#Engine configuration explained

[themotorpedia]

Understanding the Basics of Car Engine Types

When buying a car, one of the most critical aspects to understand is the type of engine it uses. The engine is the heart of any vehicle, and knowing how different car engine types work can help you make an informed decision. Whether you’re considering fuel efficiency, power, or environmental impact, each engine type offers unique advantages. In this blog, we’ll break down the basics of car engine types, including petrol, diesel, hybrid, and electric engines, to help you choose the one that fits your needs.

1. Petrol Engines

Petrol engines, also known as gasoline engines, are among the most common types found in passenger vehicles. These engines use a spark-ignition system to ignite the air-fuel mixture inside the combustion chamber.

Advantages of Petrol Engines:

Smoother and Quieter: Petrol engines tend to run smoother and quieter compared to diesel engines.

Lower Initial Cost: Cars with petrol engines are generally cheaper than diesel variants.

Lower Maintenance: Maintenance costs are typically lower due to simpler engine design and fewer emissions control components.

Disadvantages of Petrol Engines:

Lower Fuel Efficiency: Petrol engines usually consume more fuel than diesel engines.

Higher Emissions: They emit more carbon dioxide, contributing more to environmental pollution.

2. Diesel Engines

Diesel engines work on the principle of compression ignition. Instead of using a spark, the air is compressed to a high temperature, and fuel is injected into the chamber, causing it to ignite.

Advantages of Diesel Engines:

Better Fuel Economy: Diesel engines are more fuel-efficient, especially on long drives and highways.

Higher Torque: Ideal for towing and heavy-duty vehicles due to strong torque output.

Longer Engine Life: Diesel engines are robust and generally last longer.

READ MORE: 

[huxhsz]

✈ — weightless paradise

transmigrated non-mc!reader x caleb

prev ch: 06 - name┆series masterlist ┆next ch: 08 - fear

This isn’t how the game was supposed to go. You're not supposed to be here. You're an anomaly. But if you’re already here, then… can’t you just enjoy it for now? Just for a little while? Before the main story begins? Before everything inevitably falls into place? ...Right?

— content warning/s:

n/a

cross-posted on ao3! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡

CH. 07 — DREAM

The shelter smells faintly of metal and disinfectant, the lights overhead flickering unsteadily. It's cramped, the thin walls barely holding out the noise of the chaos outside—the distant screams, the sharp cracks of gunfire, the low rumble of something massive moving through the city.

You sit near the back of the room, knees pulled to your chest. Eden is beside you, small and quiet, her head resting lightly against your shoulder. Caleb sits across from you, legs stretched out, a book open in his hands.

It’s been days since the Chronorift Catastrophe. Days since the world fell apart.

Outside the shelter’s narrow window, the sky is hazy with smoke. Occasionally, sleek black shapes cut through the gloom—fighter jets. The only organized response left, streaking through the sky like sharp lines of silver and black.

“Look!” Caleb’s hand shoots out, finger tracing the sky.

You follow his gaze, squinting into the glare of the sun as a sleek, gray aircraft cuts across the sky. Twin afterburners flare behind it, leaving a faint vapor trail in its wake.

“The F-22 Raptor,” Caleb breathes, eyes alight with rare excitement. “Fifth-generation stealth fighter. Twin-engine. Thrust-vectoring nozzles give it insane maneuverability. Those wings? Delta configuration for reduced radar signature.”

He grins, teeth flashing as he watches it arc into a sharp bank. “Mach 2 top speed, internal weapon bays for reduced drag. And the AESA radar? Practically untouchable in a dogfight.”

He’s glowing—animated in a way you rarely see, his hands moving as he explains. You can’t even pretend to understand half of what he’s saying, but you don’t stop him.

“Imagine flying that,” Caleb murmurs, voice soft with wonder. His gaze follows the jet until it disappears beyond the clouds. “You wouldn’t have to answer to anyone. Just you and the sky.”

Freedom. That’s what he means.

“You really know your stuff,” you say, glancing at him.

Caleb shrugs, but the edge of his mouth lifts in a self-satisfied tilt. “I read.”

He taps the battered book on his lap. A technical manual of some sort, the cover worn from overuse. You’ve seen him pouring over it for days now, flipping through diagrams and schematics. The people at the shelter didn’t have much to give, but someone handed Caleb a box of old books, and he’s been devouring them ever since.

“You want to fly?” you ask, and you already know the answer.

“Yeah,” he says, his voice soft with longing. “If I could…” He trails off, shaking his head.

You think of the facility. Of the cage you lived in. Of the walls that Caleb once tried to tear down with his bare hands. Flying—leaving it all behind—wouldn’t that be… freedom?

Caleb sighs, stretching his arms behind his head. “Guess I’ll have to settle for the next best thing.”

“And what’s that?”

He smiles. “Learning how to fix them.”

