “Beach” and Barbie.

Unfortunately, Ken was very much still attached to both Beach and Barbie, to the point that it was a real hindrance on any progress being made in that department.

Allan knew it must have been hard for the guy, so he wasn’t annoyed or frustrated. More concerned, really. I mean, even with all the changes that had come to Barbie Land, every Ken still had their Barbie. Every Ken… except for his Ken.

His Ken? Ok, that was a weird thought. Better to just ignore it and move on. Narrations could be tricky sometimes, and he of all people knew that.

But either way! He was here to help. Be a buddy, whatever that meant.

It had been another perfect, beautifully sunny day, one in which Allan had been trying and failing to get Ken out of bed. Ken had begun staying in Stereotypical Barbie’s old place, as it was vacant, and already had quite a lot of Mojo Dojo Casa House decor, including the “manly” fur coat that Ken had draped over himself as a makeshift blanket as he grumbled about being woken up.

“Ken, come on.” Allan sighed, tugging at the end of the coat lightly but firmly, “We already told Pilot Barbie we’d be ready for your skydiving lesson at noon, we can’t miss that, or it’ll throw off our whole schedule. Remember? We even had a quick stop at the beach to try surfing again…!”

Allan had been meticulously planning their days filled to the brim with activities that might lead to Ken finding his true passion. Usually Ken was pretty gung-ho about the whole thing, but today seemed to be an off day. It was probably because yesterday he’d tried acting, and instead of impressing Director Barbie with his stunning talent, he’d ended up really crying for about an hour and they weren’t able to get any good footage out of it.

So here they were, at a stalemate in Barbie’s old bedroom.

Allan considered his option, his mind cycling through possibilities. He could simply rip the fur off of him to force him up, but that sounded harsh, and Ken needed a gentle touch right now.

Wait a minute.

Gentle… touch.

That gave him an idea!

So after a second more of contemplating if the possibility of revenge was worth it, Allan made his first move. He was just lucky enough that Ken’s leg happened to be sticking out from the bed, giving him the perfect opportunity to put his plan into motion. He pushed aside any hesitation and lurched forward, putting the other’s foot in what was essentially a headlock and sitting at the end of the bed.

“Wha- HEY-!” Ken was instantly sitting up, the coat having fallen away to reveal a particularly pink set of pajamas that would have matched with Barbie perfectly had she still been around.

“Sorry, but you wouldn’t get out of bed, so…” Allan shrugged, trying to suppress a smile as he utilized a persuasive skill Barbie Land had only picked up on when they last interacted with the real world- Tickling.

It wasn’t entirely new to them, of course, but the concept of a tickle *fight* was something so novel that it had been on Allan’s mind ever since Barbie had left, and this was as good an excuse as any to start one.

“AH- AhAhAllan! You can’t-!”

“Can’t what, help my buddy cheer up?” Allan teased as he scribbled away at the little divots in between his toes, though before he could say anything further, there was a flurry of movement that was too fast for him to catch in the moment.

When Allan next opened his eyes, he found that Ken was now firmly rested on top of him, holding both his arms above his head in one hand. Curse his stereotypically large and admirable muscles- there was no escaping such a grasp.

“No… I was gonna say you can’t expect me not to fight back,” Ken replied after he’d caught his breath with a more confident smirk this time, his free hand hovering over Allan’s unfortunately unbuttoned beach top menacingly.

“Whoa! Ken, heyyy, we can talk this out!” Allan babbled the moment he realized the predicament he was in, sinking into the softness of the bed below them with a nervous, borderline awkward laugh, “I was just- trying to get you up! And you’re up now! We can go!”

“Mmm. I don’t think that’s gonna work for me,” Ken’s hand was getting dangerously close to his ribs, which made Allan start squirming without him having even touched him yet.

“In fact… You were right, buddy. This is cheering me up already,” Ken added smugly, before his gently clawed his hands back and forth over his lower ribs like he was trying to feel every gap and ridge in his rib cage.

Allan immediately burst into frantic giggles that resembled a bird of paradise making alarm calls- they were by no means graceful or dignified, but there was no arguing it, they were adorable. There was even an interspersing of snorts and yelps that kept things fresh whenever Ken wandered a little lower down to vibrate his fingertips across his barely-visible abs. Speaking of which…

“WAIT NONONONO-!”

Ken’s eyebrows raised when Allan’s protests spiked, and he realized he must be getting close to a goldmine. He kept that same goofy smile, the one he always had when he was proud of himself for figuring something out. If Allan could focus on it, he’d probably melt, but he was too busy being reduced to breathless laughter as he begged for what seemed to be his life.

But what spot exactly might be causing such a reaction?

Well, as Ken was already quite pleased with his deduction skills, he was sure he’d figured it out. So he let his hand drift farther down, lightly tracing a line with the spider-like movement of his fingers to his upper belly. Aaaand Bingo.

“KEHEN!” Allan barked, attempting to fold in on himself like a beach chair.

Ken knew this spot must be the absolute worst for him, so he was careful not to take things too far. He kept his tickles light, and almost teasing, using his perfectly manicured nails to swirls little hearts and star shapes around his belly button, “Yeah, bro?”

Allan simply shook his head, eyes squeezed shut as he dug his heels into the bed as if to dispel some of the nerves. His open-mouthed laughter hadn’t let up much despite the change of pace, and his cheeks were now a bright shade of red. So Ken, being the kind and generous person he was, decided he’d had enough.

He slowed his movement to a stop, letting go of Allan’s wrists so he could prop himself up on his elbows above him with an affectionate smile. He rested his chin on the other’s chest, which made Allan tense up with the lightest of giggles at the way his stubble scratched at his topmost ribs.

“Feeheel any behehetter?” Allan managed to ask, looking down at him with a softer smile.

Ken thought about it for a moment before he hummed, his voice smooth and deep despite the strenuous battle, “Yeah. Definitely.”

Ken moved to stand up, hands on his hips as he looked out over Barbieland from their vantage point at the end of the block. To his surprise, Allan’s giddy laughter had caught the attention of quite a few neighbors, who gave him looks that came across as almost… relieved. Truth be told, everyone had been worried for Ken for some time now, but seeing, or more hearing, him be so carefree and mischievous, it was nice to see he hadn’t changed much.

Allan had to take a few more minutes to fully recover, though eventually he sat up with a deep breath, rolling his shoulders with a smile, “Gee. Remind me not to mess with you again.”

“Or- I dunno- maybe more often…?” Ken replied, his voice bordering on shy for once, “I wasn’t lying. It really did cheer me up, broski.”

And with that, Allan knew that he didn’t have anything to worry about after all. Ken was gonna be alright, even without Barbie, and even if the journey was longer than they anticipated. They would walk down that road together, wherever it was gonna take them. That’s what buddies are for.

[redfurrycat]

🐓🤠Not Navy - Still A Flyboy At Heart Fic Recs🤠🐓

Check the Top Gun Masterlist post for the latest updated version. 💕

*Any fic in which Jake/Bradley isn't a Navy Fighter Pilot, but is still connected to the sky somehow... Well, it's more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than an actual rule... :P

Ao3 Authors: Haridwar, Nickies_Nonsense, ProtectingH_ngm_n, ReformedTsundere, SunMonTue, Sycamoretree.

Navy - Not A Pilot!Bradley Bradshaw > Navy - Not A Pilot!Jake Seresin

Take Off by ReformedTsundere {G}

/Flight Attendant!Jake/

Jake is what the man's name tag reads when Bradley is able to force his eyes down. And if he gets a little lost, mapping what contours of the man's chest he can see beneath his uniform, that's between Bradley and no one else. Except... maybe Jake too, because when Bradley forces his eyes back up, the blonde is smirking, all amused. It's the kind of look someone has when they know they're attractive and are aware the person staring is thinking that same.