He says it so casually, like it’s normal to talk about high-level military tech. Like it’s not strange for someone who was raised in a lab to know this.

“You’re seriously into this, huh?” you say.

Caleb’s gaze follows the fighter jets until they vanish behind the smoke. His expression softens, a rare crack in his guarded exterior.

“You want to be a pilot?”

“Maybe,” he says. Then, quieter: “I want to know what it feels like. To leave.”

You don’t know what to say to that. He’s never known freedom. None of you have.

“I’d become a Deepspace Hunter.”

Eden’s voice is soft but steady. You and Caleb both turn toward her. She’s sitting up now, her dark eyes bright despite the dim light.

“To protect myself,” she says. “From the Wanderers. So I don’t have to rely on anyone else.”

She’s so sure of it. Like she’s already decided.

Caleb hums, his mouth curving into a small smile. “Good plan.”

She tilts her head toward him, her expression earnest. “And you? Would you protect people too?”

Caleb’s smile fades. He looks back toward the window, his gaze distant.

“I don’t know,” he says. His voice drops lower. “I think I’d just want to go where no one could reach me.”

Silence settles between you. Eden leans her head back against your shoulder. Caleb’s eyes linger on the sky.

And you—

You don’t know what you want.

You were pulled from your world and dropped into this one without warning, without preparation. You’d adapted to the lab because there was no other choice. But now?

You stare down at your hands. They’re shaking.

“I don’t know,” you whisper.

Eden closes her eyes, breathing evenly. Caleb’s hand shifts, resting lightly beside yours on the floor. Close, but not touching.

It’s not much. But it’s something.

[peachiejeongin]

Venom and Velvet - Hyunjin

Synopsis: Snake hybrids were terrifying; the mere thought of them integrating into society sent humans into mass hysteria. You cannot help when one of them captivates your attention, however, leading to an entire reconstruct of your ideology...

Pairing: snake hybrid!Hyunjin x reader

Genre: hybrid!AU, Fluff, Angsty Elements

Warnings: Do not read this if you have ophidiophobia, bullying, mentions of vandalism

Notice: Hello, darlings! I have recently acquired Snake Hybrid Hyunjin brain rot, thus why you are receiving this story today! [Thank you, fluffylino, we all say in unison]. I have not seen many fluffy Snake Hybrid Hyunjin fictions, so I thought I would create one of my own. Enjoy! :)

It was an honest mistake, how they came to exist.

The fateful day at the chemical plant seemed like any other; chemists researched in their labs, engineers repaired certain sectors of the building, and quality assurance workers monitored every aspect of the plant to a tee.

What happened in the later hours of the day is still unknown. Perhaps it was a careless chemist, maybe a freak accident; however, what was factual was the explosion. The plant erupted into a fury of flame and smoke, first stemming from the lab quarter and swiftly engulfing everything in its path. Hundreds of workers lay dead within the remains.

Or so was speculated.

The first signal of many that something was off was the flames; they were not the typical shades of orange, yellow, or red that one would typically catch glimpse of during an explosion.

They were green.

Flaming, emerald green.

'A mix of chemicals,' was the initial speculation, since that was the most reasonable voucher and humans preferred to opt for the easiest explanation rather than delve into the technical science of situations.

However, this explanation proved irrifutably inaccurate as the second signal came into play; the "deceased" workers rose from what was determined to be their gravesite, yet they were not...themselves. It was evident that some sort of radioactive mutation had occured; those who were once thought of as dead sported a new appearance, consisting of cascading, Sacramento green scales prevailing in patches, primarily on the victims' shoulders, collarbones, forearms, and calfs. Fangs protruded from their upper jaws, claws replaced their fingers nails, and both appeared sharp and hungry. Their tongues forked perfectly down the center, and their once neutral-shaded eyes turned a bright yellow shade, their pupils dilating until they were nothing but thin, black slits. From here, the story became clear: necrotoxins and cytotoxins, specifically the kinds commonly found in snake venom, had somehow been involved within the accident and were responsible for this mutation.

This new species wreaked havoc on the town, biting, constricting, and terrifying every human being in sight. It took nearly a full year for the madness to cease; a surviving chemist from the chemical plant created an antidote for the infected individuals, who the town had started referring to as, "Snake Hybrids." The antitode was administered to every Snake Hybrid, whether by choice or by force. While it did not remove the physical side effects, like the scales or fangs, it significantly calmed their tempers, allowing them to fully act like regular members of society once more.

The town council, however, did not want to take anymore chances; as such, the Hybrids were secluded from society and forced to live in a sectioned off, abandoned chamber of the neighborhood. They were forced to adapt to this new way of life, forced to raise their children in a town in which they had to explain why the humans had such a horrid distaste for their kind.

Yet, the newly-elected mayor had an irking to put a stop to these laws. His mind's configuration believed in equality for both humans and Snake Hybrids. Because of this, he slowly but surely began testing the waters, beginning with a new mandate.