Wildfire by sycamoretree {E}

/Temporary Aerial Firefighters!Jake & Bradley/

Jake and Bradley are on a mission to beat a wildfire by aerial firefighting. But what dangers lie ahead?

we met and you claimed me by haridwar {M}

/Commercial Pilot!Bradley/

it seemed so natural, darling, that you and I are here

“Did we really do this?” Bradley asked. It was the first thing he had said since Jake’s brainwave and Jake was not a fan of how upset he sounded. “Are we- did we get married?” or: what happens in Vegas...

Second Chance by Nickies_Nonsense {T}

/Commercial Pilot!Bradley & ATC Operator!Jake/

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw leaves the US Navy after the mission with the daggers and starts a second career as a commercial airline pilot with Southwest Airlines. Little does he know that the Air Traffic Control operator Jake Seresin is about to become the most interesting part of his new job, drag Bradley out of his depression, and firmly implant himself into Bradley's new life whether he likes it or not - spoiler, he likes it.

You need to learn how to fall by SunMonTue {E}

/Skydiving Instructor!Bradley/

Bradley keeps growing past the 6'5" limit of being a naval aviator, Maverick lets out an internal sigh of relief. He's not going to be the one responsible for stopping Bradley from becoming a pilot. However, because karma is a cruel mistress, Bradley becomes a sky diver, specialising in spin recovery. Mav will never understand why his godson continually jumps out of perfectly good planes. Later Bradley's level of skill is such that he becomes a civilian contractor to the Airforce and Navy to teach pilots how to survive parachute spins from ejections. The Airforce contact Bradley first, it annoys Ice to no end.

Requesting clearance (to fall in love) by ProtectingH_ngm_n {G}

/Captain!Bradley & First Officer!Jake/

The first time was an accident. The second time was a coincidence. The third time was luck and the fourth time was planned. A fic with Captain Bradley Bradshaw and First Officer Jake Seresin

[emilythedog661-tf2]

Background Info of Spynequa and Dannie

So with the popularity of her and her boyfriend even when Spynequa was meant to be a joke character as i thought it was funny seeing spy in a wig, here is the background info of Spynequa and Dannie

First off is Spynequa

Name - Spynequa

Sexuality - Male to Female Trans and Bixsexual

Birth Name - Jules

Age - 39

Birthplace - France

Favourite Colour - Blue and Purple

Personality - Flirty, Sassy, Drama Queen, Says 'Darling, Chéri and Chérie' a lot, Kind, a Princess, spoilt and very Extroverted

Job - A Drag Queen, Actress and A Supermodel

Hobbies - Makes Clothes, Sewing, Reading and very athletic doing many sports

Story - Spynequa is in fact, Spy's Cousin, Her mother and Spy's mother are twins who married twins men and its why Spynequa looks like Spy, She also likes to act like Spy sometimes as a disguise so it why she also dresses as Spy, Spynequa was born a boy named Jules and it wasn't till she was 8 when she realises that she petered being a girl instead of a boy, of course, her family didn't approve of this due to the time period so she hid her trans transition as she was taking trans pills in secret taking trans pills till she moved out at 19 to her own place, when she moved out, she sadly couldn't have boobs but she didn't mind as her Spy cover would be blown if she had them, Spynequa is now a successful fashion star, model and actress which she showers over to the point she does act a little entitled and spoilt, she still keep in close contact with Spy now and again and the pair do favours for each other with only a cousin's day out in return, Spynequa also has Dannie who she met at a Plane show 5 years ago, to her, he was handsome and really cute so she asked him out which he agreed instantly which made her happy and a little confused on why he accepted right away, the pair are how happy together and they hope to get married soon and have kids before they reach their 40s, Spynequa is a happy woman and she always thanks Spy for it as if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't get to where she is today.

Now for Dannie

Name - Dannie

Sexuality - Female to Male Trans and Bisexual

Birth Name - Danielle

Age - 34

Birthplace - Scotland and raised in Ireland 

Favoirite Colour - Indigo, Blue and Orange

Personality - Cocky, Naive, Daredevil, Kind, Sweet, Mentally Drained by People, A little Lazy and slightly egotistical

Job - Plane Driver and StuntDevil

Hobbies - Flying Planes, Driving Cars, Driving Boats, SkyDiving, Stunt Double for Movies and TV Shows and Dancing

Story - Dannie is somewhat related to Demoman being the niece to Demoman's aunt who married into the family, Dannie was born a girl named Danielle and he really wanted to be a pilot like his dad but due to him being born girl, he couldn't get far as woman were 'meant to cook, clean and have babies' according to his grandfather, so, in secret, he started disguising himself as a man to get his pilot licence which worked until he realises that he loved being a man so he started the transition from female to male, by the time Dannie was 20, he had his boobs removed and grow facial hair but for some reason, couldn't bring himself to have his uterus removed so he kept it and still had periods every month, Dannie was 29 when he met Spynequa while Spynequa was 34 and Dannie thought Spynequa looked beautiful which is why he accepted Spynequa's date offer, the pair hit it off and it wasn't till 6 months of dating where Dannie revealed he was trans to Spynequa, Spynequa was first stunned to hear Dannie was Trans as he didn't look trans at all but then she accepted him and the pair have been closer since, Dannie hopes in the future, he will propose to Spynequa and will happily have with her if she wants any.

Bonus - Both Spynequa and Dannie haven't really met the other mercenaries that Spy and Demoman are working with but they do know that Spy and Demo are in the same Mercenary Job and they also know that Spy and Demoman are dating which they think a cute.

That's all to Spynequa and Dannie, i hope you like their backstory and i'll see you all soon for more SFM pictures

[tumblasha]

sports review: skydiving (boston skydive center)

if your friends jumped off a plane, would you do that too? yeah :D

overall rating: ★★★★★/5

it was so fun!!! i really think that everyone should go skydiving at least once in their lifetime if they're able to

but i'd be lying if i said that i wasn't about to shit my pants starting the week before the event up until i got off the bus that Took us to the skydiving field in general. once i finished signing all of the waivers [1] and got geared up, i simply accepted any fate that would follow me

let's dedicate a section of this review to eric, the skydiving instructor that i was tied to and led the diving. he's an interesting 30-ish y/o white man from north carolina with a lot of energy. he kept doing that thing where he just said a lot of jokes (dark humor, not a big surprise) about how jumping off a plane will be fine, cool, chill. at one point while we were in this small sus plane, he made a clicking noise with some of the gear and said these lovely words

if you hear this click as we're falling down the sky, that's just me quitting my job

this man was overall funny and transformed all of my nervous energy into Calmness [2]. i'm glad that he and juan (the pilot of the plane) were able to make my day so fun :)) what was less fun was eric sorta jumping off the plane without telling me he was gonna do that, re-enactment by haku from spirited away below

once i made it back to the ground i took a bunch of polaroid pics with my pals (asantoss and K) and laid on the grass while the rest of the seniors finished skydiving. 10/10 would do it again

here's a link to me being all silly as i skydive

---

[1] the things we signed off on were So Interesting. "i can confirm that my private parts will be touched ... i will have a higher exposure to covid ... i will not sue if the equipment malfunctions" AND MORE

[2] a nervous laugh a day keeps the nervousness away!

[alexanderossis]

for the prompt thing: 25+26 for gewis

(I miss your aus so so much, I’ve been rereading your gewis aus on ao3 this past few days cuz I love them

25. “You’re alright, love. You’re okay.” + 26. “Just breathe. Like that. That’s it.”

Skydiving babyyyyyy

George may have girl bossed too close to the sun.

He just wanted to spend more time with his boyfriend, doing things his boyfriend likes. They'd tried surfing, which George wasn't too shabby at, but Lewis had certainly shown him up.

And there are plenty of other very pretty boys who will take Lewis up on his skydiving idea, so George just needs to step up and prove that he can do it.

But he can't do it.