"All university age students, whether human or Hybrid, will be allowed to attend whatever university of their choosing, starting this upcoming school year," he declared one Saturday morning during a press conference.

That, my friend, is how you found yourself in the situation you were currently facing.

You were "normal" by society standards; you had excellent grades, you were above average in athletics, and you had a phenomenal social life. You were the golden child of your town. Growing up, you had heard stories about the Snake Hybrids; the adults in your life did not speak fondly of them by any means, and there were a plethora of urban legends surrounding them. You had been raised to fear these creatures.

As were others your age, you had quickly inferred. When the Snake Hybrid students arrived on campus, everyone had fled like the plague. Nobody had dared to go near them; it was not like they cared, however. They stuck together, with the only humans they interacted with being their teachers. An overwhelming terror shrouded the university.

So, why in this moment, did you find yourself fixated rather than fearful?

You could not take your eyes off of the Hybrid sitting across from you. He looked absolutely nothing like the creatures friends and family had depicted in gruesome stories and tales. He looked relatively human for the most part, spare a few scaley sections on his shoulders and collarbones peaking out from underneath his top. His face was chiseled, the yellow of his irises complimenting it fairly well in your opinion. He had shoulder-length curly black hair that framed his face perfectly. From time to time, you would catch a glimpse of his forked tongue peaking out between his teeth when he became focused on an assignment.

He was incredulously, irevokably beautiful.

You were concentrated on the boy all hour, only opting to focus on your assignment whenever his eyes flicked up to meet yours and you nervously glanced away. Before you knew it, class was dismissed; you took a long time gathering your things on purpose, attempting to work up enough courage to talk to him. You did not take long enough, it seems, as you walked out of the classroom feeling slightly dejected. You did not have to make the planned effort, however.

"Take a photo," the boy nearly snarled out in a harsh manner, catching up to you in the hallway. You swiftly whipped your head around to make fierce eye contact with him; his slitted pupils bore an annoyed stare into your round ones.

"I'm sorry?" you inquired quietly, almost timidly. The both of you were now stopped in the middle of the corridor.

"You heard me," he hissed, both literally and in his tone. "A photo will last longer than staring at me. I'm not some spectacle for you to ogle at." Your eyes widened almost instantly, and you made an attempt to explain yourself.

"Oh my gosh, no!" you exclaimed, regret prominent in your voice. "I am so sorry, that is not what it was at all!"

"Yeah?" his tongue was protruding at his cheek, his tone laced with faux sympathy. "Then what was it?" He crossed his arms as he awaited an answer.

That is when you froze. You did not know how exactly to explain to the guy that you were focused on him in class because you found him absolutely stunning. Even if you did tell him, you were sure he would think it was some cruel joke. You stared down at the ground, your heart beating with guilt.

"I'm sorry," was all you managed to mumble out. You could have sworn that when you looked up, you saw his face soften. He rubbed his lips together and tsked slightly as they unfolded.

"Just don't make a habit of it," he replied, the sentence diminishing in volume as he walked away from you.

---

From that moment onwards, you were captivated by him. Everywhere you looked, he was in your line of sight; at lunch, during classes, even walking around on campus. It was like you could not escape him.

Yet, you did not physically come up to nor encounter him until one late night. You and a couple of your close friends were walking back to your dormitories after a brief party; you were not drunk by any means, but you did feel a tad tipsy after the night's events. You had began to space out when your friends began snickering and stopped in the middle of the walkway.

"What's up?" you asked; their response came in the form of more scorning giggles as they pointed upwards. The direction of their fingers landed on a different dormitory building; it was the dorm specifically designated for the male Snake Hybrids to reside in. Specifically, your friends were motioning to one of the middle windows in which a Snake Hybrid seemed to be working out.

You recognized that face anywhere.

"Oh, yeah, snakes," you stumbled over your words as you spoke. "Anyways, let's get back before lights out?" you tugged on one friend's jacket sleeve, encouraging them to get away from the building.

"Wait, oh my gosh, do you still have it?" one of them asked the girl standing next to her, completely disregarding your comments. In response, the girl smirked and took off her backpack; reaching into it, she pulled out a can of black spray paint.

"Snagged this from shop class," she explained to your confused stature.

"What are you doing with that?" you interrogated, having an anxious idea as to how this conversation was going to go.

"You mean what are we doing with it?" you were corrected. "We're going to have a little late night fun, duh." She accentuated her words with a nod towards the dormitory. Your eyes widened in bewilderment.

"You mean vandalize the Hybrid dorm?"

"Obviously," she stated as if it was the most obvious action in the world. "These guys shouldn't even be here. It's only fair we make that known." She outstretched her arm towards you, spray-can in hand. "Want to do the honors?"