Now, he's sitting against the wall of a plane, extremely high up in the air, remembering that he resolutely does not like heights, and specifically, falling from them.

Lewis is next to him, taking up space like he does when he's relaxed, talking animatedly with the pilot and George thinks he's doing a good job of hiding it.

He's not.

"George," Lewis turns his attention to the younger man next to him, "You're shaking."

George opens his mouth to respond, but there's no air, and he can't breathe and is this what it feels like to die?

He feels more than sees Lewis move next to him.

"Just breathe," Lewis murmurs, his hand grasping George's and resting them over Lewis' own chest. He wills George to feel the breath and match it.

But George can't focus, the sounds of the plane too loud, he feels each and every waver the plane takes.

"You're alright, love. You're okay." Lewis repeats, almost like a mantra, and George's brain starts to pick that out of the fog, latching onto the familiar voice.

He can feel the heat of Lewis' hand on his, the rise and fall of Lewis' chest where they are touching.

"Like that. That's it. You're so good, you're so good, sweetheart." The praise washes over George and he feels something loosen in his chest.

This is Lewis that he's with.

Lewis, who's only ever shown him unconditional love. Lewis who has only ever kept him safe, only ever had their best interests at heart.

He can feel the anxiety settling as Lewis rubs his thumb across the inside of George's wrists.

"You okay?" Lewis asks, "We don't have to do this."

"No no," George bites his lip, "I trust you."

Lewis beams at him, and that alone is enough to banish any remaining fear he has as they line up at the door.

When they land on the ground in one piece, Lewis wraps George up in the biggest hug, jumping up and down, the parachute billowing out behind him. And sure, maybe it wasn't the most enjoyable thing George has ever done, but he'd do it a thousand times over to see that smile again.

I just love making George suffer lol. Enjoy anon! Hope this is what you wanted :)

[theoriginalmarke]

MADE UP MONDAY

I'm not a doctor but I have done a heart transplant. It was a long time ago but I remember it just like it was yesterday.

I was on a transAtlantic flight. The pending transplant recipient was on the same flight, on his way to see a specialist. In a strange coincidence, there was a heart being transported too. All wrapped up in a special transAtlantic transport cooler.

The pilot was hungover and forgot to gas up this jet before we left. We had to make an emergency landing on a small tropical island. I had to help with that, too. He was too busy filling an airsickness bag so I had to step up and do his job.

So we had a successful landing, but the stress was too much for the heart patient and the old heart just gave out. Everyone was panicking but I drew on my years of experience of playing Operation to save the man.

I knew the Broken Heart was next to the Wish Bone and above the Spare Ribs and the Butterflies in the Stomach. I went to work, replacing the bad ticker with the fresh one out of the box. I had to use sterilized mechanic's tools instead of surgeon's instruments, but got it done.

It was a success, of course. I patched him up, sobered up the pilot, and we continued on our way. Last I heard the guy was still running marathons, skydiving, and alligator wrestling on weekends.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go show my doctor how to fix a funny bone.

I love you, baby. We'll play doctor soon. MWAH!

Y'all have a great day.

[beyourselfchulanmaria]

This Is the Story Behind 'A Door in the Sky'

Ever wondered what it took for the Soul Flyers to jump off a mountain and into a plane? Well, wonder no more. We've got the full story.

By Paul Gallo Published on 06/28/2019

A Door in the Sky in numbers

Height: Start from 13,300 feet above sea level and a 10,500-foot drop

Door size：5 feet x 4 feet Time spent training：4 months Attempted entries into the plane：20 Number of flights：About 100 Air temp：5 degrees at the time of the jump

A member of the Soul Flyers, Frédéric Fugen (France) is one of the most talented and innovative skydivers, wingsuit pilots and BASE jumpers on the planet.

Vince Reffet (France) was one half of the Soul Flyers, a duo who led the way in the world of aerial adventures.

In November 2017, Fred Fugen and Vince Reffet, the duo known as the Soul Flyers, accomplished something next level. From a peak at 13,000-plus feet above sea level, the two wingsuiters managed to fly through the narrow door of a plane in flight, launched at 91 mph.

However, before the project even began, it nearly didn't take off. Here's the full story of what went down for the film.

February 2017: Reffet wakes up in the early morning with the remains of a crazy dream, inspired by skydiving pioneer, Patrick de Gayardon, who, in 1997, jumped out of a flying plane in a wingsuit to then land in the very same plane. Fugen, in his underwear and messy hair, listens when Reffet tells him. "We have to do it, but starting from a cliff."

In June, the Soul Flyers traveled to Spain with two goals: to fly as close as possible to an aircraft (obviously, without hitting the propeller) and to succeed in entering through the side: a 5 foot by 4 foot window.

"We first trained in Spain, where we would jump out of the plane and go back inside," Fugen explained. "We made a lot of attempts to get there. We managed to get into it several times each to practice doing it in 'plane jump' mode. That means with normal parachutes, with rescue, safety systems, and away from the ground. The key was to be synchronised with the plane's movement," Fugen added.

"During the first session in Spain, Fred managed to get in, and I failed," Reffet said. "I hurt my ribs trying to get in, so I wasn't feeling good at the time. At this point, we figured there was no point in continuing. It felt like the odds were against us and there was nothing we could about it."

When we started training, we thought it would be easier, but then we realised it was complicated and very mental. You had to be fully focused, with aiming targets.

-Fred Fugen-

For this kind of feat, the preparation must be optimal to achieve getting back into the flying plane, so the guys took a month off to recuperate and focus.

"We did another session a month later," Reffet continued. "Now, we were better, we settled our stuff, and it paid off. The first day, we got back into the plane. I entered first, and then Fred. We checked the parachutes to see if everything was okay, jumped again, and came back into the plane again."

Then, in mid-October, the Soul Flyers jumped off a cliff, 13,000 feet above sea level, flew 15.5 miles further and finally jumped back into the door of the flying plane. The rest, as they say, is history.

"It was a big job, the most intense project of our lives," Fugen admitted. "It was hard, there was technique, concentration, and there was a lot of work to do on the equipment. But, we don't need to tell you how worth it it was."

[flyingschool01]

Commercial Pilot License Training Courses in Australia

If you wish to earn by flying an airplane you need to acquire a license. You can fly for both commercial and private purposes if you have a CPL. By finishing their CPL training, pilots will keep developing their skills. A Commercial Pilots Licence Australia may fly an aircraft as pilot-in-command for pay or hire and transport people or things for pay or hire. To put it another way, having a commercial pilot's license signifies that you can work as a pilot for compensation.

The following are the minimal prerequisites for a CPL:

At least 18 years old, Class 1 Aviation medical, and ICAO English Grade 4 are needed, at the absolute minimum. A commercial Pilot Licence Australia requires a minimum of 165 flight hours overall, in addition to the previously listed qualifications, but this number varies from country to country.

Career options after obtaining a commercial pilot's license

This all needs to be re-written – delete all below and use headings as follows – please add some description of each job

Charter Pilot

Flying Instructor

Business Jet Pilot

Agricultural / Crop Dusting pilot

Tour guide pilot

Airline pilots for regional, domestic, International  or freight airlines

Cargo pilot

Air Ambulance pilot

Banner towing pilot

Pilot for skydivers

Pilot for police force, emergency services

Pilot for fire fighting

The military is another option. They perform the duties of test pilots, flying new prototypes and testing aircraft. A pilot may also collaborate with famous people or businessmen.

An experimental test pilot is tasked with testing freshly constructed and modified aircraft that have been fitted with certain equipment known as flight test procedures. This Pilot Licence Australia has additional flying training.

Co-Pilot: A co-pilot is an officer who assists the pilot while he or she is in the air. This assistance includes managing radio communications, providing navigational assistance, and collaborating with the pilot to complete various flight-related checklists. In the lack of a cockpit, the pilot can operate the vehicle as a co-pilot while taking turns.

Pilots who are stationed at their bases are under the supervision of the chief pilot. This covers preparation, traveling, and personal issues. On union-related matters and disciplinary actions, a chief pilot represents the business. He or she also does administrative tasks and maintains flight equipment.

Captain: The person in charge of the safe and effective operation of the aircraft is known as the airline captain. He or she must make sure that all details about the intended route, the weather, the passengers, and the aircraft are properly received. This data must be used by the skipper to plan flights.

Commuter Pilot: These days, it's not unusual for a pilot to choose a job in the region where they were born. This is mostly done to ensure that the pilot may continue to go to his or her favorite location to fulfill personal, familial, financial, and any other obligations that place a certain destination as a must.

First Officer: The first officer is the captain's available second-in-command and a certified commander officer. If the captain becomes incapacitated, the first officer will assume control of the aircraft.

Airlines often require that applicants have a minimum of a Commercial Pilots Licence Australia with Multi Engine Endorsement and Instrument Rating. These credentials are supplied by the most well-liked courses among students, the Australian National Airline College Diploma Commercial Pilot Licence-Aeroplane and the Aviation Course Diploma.

[kleexfly]

Aviation Jobs. Recruitment services for airline pilots & aviation professionals.

[tgmsunmontue]

You need to learn how to fall 2/10

Hangster (and IceMav) - Bradley is too tall to be a naval aviator and instead becomes a sky diver, specialising in spin recovery. He is a civilian contractor to the Airforce and Navy to teach pilots how to survive parachute spins from ejections. A more in-depth version of this post.

PROLOGUE

2003-2006 – The early years

                “Your son is very focused. His discipline is admirable. He’s going to go far. He’s going to be our youngest certified tandem skydiver.”

                Pete’s throat works, because it’s not the first time someone has called Bradley his, but hearing someone else talk about his skill… to sound impressed not only with Bradley but also as a reflection of Pete’s own efforts. He didn’t realize he needed someone external telling him he’d done a good job, but here it is anyway.

                “I’m Navy. He’s been brought up in a fairly disciplined household.”

                “He mentioned that actually. He never thought about joining the service?”

                “He’s too tall.”

                “What?”

                “To be a naval aviator. I’m a naval aviator.”

                “Clearly didn’t get his height from you.”

                “No…” Pete says dryly, doesn’t bother mentioning the convoluted relationship that he and Bradley have.

                “So what, he jumps out of planes instead of flying them?”

                “Oh, he can fly them too. He’s been flying since he was 14. Perk of having a whole bunch of honorary uncles willing to fly him up and getting him his flight hours. Unfortunately he can’t both pilot the plane and then jump out of it,” Pete says.

                “He’s a lucky kid.”

                Mav hopes he remains lucky.

…             …             …

                It’s become second nature, either of them able to also carry out the safety checks and make sure that Bradley has definitely done everything. He never misses anything and it soothes a part of Tom, knowing Bradley takes his own health and safety seriously. There is no cutting corners or rushing through anything. They never talk about Goose, but he wonders if he thinks about his father every time he checks the stitching for wear, every time he runs his hands over the fabric and checks for tears before rolling it carefully to ensure it unfurls correctly while he’s plummeting toward the earth.

                They all learn about static lines and accelerated freefall, and things have changed since he was in flight school. The materials they use now are much more durable. All of Bradley’s gifts are centered around skydiving. Tom becomes fairly knowledgeable around the entire process, another set of regulations to add to his already encyclopedic knowledge of Naval regulations. He somehow becomes friendly with a couple of the higher ups in the FAA and he becomes known around the airstrip as Ice, most people not realizing exactly who he is. He admits it to himself that he likes it, that he’s just a guy who knows a lot about planes. Added to that is the US Parachute Association and Tom has a new map in his study showing all the drop zones in the state as well as the neighboring states.

                Neither of them had intended to become this involved but neither of them say anything to each other. Tom has had to check with several people about potential conflicts of interest, but it’s agreed that he is, first and foremost, a naval aviator, so if he wants to fly a private plane on his own time that’s allowable, as long as he’s meeting all the FAA regulations. The FAA make a special dispensation (his new friends doing him this favor), allowing them to sign off flight hours, but neither of them are officially instructors. They do both become FAA-certified parachute riggers though.

                It’s through one guy he knows in the FAA that he acquires the hangar. It’s an old Navy one, but Pete’s been making noises about wanting to renovate a P-51 Mustang he keeps seeing for sale, but how he’s got nowhere to keep it. They could store another plane there too, Bradley’s sky-diving one in the future. It seems like it’s definitely going to happen, Bradley making a business plan and presenting it to them and asking to have his parent’s life insurance money to help him purchase a plane. Tom can give their planes a home, so he purchases the hangar and gives it to them a joint fortieth birthday gift for Mav and graduation present for Bradley.

                A different plane comes into their life a little earlier than anticipated, although none of them have to buy it. Pete comes to an agreement with one of Bradley’s instructors. They’ll store the plane in their currently empty hangar in exchange for being able to use it to take Bradley up for jumps, paying for fuel and carrying out the checks and maintenance. Somehow word gets around – there are two pilots capable of signing off flight hours. They can count as solo flights as they aren’t instructors. Others wanting to jump out of planes arrange times with Bradley.

                He hasn’t spent so much time in the air since flight school and he loves every moment, regardless of whether he’s piloting or doing the checks before Bradley does his jumps. His relationship with Mav has settled into an easier less-volatile thing, maybe his promotion to Rear Admiral has made him feel less threatened by the potential fallout if anyone decides to voice their concerns about his relationship with Pete.

…             …             …

                “I’ve done it. The five-hundred jumps, more than three years in sky diving, done more than fifty jumps in the last year, got my medical and I’ve got more than 8 hours of freefall time logged. I can apply for the Tandem course now…”

                “Proud of you. You’ve been working towards this for a long time.”

                “Thank you! For taking me up and buying the hangar, and just… thank you so much. I know you and Mav both don’t really get it, but you’ve never made me feel like I didn’t have your support this entire time.”

                “It’s what parents do. Good parents that is.”

                He throws his arms around Ice then, hugs him tightly and doesn’t let go.

                “The best parents.”

2007-2010 - The middle years (NEXT PART)

[stokednomads0]

How to Become a Skydiving Instructor

Skydiving for a living. It is extra than a pipe dream: it’s a manner of life. Around the world, skydiving teachers have grown to become an ardour they love right into a viable manner to provide an income. Honestly, can you believe you studied any process that would be cooler than turning into a skydiving instructor?

If you haven’t even made your first soar yet, this could appear to be the stuff fantasies are made of, however we’ll have you ever know, each certainly considered one among our teachers began out proper wherein you are: they have been inquisitive about skydiving and desired to look wherein it is able to lead. Since we’ve been given a bird’s eye view, right here is the route you want to follow to emerge as a skydiving instructor.

Step One: Your First Skydiving Jump

Every adventure, irrespective of how exhausting or lofty, will usually start with simply one step. On your adventure to turning into a skydiving trainer, your first step could be your first jump. For the bulk of people, the primary advent to skydiving comes with a tandem skydive. On a tandem skydive, you're connected through a harness to a skilled skydiving instructor who could be in charge of the parachute equipment. If you've got got questions, ask away. Our skydive instructors like to fan the flames after they feel a person housing a spark of ardour for the sky.

A seasoned tip: experience this primary time skydiving experience, it'll continue to be a loved reminiscence lengthy after you’ve attained your purpose of turning into a skydive instructors.