You hesitantly took the can, looking down at it in obfuscation. Without thinking, your grasp on it tightened and you threw it into oblivion, specifically into the spanning woods behind the dorm. You were not exactly sure how far it went, but you did know that your "friends" were pissed.

"Y/n, what the hell?!" one of them scowled.

"I'm not doing this," you crossed your arms as you defended your stance. "Sorry, but they have done nothing to us. How is that fair?"

"Because they're-"

"What?" you interrupted your friend's monologue. "They're freaks? Misfits? Imperfect? Because guess what, so are we. Sure, they have scales and fangs and their eyes are a tad scary at times. Other than that, they are no different than we are." Your friends side-eyed one another and then nodded. They walked away from you without saying another word. You turned around to face the direction they were walking in, your mouth agape in pure vexation.

You let out a deep inhalation in the fall air as you glanced up towards the dorm; the sight that greeted your eyes shocked you: he was staring at you, a smile playing at his lips. The two of you locked eyes before he walked away.

He had seen everything.

---

The next morning, your so-called "friends" ignored you like an unwanted phone call from an ex-partner. They purposely sat on the other side of the room from you in your first hour class, whispering no doubt rumors about last night.

'Great. I'm going to be alone for the day,' you had made up your mind on that matter, dropping your head into your hands. It was not for long, though; you instantly felt a tap on your shoulder. You looked up and met the same alluring gaze you had been hyperfixated on for weeks. Your heart skipped a beat as he spoke.

"Can I sit?" he asked genuinely and politely, contrasting the first and only conversation you had ever had with him. If your face did not physically smile, your eyes surely did. You nodded slowly, and he took the open desk beside you. He never turned his head away from you.

"What's your name?" he pondered, finally getting a chance to get a good look at you.

"We've been in class together for weeks, and you don't know it?" you chuckled humorously. "I'm y/n. Your turn." He quirked an eyebrow towards your reply.

"Hyunjin," he held out a scaled hand for you to shake. You smiled slightly, ignoring the heightened whispers from the other side of the room.

"Hey, about last night, because I know you saw me-"

"Why did you stick up for me?" Hyunjin interrupted your ramble before it began. The question had you pause for a moment.

Why did you stick up for him?

Was it because you thought he was attractive? Was it due to your fight against injustice? The miniscule amount of alcohol in your system? What was it?

You could not formulate a proper response to this question; therefore, you shrugged your shoulders.

"I don't know," you spoke earnestly. "It felt right. I don't like seeing anyone being treated wrong." Hyunjin gave a small nod at your words, a sly smile appearing and his fangs protruding.

"Well, thank you," he replied. "Whatever the reason, it meant a lot." You reciprocated the small nod, and for the next hour, you and Hyunjin got a whole bunch of nothing done. You figured out he was an art major, and he smirked at the fact that you were majoring in literature; you pretty much goofed off essentially all class period, making jokes and getting to know each other.

The period ended much too quickly, and you let out a sigh of despair.

"Sit with me at lunch?" Hyunjin asked you optimistically. You nodded, an agreement that, little did you know, would morph your ideology for years to come...

---

You and Hyunjin became inseparable; you spent every waking hour of every day with one another. You sat together in classes, at lunch, and you began spending your free periods with one another. You had quickly concluded that almost everything besides the origin story you had been told about Snake Hybrids was false. The legends about ten foot talk snake creatures, tall tales of them preying at night, and other stories were quickly debunked, some even earning hearty laughs from Hyunjin from how absurd they were.

You were judged harshly by your peers for the time you were spending with him, but you did not mind. As the two of you got to know each other, you grew closer and closer until mutual feelings erupted between the two of you, though neither of you had the guts to confess them in fear of corrupting the fantastic friendship you had just built up. It was an unlikely pairing, a snake and a girl, one being as coarse as venom and the other as soft as velvet.

One fateful day, the two of you had paired up for an art project; you knew Hyunjin's expertise and your fantastic planning skills would get the job done quickly and precisely. Hyunjin had suggested you work on the project at his dorm, so that is exactly where you were headed, catching a couple of off-hand glances as you entered into the building.

You were given access to the building and quickly made your way to Hyunjin's room. You knocked a few times on his door, a plethora of colorful paints in your hand. He opened the door, and the sight that greeted your gaze shocked you: Hyunjin was shirtless, his emerald scales on display, shining under the luminescence of his ceiling light. He took out one earbud and smiled.

"Hey, give me just a minute to set up!" He closed the door gently, leaving you standing there in shock. You knew he was ethereal, but seeing him shirtless was a different tale entirely. You snapped out of your trance when the door reopened; Hyunjin was now in a grey hoodie, matching the color of his sweatpants. He invited you inside his lonesome room, closing the door swiftly behind you.

The next few hours were dedicated to your project; paper was splayed out on every surface with plans sketched on each one, paints of every color were opened and splattered onto a pallette, and those colors subsequently made their way onto the canvas, thanks to Hyunjin's skillfull brushstrokes.

Before you knew it, your project was finished; the prompt you were given was to draw something you thought was beautiful. The point of it all was to contrast every student's differing perspective on the subject. You had opted to paint a sunset, a basic approach but still effective; you had decided, in order to remove the simplicity of it, that would explain in the presentation why the sunset was beautiful. You would go beyond just the mixture of colors and bring in a bit of symbolism as to how the sunset ended the day, thus bringing beauty to a respective finale.

You felt great pride in the progress the both of you had made, and you stared intently at the painting; you were in awe of Hyunjin's talent, how he had made every shade of orange, pink, purple, and red blend together to create an exhilerating portrait. You focused on every intricate detail and how it all came together to make an incredulous scene.

"What are you thinking about, Pretty?" Hyunjin poked your arm with the handle end of the paintbrush; you quickly turned to face him, blushing from the nickname.

"Just how beautiful the painting is. I wish I could look that beautiful." you admitted.

"If you only knew," Hyunjin mumbled in a tone barely above a whisper. You heard what he had said, but you wanted to see if he would repeat it.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

"Um," Hyunjin felt a lump caught in his throat; his forked tongue moved from side to side in his mouth from anxiety as he tried to explain himself. "I said I could make you pretty like the sunset."

"What?" Before you could receive a reply, Hyunjin dipped the brush he was holding into a glob of orange paint and smeared a streak of it across your forehead. The motion made you gasp before you bust out into giggles; Hyunjin's antics did not cease.

"Now we have to get the red. And the pink," he described as his faintly-clawed hands dipped the brush into each respective color and repeated the swiping motions; he proceeded to do the same with the purple and yellow paints.

"There," he put his brush down and clasped his hands together. "Now, you look like a sunset!" Hyunjin's fangs were loud and proud as he smiled down at you. Your thoughts were colliding together as you figured out a way to get your revenge.

Suddenly, you grabbed a wider brush and coated it with green paint.

"You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think these scales are necessarily green enough," you lunged towards Hyunjin's collarbone; however, you missed entirely, instead meeting a pushed out hand from the male. The impact caused your brush to fleet backwards and land on your neck instead.

"Awe, you look cute with scales!" Hyunjin complimented sarcastically. You widened your eyes, a jolly glint sparkling under the artificial light. Without thinking, you tackled Hyunjin, landing you both backwards on the bed and smearing the array of paints on his grey hoodie. Hyunjin attempted to free himself from your grasp, hissing exuberantly in between fits of laughter; his attempts were for not as you grabbed both of his hands in one of yours, the scales lightly scuffing your palms.

You lifted his hands above his head and, taking the still-glazed brush, smeared lines of green from the top of his neck down to the indents of his collarbones. The ticklish sensation made him squirm and shut his eyes as he continued to giggle. You threw the paintbrush aside on his study desk and rubbed your hands together.

"There," you leaned down, eyeing Hyunjin as the two of you were almost nose-to-nose. "Now, we're even."

The two of you stayed in this position for a while, grins ever-so-present on your faces. Hyunjin took a long, admirable look at you; he looked at your fair skin, your sparkling eyes, and your snow-white smile.

He had concluded in that moment that you were the prettiest girl he had ever laid his amber gaze upon. Yet, an unanswered question still lingered in his head.

"Why were you staring at me on the first day of class?" he inquired, moving his hand up to tuck a piece of hair behind your ear, his claw slightly scratching your ear in the process. Your face flushed a deep shade of pink at the question.

"I thought," you mumbled. "I thought you were pretty. I didn't mean to offend, I swear. I just couldn't help myself."

"You think I'm pretty?" You nodded slowly.

"Beautiful, even."

He was not exactly sure what thought went through his head before his lips were on yours. Perhaps it was your sweet words alone. Perhaps it was the fact that you had attempted to move your head away from his out of embarrassment from your confession, and he had placed a firm yet soft hand in your hair to stop you. Perhaps it was the way you had looked at him after he did just that, a daring yet shy glint present in your stare. He was not for sure what had pushed him to this action.

He was sure that he wanted to kiss you.

So, here the two of you lie, you on top of Hyunjin as the two of you passionately encapsulated one another. Your hands were cupped tightly on his cheeks while his lightly hovered over your waist. His lips were everything you had imagined them to be; they were smooth, soft, and entranced you into a compassionate haze. His forked tongue teasingly poked at yours, and you felt his fangs accidentally nip at your bottom lip a couple of times. The kiss felt straight out of a 1990s romantic tragedy.

You were not aware of how much time had passed before you had pulled away to catch a breath; you felt the swell in your lips and you physically visualized Hyunjin's as he lay, breathless beneath you. Your arms moved slowly down to his chest, and your head fell to the crook of his neck. He moved one hand to your upper back, the other still gently entangled within your hair.