Step Two: Learning to Skydive

Just as your instructional profession turned into a development from getting to know the alphabet and relying on your hands to the use of a written shape of communique and the use of the ones equal numbers in more and more more complicated ways, so too, will you develop as you discover ways to skydive. At Skydive Perris, we use an attempted and genuine approach of skydiving practice referred to as the Accelerated Freefall Program. The software itself includes 7 one-of-a-kind ranges of skillability that a pupil should obtain. Before a pupil makes their first skydive within side the AFF software, they'll be supplied with a 4-6 hour floor education and a pair of flights in our indoor skydiving simulator.

Once the 7 ranges are finished, the pupil could be cleared to skydive solo. From right here the pupil will want to finish the subsequent necessities to obtain their A skydiving license:

25 overall skydives (the 7 AFF jumps, educate jumps, and any preceding tandem skydives may be counted closer to this requirement),

at the least five educate jumps finished with a USPA licensed educate to broaden superior flying skills,

a low altitude skydive,

a parachute packing class,

and the final touch of an oral and written exam.

Step Three: Get Those Skydiving Ratings

As a brand new skydiver, you'll have a starvation for the game as a way to appear like it may by no means be satiated. This sort of urge for food for altitude is simply what you want to paintings towards acquiring your numerous skydiving licenses and academic skydiving ratings.

Before turning into a full-fledged tandem skydive instructors, you’ll want to construct each your coaching capabilities and your skydiving capabilities. Both are performed via means of attending a USPA Coach Course and earning your USPA Coach score. 

Remember the ones teach jumps that had been referred to above as a demand for acquiring the A skydiving license? They are every finished with an person who has this precise academic skydiving score. The USPA Coach score lets in an person to leap with non-certified skydivers who've been cleared for self-supervision to assist them expand their flight capabilities and put together them for his or her personal skydiving career! Plus, this score is a required prerequisite for turning into a skydive instructors.

That’s right: even after this enormous achievement, the adventure isn’t over. Being a skydive instructors is a large responsibility, and due to the fact you’ll be in fee of the nicely being of every tandem pupil you soar with, there are strict score requirements. In order to come to be a tandem skydive instructors, you'll want to accrue 500 skydives, attend a tandem schooling direction authorized via way of means of the USA Parachute Association, gain a USPA D- License, have three years in the game, steady an FAA Class III Medical, and as referred to above, gain a USPA Coach Rating.

How long does it take to become a skydiving instructor?

We won’t lie: the adventure of turning into a skydive instructors takes time (no less than 3 years in case you need to be a tandem trainer), however you won’t need to tour far. You can complete each step of your adventure to turning into a skydive instructors right here at Skydive Perris. From a ultimate skydiving faculty to often scheduled score courses, Skydive stoked nomads is capable of getting your goals of getting a skydiving instructor jobs and become a skydive instructors off the floor and within side the air.

All it takes is that first step. Book your first tandem skydive today!

[emilieautumnarchives]

Stark Raving Sane: 100 Things You Don't Know About Me

Archived from EA Online. Posted July 21, 2022.

Your girl during the Opheliac recording sessions. I’d been wearing the cheek heart for a couple of years already.

Dearest Inmates,

It’s been quite a (past several) month(s), and I’ve had so many “important” things gavotting in my brain that I couldn’t decide which ought to come out first. And so, I’m choosing the only sensible option and not posting any of them. Instead, let us take refuge in a moment of flippant frivolity with this list of, yes, 100 things you definitely don’t know about me (and one you might).

If you follow along below, you’re going get all sorts of knowledge treats, from bizarre jobs I’ve had to achievements of profound embarrassment (see the piano bar thing). Is this worth your time? No.

Shall we begin?

I’ve been skydiving three times.

My fingers are double jointed (I’ve had to come up with some violin techniques of my own to manage).

My first job was at age 7, refilling the ink in the markers at an art studio. (I could fill hundreds of pens without spilling a drop, so I clearly missed my calling.)

I am chill as ice in a crisis.

However, I am terrified of swimming pools (that’s going to be a problem later this year, wait for it).

I passionately hate sweating.

The very first time I travelled anywhere was to perform in England at age 12. (I vividly remember the painfully shy and friendless me going wild at being away from home for the first time, running up and down the hotel hallway all night long, trickling tea out the 20th floor window to get people to look up at me, and getting into a great deal of trouble for all of it. To which I ask, HOW was I not diagnosed as bipolar until age 27?)

My favorite flowers are gardenias.

I’ve been “asked to leave” an upscale piano bar and was “not welcome back.”

One of my greatest dreams is to go to the tea fields in China and be allowed to help pick the leaves. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but I’m determined.

I’ve never smoked a cigarette or done drugs of any kind, and can confidently state that I never will. (Do people still say “done drugs”?)

I am extremely introverted by nature and still have occasional trouble leaving the house to encounter other humans (though I try not to indulge myself in this).

The Opheliac album was written and recorded before I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and sent to an asylum, not after.

I suffered from chronic, blinding migraines from my early childhood until my early adulthood (which means that I’ve had to do a good many violin competitions without being able to see). The migraines morphed into ulcers by my early 20s because your girl had zero stress/anger management skills at the time (solved).

I love reptiles, and have raised iguanas, chameleons, and frogs.

I was supposed to die of leukemia at age 2 (or so the doctors forewarned). I didn’t. (This is the “thing about me” you might already know.)

I was given my first pair of tweezers at age 11 (but not told what to do with them, which lead to many, many years of questionable eyebrows, and I think I’ve only just now figured them out, she says nervously).

I used to design and program websites for a living (before I could survive from music alone).

I’ve written two screenplays and the pilot for a TV series (you’ll be hearing more about this soon;).

When I was small and my family was losing their home, I offered to make jewelry and sell it in the driveway to help raise funds so we could stay. (My offer was not received kindly, so we’ll never know if I could have single-handedly saved the proverbial farm with my beaded earrings, will we?)

Back to eyebrows, now that I’ve nailed them (she says now oddly arrogant), if I’m having my makeup done on a film set or photo shoot, I’ll let the makeup artists do everything up to the brows, which I’ll then do myself.

I plan to get a PhD in neuroscience in my much wiser age, say perhaps 80-ish.

I’ve had one massage ever and being touched absolutely freaked me out and I’ll never do it again.

I am absolutely obsessed with crosswords (but only the most difficult ones, meaning that, if I can solve it without cheating, I’m not interested).

If you call one of the most prominent corporations in Chicago, the voice you’ll hear on all of the automated prompts is mine (it takes an entire 2 days to record ALL numbers, letters, commonly used words, phrases, etc.)

I once very nearly burnt down a house doing a “magic spell” in bed.

My father was raised in an orphanage in Germany before immigrating to America. (That one wasn’t about me was it, but hey ho.)

I’ve been full-blown punched in the face, bloody nose and all (school bully didn’t appreciate my sticking up for another girl).

I locked myself in the bathroom and cried when Carl Sagan passed. (Also for Jim Henson, also for Steven Hawking. Yes, I am always looking for a father, I’m aware, no need to point it out.)

Oh! How could I forget! Years later, I was punched in the face AGAIN and given a fractured nose, this time in a stage combat class with a less-than-conscientious gentleman student for a fight partner (this is why my snout is a bit crooked).

At 8, I shoplifted a bar of surfboard wax just to see how easy it was (it was very easy, and I turned right around and brought it back).

I was temp working as the receptionist for a major radio station when I received an email from the music programmer and show host, asking if “EA’s album” (my teenage one) could be sent to him at the station so that he could play a song from it on air. The next morning, I handed the CD to him personally as he passed my desk to go to his office. I’ve never seen anyone more baffled.

I’ve never kept track of my periods, preferring, apparently, to be surprised. I always am.

As a child, I rarely wore shoes, and would show up to orchestra rehearsal barefoot. It was only when a conductor said to me in front of everyone, “we really have to find you some shoes” that I even noticed.

I have the math skills of a 5th grader (at best).

I temp worked for two weeks as the head of reception for the Starbucks headquarters. (Pros: I got to go into the testing room on breaks and concoct my own drinks, my signature being an iced soy mint thing. Cons: I had to physically make the coffee for the entire office. Not stressful.)