"Woah," was all you could utter at the moment in time. "Who knew snakes were such good kissers?" you jokingly asked, eliciting a soft chuckle from the Hybrid.

"We're romantics, what can I say?" Your heart was pounding as you looked at him beneath you, and his arms went to snake tightly around your middle, no pun intended.

"Y'know," you had regained your composure and began to chatter. "I wasn't sure about you at first. After all the stories I had heard, all the rumors and tales. Even after you had debunked them, there was still some sort of fear present within me," you confessed, mentally punching yourself as you saw Hyunjin's content expression falter.

"But you...you are so different than what I had imagined. You are the kindest person I've met. You're so gentle and gracious and sweet, and I feel absolutely horrible about the things that I believed, so I guess I'm just going about the long way to ap-" Hyunjin cut off your babling by tilting your head up to face him and capturing you another kiss; this one was shorter but filled with just as much care as the first.

"I get it, I like you too," Hyunjin mumbled against your lips.

"Who said I was going to say that?"

"Am I wrong?" He teasingly asked, looking at you and tilting his head in perplexity.

"Not at all," you confessed.

"I wasn't sure about you either, if it makes you feel any better," Hyunjin admitted. "I thought this was just an act and was going to play out into some sort of cruel prank. But having you here, right here right now with me proves me wrong. You're different than the others. I actually like being around you. I just never wanted to say anything in fear that my deepest worries would materialize and I would lose you as a friend."

"Glad to know the feeling is mutual," you softly spoke. "The only thing is I want to lose you as a friend." Hyunjin shifted his head backwards in indecision.

"NOT like that," you clarified. "I don't want to lose you by any means. I just," you took one of his scaley hands in your smooth ones, "want to gain you as something more than a friend, if that's possible." Hyunjin instinctively rubbed his thumb over your knuckles as his golden gaze affectionately made contact with your own.

"You sure?" he inquired, a playful smirk etched onto his features. "What if people talk?"

"Let them," you responded without hesitation. "Who knows, maybe we can start some sort of shift and people will see that Snake Hybrids and humans interacting isn't so horrible." Hyunjin could not help but beam at your confession. He nodded tenderly.

"Alright. Let's try this," he accepted your heartfelt declaration, causing you to grin wide like the Cheshire Cat. You wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing him in for a tight hug that you never wanted to end.

Thus, the snake venom was adoringly stained onto the velvet cloth, joining them together as one futuristic reality.

[literallymechanical]

regarding fusion power: what about for rockets? From what I can tell (which is not much) I’m not sure magnetic confinement would work for space travel, at least, not the really convenient “Pluto in one election cycle” kind of drives we want

Cohen, S. A., et al. (2019). Direct fusion drive for interstellar exploration. JBIS - Journal of the British Interplanetary Society, 72(2), 37-50.

You're thinking too small!! Get rid of the torus and rethink the problem from the beginning.

Take an old-fashioned linear fusion reactor concept, like a magnetic mirror, and chop off one end. Use “aneutronic�� fuel, like deuterium-helium-3, so all the fusion products are charged and you can direct them through a magnetic nozzle. Flow some other gasses around the reaction to add more heft to the exhaust, and point it behind you.

Now you’ve got Direct Fusion Drive, baby!!! A fusion thruster, using the reactor plasma itself as propellant. Extremely high specific impulse (like, 10000 s), and it may be able to hit that four-years-to-Pluto milestone!

A few people are working on variants of the concept, but I’m most familiar with the one being built by the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab and a spinoff company. They have a funky field-reversed configuration device, but that's a tumblr post of its own. Maybe one of my plasma physicist mutuals could chime in and explain it better than a mechanical engineer >.>

[snitchcrimsonwrites]

Drawn Together-Chapter 8

Pairing: Tech x Jedi! Reader

Tech picks up on your unease with a blaster instead your lightsaber on the last mission and it prompts him to design and build a new melee weapon for you.

Chapter 7

Chapter 9

A few days later, you and the Batch prepared for another mission from Cid, enjoying the calm between assignments. Most of the squad was scattered around the ship, busy with their pre-mission rituals. You were alone in the hold, doing light stretches and running through forms between your assigned crew tasks, when the soft whirr of the hatch drew your attention.

Tech entered, holding something that resembled a short staff in his hands. He stopped a few feet from you, adjusting his goggles with one hand as he held the object like an offering in the other.

“I took the liberty of outfitting this for you,” he said without preamble. “After our last mission, I evaluated the outcomes and concluded that your contributions would significantly increase if we played to your strengths, particularly concerning melee combat. This… is the result.”

You lowered your arms slowly, curiosity stirring. “What is it?”

With a nod, he gestured for you to examine the object he held, inviting you to take it from him. Your eyes widened as you extended your hand, grasping the weapon. To your surprise, it was light and balanced, feeling like it was made for you.

You examined the collapsible staff in your hand. The main shaft was a worn gunmetal silver, laced with conductive filaments, you assumed, pulled from other projects he had on hand. The design was elegant, compact, and distinctly custom-modified.

“It’s infused with a conductive alloy that can channel low-level energy–enough to dampen a blaster bolt without harming the wielder. It won’t reflect shots like your lightsaber, but I was pleased with the result.” Tech explained, his voice quietly proud. He was now pointing to the structure on either end, “You can engage either end independently. One is configured for kinetic pulses, useful for disabling or pushing back. The other can emit a short-range plasma arc, capable of cutting through most standard alloys.”

Tech added, stepping beside you now, “I also tuned the grip for your reflex patterns. And if you twist the center, it collapses down to half its length for easy carry.” You gave it a testing swing, feeling the gentle hum of energy coil within the shaft. The motion was fluid, natural.

You swallowed hard, then offered a quiet, grateful nod, unsure what to say. “Thanks, Tech. Really.”

From behind you, Wrecker’s voice rang out as he passed by the holding bay: “Whoa! That thing looks awesome! Can I try it?!”

Tech stiffened. “Absolutely not.”

A silence stretched between you and Tech before he spoke again, more quietly this time. “If you’d like, I can show you how some functions work. I’d expect you’d want to practice before we take off tomorrow.”

You nodded eagerly, already prepared to test out the new weapon. “Yes, I would like that.”

----------------------

As you walked on, the sun dipped lower over the skyline of Ord Mantell City. Tech maintained a pace slightly ahead of you, continuing to discuss the staff design while you both moved beyond the city’s perimeter.

“...The conductive alloy in the staff is laced with cortosis threads. It’s limited, but enough to disrupt energy fields and deflect low-level saber strikes briefly. I wasn’t sure how relevant that would be, but your… unique history made it a logical inclusion.”

You arched a brow, intrigued. “You designed this with lightsaber combat in mind?”

He adjusted his goggles as he continued. “Not specifically. But redundancy is good engineering.”

The city's sounds faded, replaced by quiet wind and rustling brush. You paused, falling behind Tech to admire the setting sun's amber glow as you entered the clearing; you didn’t know Ord Mantell could be so peaceful. Returning to reality, you notice Tech standing a short distance away, fiddling with his datapad. The screen's glow subtly reflected in his goggles.

“I chose this location due to minimal civilian presence and sufficient terrain variability,” he announced, not looking up yet. “It should provide a controlled but realistic environment for field testing.”

You nodded, gripping the staff he had made and flourishing to extend it as he had shown you earlier. The weapon felt unfamiliar, heavier than your lightsaber, and less intuitive. Hopefully, that will change with practice. Taking a slow breath, you stepped into a forward stance and gave the staff a test sweep. It emitted a soft hiss as the arc illuminated brightly against the light of dusk.

You stumbled slightly at the end of a spin, and Tech’s voice was immediately beside you.

“Too much shoulder.” He corrects. “Let your hip drive the turn. I understand the instinct, but this requires a different touch. Here—”

He stepped close, his hand ghosting over your lower back as he shifted your posture through the form. His touch was feather-light but precise, and lingered half a beat longer than strictly necessary. You didn’t move away. As you complete the follow-through, he clears his throat and steps away, taking his hand off your hip and asking you to repeat the maneuver with the adjustment.

“You’re adapting quickly. Not unexpected.”

“Feels... more deliberate,” you murmured, adjusting your stance. “Not like the saber. It demands more presence.”

Tech’s mouth twitched at that, almost a smile. “An astute observation.” He secured his datapad and unslung his blaster, quickly adjusting the settings with a few practiced taps. “I’ve set it to stun. Low output.” He raised it slightly, watching your expression. “You should see how the arc dampener absorbs live fire.”

You raised your eyebrow questioningly. “You’re going to shoot at me?”

“I assure you,” he said, very dryly, “this is scientifically sound. Besides, the weapon’s capacity to protect you is only theoretical until field-tested.”

You gave him a crooked grin. “Well, when you put it that way,” you resigned, stepping into your stance.

He didn’t smile back, but you thought you caught the faintest flush of color at his neck as he raised the blaster and fired.

The bolt came fast, but your reaction was faster. You swung the staff in a wide, instinctive arc. The emitter sparked, absorbing the bolt with a sharp crackle of energy that pulsed up your arms but didn’t burn. The charge dissipated harmlessly into the earth beside you.

You exhaled. “Impressive.”

Tech lowered the weapon slightly, watching you now with open focus. “You adjusted angle mid-swing,” he noted, stepping toward you again. “There was a moment of hesitation, but that reaction time was… noteworthy.”

You moved your shoulder, sensing the residual pulse left behind. “Not as precise as a saber parry, but not bad.”

Tech nodded slightly but then paused. “If you’re willing... I can try engaging in close quarters. Simulated melee. However, I must confess I’m not as skilled a sparring partner as Hunter.”