I’m a maximalist who dreams of being a minimalist but accepts that it’s never going to happen.

I used to make all of my own clothes before time became scarce/non-existent, all because I had it in my head that I could never wear the same thing as anyone else, but must always be utterly unique. (It would take me a few more years to learn that what made me unique had nothing to do with what I wore.)

I used to make my own kombucha (as in three months ago, when I thought I’d have time for one more task - turns out I don’t). All of my cultures were called Jeffrey. The last batch is on the Asylum kitchen counter, and Jeffrey has grown to fill the whole jar. I don’t know what to do with him.

I’ve had apartments I’ve lived in broken into and robbed three times (one of which I was in when the intruders...um...intruded).

I’ve passed an entire night in a booth at a 24-hour Dunkin’ Donuts (following one of the break-ins mentioned above, when the sledgehammer the intruders had used left me without a doorknob and I knew they were going to come back - they did).

All of the costumes I made/wore whilst performing with Courtney Love were sewn by hand using scraps from curtains, bedsheets, and a wedding dress obtained from a Salvation Army shop on Chicago’s South Side where I lived at the time. (The wedding dress creation became the cover of my “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun / Bohemian Rhapsody” EP.)

I once worked as a house painter (interiors).

When I meet a really nice stranger (which is often), I’m buzzing about it the rest of the day. (I feel like it’s my reward for pushing myself out of my introverted comfort zone.)

I’ve bought something off of a 3AM infomercial (it was a makeup airbrush system and it broke).

I once (alright, several times) hid in a small closet for three hours so that people knocking on my room (when I lived with four gentlemen in a basement) would think I was out. Fun fact: They knew I was in there the whole time. They always knew.

My childhood idol was Queen Elizabeth I. I particularly admired that she never married or had children.

My favorite Shakespeare play is Twelfth Night (everything thinks it’s Hamlet for obvious reasons).

My favorite authors are Virginia Woolf, Daphne du Maurier, and Shirley Jackson (that they are all women is nothing more than a joyous coincidence).

I plan to live in Somerset (UK) in the future, which happens to be my ancestral home on my British side.

My first crush was on Felix Mendelssohn, who had been dead since 1847.

I once went to a New Orleans psychic to ask about my sexuality. (And then performed at the House of Blues three hours later.)

I was hanging out in a jazz club with violinist Nigel Kennedy (eons ago, aged 16-ish), and he handed me his kazillion-dollar Stradivarius so that I could have a turn soloing with the house band. And guess what? I couldn’t accept it because I’d just had my hand bitten trying to save an eel’s life and had temporary nerve damage in said hand.

I don’t have a driver’s license because, whilst on my learner’s permit, I was plowed into by an SUV running a red light through an intersection, and I determined not to try again. (With so many other challenges I’d like to rise to, I think it’s fair to pick my battles.)

I still have the hospital gown and the red crayon from my psych ward stay where the Asylum book was written. Also the spiral notebook. Also an IV tube and a teabag wrapper.

I cook for my dog twice a day. Alright, mostly Scorps does, but I do when he’s away, such as right now.

My favorite color is sage green.

I grew up swearing that I would never sing, and only started because I had developed vocal nodes (don’t ask) and, unable to afford the surgery recommended at the time, thought I might try to heal myself by strengthening my throat somehow, i.e. singing my own secret compositions strictly in private (not science based, just had a hunch, I was a teen without internet, and also it worked).

The “dog who found me” was a Weimaraner called Ernie.

Until I was 25, I thought that literally everyone had synesthesia (which I didn’t know had a name) and saw/heard/thought things in exactly the same way I did. (I still don’t believe that the number 8 isn’t green to everybody.)

I am a gold belt in Karate.

The quality I most value in a person is loyalty.

A higher-up at Ford Models once approached me/gave me her card/asked me to call her about pursuing modeling. I thanked her for the compliment, but told her she needed to see something. And then I stood up. “Ohhhhhh,” she said. (I’m 5’4”.)

While on a US tour, I was stopping into a Walgreens when a scout from American Idol approached and tried to get me to join the auditions being held across the street. He never asked what I did for a living.

The first thing I ever won was an art contest at age 6. The prize was a Christian Bible. I read it.

The second thing I ever won was a grade 4 school typing competition.

Which should confirm your suspicion that I have never been popular.

Or had actual friends.

Until my 20s.

I wrote much of the Opheliac album in a tiny notebook whilst working as a greeter in a real estate office. I would show people the building models, write in a corner when they left, then go and record all night.

I still have the tiny notebook. I’m holding it right now. It has “I Know Where You Sleep” in it.

During that time, I supplemented my greeter income to pay my basement apartment rent by making sarcastic collage art and selling it on eBay. I still can’t believe anyone bought them. A massive thank you to those misguided people.

I recorded all of “Marry Me” in my basement bedroom years before I met any of you.

I’m often told I sound South African. I always say “thank you,” then explain that I’m just eccentric.

Annie Lennox is the only singer I have, in my youth, consciously tried to copy.

As a child, I was utterly determined to solve the puzzle in the Kit Williams book Masquerade, and spent countless hours toiling over it. I was devastated when I learned that someone had already dug up the treasure.

I used to have a golden stripper pole in my living room because I was developing an act where I pole danced whilst playing the violin. When I moved house, I couldn’t get the pole down. The landlord charged me for it.

I’ve studied broadsword fighting.

I struggle not to break a dish each time I see something published without an Oxford comma where an Oxford comma NEEDS TO BE FOR THE SENTENCE TO MAKE ANY SENSE!

That said, I no longer actually get annoyed at almost anything because I have come to experience every moment as a flipping miracle that took 4.54 billion years to create, whether I actively “enjoy” what I am experiencing or not.

I have a weird technique to get things done when I am overwhelmed and getting everything done seems/is actually impossible: I add another thing. Learning German for example. That way, the newly added thing will be the thing to go in a pinch, not everything else. Another example: I am more overwhelmed than I have ever been ever, which is why, starting TODAY, I am committing to a daily blog post here at SRS for one week. Can I do it? Probably not. But that will mean that I am most likely getting all the other things done.

I dislike sports or even games where there is a winner because that means someone has to be a loser and that makes me sad.

Which is one of the reasons I really like puzzles.

Having already lived far longer than I ever expected to, I’ve become completely fascinated by the fields of health span and longevity, and have changed so very much about my daily life by putting what I have learned into practice. Focusing on, heaven forbid, sleep is an enormous part of this. (I may write about this further in another post, but in the meantime, check out these books by Matthew Walker and David Sinclair.)

As a child, I performed in retirement homes quite often, to entertain the residents and gain performance experience. It was wonderful.

I also often performed at inner city schools in Los Angeles, where I had the privilege of playing for/learning about/getting to know kids my own age who might not have had the opportunity to see a violin up close or listen to Mozart live before. It was incredible.

My favorite word is “rubbish.”

My favorite biscuit is a McVities Chocolate Digestive. Sadly, I never eat them anymore because no sugar. But I do wear them as a watch.

I once took a hip-hop dance class. I don’t want to talk about it.

One night, whilst walking in Russia with my crew (still one of my greatest honors to meet the Russian Plague Rats on tour), two men appeared behind us and grabbed the sweatshirt hood of one of my crew members, then attempted to pull him into a dark alley. Without thinking, I lunged at them and shouted “BACK OFF” in a voice that sent them running. My crew member still believes I saved his life. And I still believe there is a demon inside me.

I was once told I looked like a horse. I was so confused by this that it didn’t even hurt my feelings. Also, I’m a horse person.

Speaking of which, I’ve trained a three-year-old thoroughbred ex-racehorse to jump 5-foot+ Olympic-grade fences and not kill me.

I’ve never been on a vacation.

I once prank-called the operator using a payphone at an ice-skating rink (I very honestly just wanted to know what it would feel like to do something “bad” at age 7). We ended up talking for 20 minutes. I hope she’s doing well.

I also play the viola (which I learned only so that I could play Bach’s Brandenburg 6th), as well as the treble viola de gamba.

I once asked the school librarian for the scariest book she had (I practically lived there). Bless her, she very, very reluctantly handed 8-year-old me Pet Semetary. I loved it.

I’ve been told multiple times that I have a great handshake (it’s apparently “very firm and comforting”).

When I ask people how they are doing, I legitimately mean it, and always feel honored if they entrust me with an honest answer.

I’m terrified of the telephone (traumatic stalker experience as a teen, working on it though because it’s getting quite old), and I don’t do email. If someone needs to find me, they’ll find me. But it won’t be easy.

My nom de plume is Lydia deWinter. And now I can never use it again.

Bonus Fact: I have no regrets.

I now pass the spoon to you, my dear Ratties! What are 100 things people don’t know about you?

For me, the secret value of this exercise has been the recollection of things that I had forgotten, and my little “story of me” seems richer for the remembering.

[tennessoui]

I just love how you casually put in the tags that TA AU Anakin and Obi-Wan switch who's top or bottom when I was thinking the same from the first post you made about this AU.

Just saying, but can Anakin be even cooler? Like, maybe one time Anakin gets on campus on a bike. Then somehow someone finds out he skydives and Anakin is just like "oh yeah, I kinda had to learn how to fall from the sky since I'm a pilot"...

Like it just keeps getting wilder and wilder and there's all kinds of rumors about it on campus and Obi-Wan is like "actually that's not true/that's true". Because he knew all about it already.

(He might have stalked Anakin's social media after getting drunk that day with the tattoo reveal... He was just searching for a good reason why it would never work with Anakin. He made it worse instead.)

sometimes i gotta put in the tags they switch just as a reminder that unless stated otherwise in a fic, they're going to switch. now just because of the nature of TA au, it'd probably be more heavily top anakin than equally both, but still!!!

anakin could be even cooler he was piloting pretty young just as a hobby and for fun as a good stress relief from the pressures of his job. he's also licensed for scuba-diving cause he grew up near the beach and did surfing when he was much younger and scuba-diving when he got interested in oceanography.

poor obi-wan hearing rumors about stuff having to do with anakin (much more...sexy stuff than how cool he is) and not knowing they're true or not and not knowing how to bring that topic up to anakin but dying to know, dying to be someone anakin would just tell that stuff to.

[axoxtxhxh]

Promise Me - Chapter 11 - The Trip

ArminxFem!Reader Summary: Reader and Armin spend their last day with Francisco and set out to Paradis. Content: No warnings, just a little sad. Word Count: ~ 3,000

A/N: This chapter is kind of fast-moving and short. I could have just combined it with another chapter, but I felt like it sort of deserved its own place.

Feedback is always appreciated :)

The day both you and Armin had been dreading was finally here and neither one of you were prepared. Breakfast didn’t feel the same as it normally did. While you both would laugh and joke with Francisco, this time it was silent. You peaked over at Armin and he was looking down at his food, chewing slowly. You looked to Francisco and realized he was doing the same thing. This was your last day together and they both wanted to be silent?

“Can’t we just act like normal?” You set your fork down noisily and both of them looked up from their food. “I know we’re leaving tomorrow, but can’t we enjoy one last breakfast together?”

Armin looked at you and smiled. “If you give me that cheese on your plate.”

You rolled your eyes and both you and Francisco laughed as you moved the cheese from your plate to Armin’s. Even Francisco put his cheese on Armin’s plate.

Waking up that morning was a lot harder than other mornings. You held your eyes closed a little longer, hoping you could go back to sleep a little more until you felt Armin’s fingers brushing through your hair lightly and you opened your eyes.

Waking up to get to work was easy, waking up to leave the life you’ve known for the last half a year was a lot harder and the look on Armin’s face said the same thing. He closed his eyes and pulled you into his chest where you both laid until breakfast nearly became lunch.

The trip back to Paradis was going to be a lot smoother than the trip you made here, but that didn’t mean it was going to be any easier leaving. On one hand, you were going to miss everything and everyone here. On the other hand, you weren’t going to be floating aimlessly in the ocean for hours.

The last couple weeks, Francisco was helping you both locate a pilot willing to fly near Paradis. You didn’t think it would be an issue until you remembered what everyone thought of Paradis and the people who lived there. People like you and Armin.

No amount of convincing with words or even money was persuading anyone to make the trip so you had to compromise, offering for them to take you as close as they could and you and Armin would jump from the plane into the water, making the rest of the trip swimming. It wasn’t ideal, but there weren’t many other options. Not to mention, it wasn’t the first time for either of you to jump from a plane, but at least this time it would be planned.

Finally, Francisco was able to find someone to help you. An old friend he knew when he first left his home country to start his vineyard. The agreement was to leave in the morning so when the plan approached Paradis, it would be covered by the protection of night and that’s when Armin and you would jump and make your way to the shores of Paradis.

It wasn’t fool-proof, certainly wasn’t the safest, and definitely did a terrible job at representing how much thought and effort you had actually put into the plan, but it was all you had. You knew the plans Paradis had for Marley and honestly, the timeline for those plans were coming up quickly. You and Armin both needed to get back before they were put into motion or there might be bigger problems.

After breakfast and the last-minute checklist for the plan, you and Armin went back up to the barn to pack the things you were able to bring with. Originally, you had a plan to pack nearly all of things you both accumulated while being there. You had grown to love your clothes and really didn’t want to leave them, but when the plans changed to both of you skydiving into the ocean, you knew you would barely get away with a small suitcase of things. Most of the space you wanted to give to Armin for the books he wanted to bring back.

“Do you think we will get to come back at some point?” Armin wondered, trying to decide which sweater he wanted to wear.

“Don’t forget you need to wear dark clothes.” You reminded him and he set aside the light blue one, pulling on the black one. “I think we might be able to.”

If you were being honest, you had no idea. It had been so long since you had been home and you really didn’t even know what was happening. A war could have started for all you knew.

“I think the others would really like it here.” Armin smiled, changing into dark jeans. “Do you think Francisco would want to see Paradis?”

“He probably would.” You both smiled, thinking about the interactions between your friends back home and your new friends here. “Can you imagine him with Hange?”

“Or Ernesto!” You both laughed even harder at the thought. “The trip there would be hard for them though.”

“Please, you think they are going to jump out of a plane?” Armin looked over to you, wondering what you meant. “Francisco would just buy a plane, learn to fly it and make weekend trips to visit.”

“You’re right.” Armin smiled. “I’d like that actually.”

“Armin!” Francisco called your names from outside the barn and you both moved to the window to see. “Come down when you guys are done. I have something for you.”

You both quickly finished your packing and went down to see Francisco. It’s not like you had that much to pack. The time-consuming part was deciding what stayed and what would go with you. That, and trying to fit it all in the suitcase.

When you stepped out of the barn, Francisco was sitting out on one of the chairs on his porch, enjoying the afternoon sun. It was starting to warm up more and more now that it was October and Francisco began spending his days out on the back porch as you and Armin worked. Today though, he brought out two extra chairs from the kitchen.

He stood up from his chair when you approached and smiled, his sunglasses covering his eyes. You didn’t see when he picked it up, but he was holding something behind his back and as you stood in front of him, he held it in front of himself.

“This is the first wine you both made. I saved the bottle so that we could drink together, but I want you to have it.” Francisco handed the bottle to Armin and sniffled lightly, adjusting his glasses and it made sense to you now why he was wearing them when he normally would have taken them off to talk to you.

Armin held the neck of the bottle, his eyes moving over the label and from where you were standing, you could see them filling with tears. He looked at Francisco and tried to smile, but couldn’t.

“Ah, I know.” Francisco breathed as Armin moved forward and rested his head against Francisco’s chest. Francisco rubbed the back of Armin’s head. “I know, Armin. It’s okay.”

Francisco reached his arm out and motioned you to step forward and join in on the hug. You weren’t really one to hug people, you didn’t really like any sort of touching or emotions either, but you could feel the tears building in the corner of your eyes and took a step forward. Francisco grabbed the shoulder of your shirt and pulled you until you were against him and Armin in the group hug.

Armin’s breath was continuously catching and it really made you wonder how one human could hold so much emotion. It was possible you were using that thought and watching Armin as a distraction because you were also feeling quite emotional. Crying wasn’t going to help though. Yes, you were going to miss Francisco more than anything. Yes, you were going to miss your life there. Yes, a small, tiny, sparkle of a part of you was going to just tell Armin that you weren’t going back, you both would stay with Francisco and forget about Paradis and you were pretty sure Armin would agree to that, but you couldn’t. You had to go back. There were too many things you had to do, too many responsibilities you had and crying about leaving Francisco only made you think that it really would be the last time seeing him and you weren’t okay with that. Treating it like you were leaving for a short time and would see each other soon is what kept you from crying.

“You’re a mess.” You smiled at Armin as he pulled away from Francisco, his nose and cheeks all red and wet with tears. You wiped your thumb across his cheek and smoothed his hair out.

“Come on. Come on. Let’s drink this.” Francisco patted the both of you on the back and gestured for you to sit.

Getting drunk before a major trip like this one wasn’t a great idea, but between the three of you, and the one bottle, each only got two or three glasses. Armin only had one and a half and was already tipsy, claiming he was going to go read all the books in the library before it was time to go. He ran inside and came out with a stack of books, laying out on the grass and starting to read them.

“So do you feel ready to get back home?” Francisco turned to you as you took a sip of your wine.

“Definitely not.” You laughed quietly.

“Nervous?”

“I think so. We weren’t that advanced a couple years ago and I know we’ve only been gone seven months, but I can’t help but think that things will be so different. Even more different than they’re already going to be because Armin and I are so different.”

“You fell into a country you didn’t know and found a way to live off of nearly nothing for a month. You even took care of Armin.” Francisco clinked his glass to yours. “If there’s someone I trust to survive any situation, it’s you.”

“Let’s not forget how you found me.” You both laughed and turned to see how Armin was doing. The book lay open on the grass, his cheek resting on the page as he snored softly. These were the moments you would miss. You couldn’t even remember the last time you were able to just lay out on the grass in Paradis. The thought of being stuffed in your office for so many hours of the day was already exhausting.

“Do you think Armin is ready to go back?” You turned to him as you heard Francisco speak.

“Definitely not.” You both laughed. “Armin is a great soldier and a great leader. He’s smart and understands strategy better than anyone I know, but I think the military isn’t really a life that he would have chosen had he been given the choice. Being here with you reminded him of that.”

“Is your relationship going to be an issue when you get back?”

“Possibly. I haven’t really thought about it.” You shook your head. “Back home, we don’t really have time for relationships.”

“Can I give you some advice?” Francisco turned his body to face you.

“Is it going to be the same advice you gave Armin?” You drank the last bit of wine from your glass, reaching for the bottle to pour another for you and Francisco. He nodded a ‘thank you’.

“Very funny. You both got together in the end though.”

“That was not because of you. I had a black eye because of you.” He waved his hand in a dismissive way and smiled.

“You know, you’re going to find a lot of people don’t like your relationship with Armin, but you have to learn to ignore that.” He rested his head back on the chair. “Not everyone will understand, but you need to remind yourself that the important thing is that you care about him and he cares about you.”

“I take it you’re speaking from experience.”

“Experience is what I have a lot of.” He laughed and clinked your glass again.

It didn’t take long for the bottle to be emptied and at that point it was dinner. Everyone was trying to get to bed early that night because you were leaving tomorrow before the sun came up. You all quickly said your ‘good night’ and you did your best to fall asleep which wasn’t easy.

As soon as you woke up, Francisco drove you to the hangar and the plan was to leave right away. The flight time was going to be a little over twelve hours and the goal was the reach the point of jumping at eight o’ clock at night. That would give you both enough time to swim and get to shore before you were completely exhausted.

The three of you exited the car, looking at the plane. Armin tugged the little suitcase you brought out of the backseat and stood next to you and Francisco.

“Please take care of yourself.” Francisco reminded you both as he pulled Armin into a hug, whispering to him. “And make sure you take care of her.”

Armin pulled away and nodded, trying to force a smile while also holding back his tears.

“And you.” He quickly pulled you into a hug before you could fight against it, patting your back gently. “If you find time to visit me again, please do or I will have to find you both.”

You laughed as you pulled away. “I’ll do my best.”

Francisco got back in the car and you followed the pilot to the plane. You hadn’t really seen many planes before, mainly in photos. So you weren’t really sure what to expect, but it was a lot smaller than you thought while at the same time bigger than you thought you needed. There were plenty of seats inside for only you and Armin.

At that point, everything was starting to feel like a dream. You quickly stepped on the plane and just as quickly, you were in the air. It was a completely new view of the world. Everything was so small. Even the ocean you floated in for hours seemed like a puddle. The depth completely unknown to you while you were in the air.

Armin interlocked your fingers and you turned from the window to sit down and look at him. He wasn’t enjoying the plane ride as much as you were which surprised you, but you were sure it was sadness from leaving Francisco and everything you’ve both known to go to the unknown. You were sure things were different. There was no way things would be exactly how you left them.

Maybe there were more railways or new foods or maybe even newer advancements, more recruits, better friendships. Not all of them could be good though. With the good things were bound to be bad things, like losing people.

You sighed and gave him a reassuring smile which he didn’t return. He only looked at you, his hand going to your cheek and his lips going to yours. He pulled away and rested his forehead against yours, swallowing hard.

Armin wasn’t scared to go back to Paradis because of what was waiting for you both. He was nervous, but he was sure most things were probably the same as when you both left. What was becoming hard for him to handle was the dangers you were going to face. It hadn’t been so long living on the vineyard that he’d forgotten just how often scouts were risking their lives. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as when titans were roaming free, but it still wasn’t completely safe. Not safe like working on a vineyard was. He pulled away, kissing your forehead and trying not to think about it.

It had been dark for a while now and you were sure you were getting close to the drop point. You opened your bag and pulled out snacks and you both ate quickly. Just as you were finishing up, the pilot called back to you both.

“You guys ready? We’re about twenty minutes out.”

You took a deep breath, getting the parachutes ready and strapped on and as soon as you were ready, you let the pilot know and he gave you the okay to open the side door.

Just as quickly as you got on the plane and just as quickly as it took off, what somehow seemed even faster than that was you and Armin holding hands and stepping off the plane. It wasn’t as if you were experienced swimmers this time around, but knowing when the water would hit, knowing what it would feel like, knowing which direction to go, it all made it that much easier.

…..

The night was clear with a small crescent moon in the sky giving just enough light to see without so much light that cover was impossible. Thankfully the weather was warming up and being out at night wasn’t as bad as it was a couple months ago. The colder temperatures of July weren’t the favorite of the dark-haired captain as he laid on the ground behind a hill.

“Captain, there are two people approaching from the water.” Levi took the binoculars from the scout and looked for what they saw. It was harder to see with the small light provided, but he could definitely make out two figures of a similar size, one of them had bright blonde hair and Levi narrowed his eyes, focusing harder until he could recognize faces.

“I need you to go get the commander.” Levi stood up quickly, tossing the binoculars to the scout.

“Is there a problem, sir?”

“That’s Y/N and Armin.”

Tagging: @harshita-nara​ @millenialfanfictionaddiction​