You tilted your head in mild disbelief. “You’re volunteering to rush a Jedi Master?”

Tech blinked once. “Strictly for observational purposes.”

You tried not to laugh. “All right. Let’s see what you’ve got,” welcoming the challenge.

He moved fast, quicker than you expected. With his blaster holstered and baton ready, he approached with a precision that made up for his limited brute strength. You instinctively blocked the first strike, the staff absorbing the hit with a pulse of light. The second came lower, aiming to throw off your balance.

You twisted, narrowly avoiding it.

He charges at you once more. This time, you pivot gracefully, allowing the staff to guide you through a counterstrike. It connects, though not with full force, right against the side of his arm. He steps back, letting out a quiet grunt, blinking quickly.

You lowered the staff. “You okay?”

He flexed his arm, adjusting his goggles with one hand. “It would appear… yes. Though I suspect that strike might leave a mark,” he said through a slight grimace.

A hint of concern showed on your face, but you swiftly covered it with a playful smirk. “Good thing I’m not actually trying to hurt you, then. “Here,” you gestured toward his arm, where a bruise was already emerging beneath his torn sleeve.

Tech’s attention momentarily shifted to the bruise before returning to you, curiosity shining in his eyes. “I’ve been keen to witness your Force abilities firsthand. Back on Pantora, I wasn’t sure what I was looking for.”

You chuckle softly at this, moving closer, your hand lingering just above his arm. “It’s not extravagant," you replied, your tone playful, almost teasing. “It’s simply a matter of focus.”

Your fingers hovered just above the darkening mark on his arm. For a moment, you paused, concentrating as you channeled the Force. A gentle warmth radiated from your hand, and gradually, the bruise started to fade; the dark color receded from his skin, and the swelling diminished, both now barely noticeable.

“See? Nothing too dramatic,” you said, with a grin, pulling your hand away.

Tech glanced at his arm, a quiet fascination evident as he flexed it to assess the results. “Impressive. But tell me…” He turned his gaze back to you, an almost calculating expression in his eyes. “How much medical knowledge would you need to achieve that action? I suspect it’s more than one would think."

You straightened a bit, a thoughtful expression gracing your face. “It’s a bit more than just waving your hand around,” you said with a casual shrug. “But you’re right, even healing a superficial wound requires more focus and understanding. I need to know how the body’s processes work, how cells regenerate, and the pathways for healing energy to flow, all to heal a cut on the arm."

You looked at his arm, then met his eyes, realizing how close you had become. Your breath caught as you held his gaze, aware that the space between you had significantly diminished since moments before.

Tech seemed either oblivious or perhaps he noticed but chose not to comment. His brow furrowed slightly, as if he were processing everything you had just shared, his usual meticulousness returning to his expression. “Fascinating. I’ve read about healing abilities before, but witnessing it in person is entirely different.” He completes his thought and looks up, seemingly realizing for the first time how dark it has become. “We should probably head back.”

Your return to the city was slow and unhurried. The road leading back to the city stretched out before you, with the evening light reflecting off Tech’s goggles as he walked alongside you. His data-pad was unusually absent, still secured in the pouch at his hip.

“I recalibrated the stun setting after the second discharge,” he said, glancing at you. “Even with your Force-assisted reflexes, the dampener’s performance exceeded my projections.”

You let out a soft chuckle, a smile forming at the corner of your lip. “You’re still thinking about the data, aren’t you?”

“Constantly,” he replied, without hesitation. “But,” he added, “that’s not all I’m thinking about.”

You turned your head slightly, intrigued. “No?”

He didn’t look at you, but his mouth twitched, that familiar flicker beneath his stoic exterior. “No. I’m also considering how a non-traditional combatant like myself managed to land a hit, however inefficient, against a Jedi Master.”

You laughed under your breath, surprised by the comment. “I’ll never live that down, will I?”

“It was a rare opportunity. I assure you, I’ll catalog the moment with appropriate humility.”

You shook your head, letting out another soft, easy laugh. You enjoyed this side of him. “You don’t strike me as someone who indulges in bragging rights,” you teased.

“I don’t,” he said without looking at you. “But factually speaking, I did land a hit.”

You smirked. “So this is about accuracy? Not ego?”

“Always,” he replied simply. “There’s no benefit in undervaluing verified results. I find most people tend to exaggerate their achievements. I prefer… precision.”

“So this ‘anomaly’ was logged, quantified, and filed already?” teasing again.

Tech adjusted his goggles: “It will be once I input the final data set. I’m still refining the motion tracking from your swing. The rotation correction you made mid-strike was not what I anticipated. It was impressive… but outside the modeled variables.”

You glanced down at the staff in your hand, its weight already beginning to feel more natural. “Sorry for messing up your projections,” your tone laced with sarcasm.

He gave a slight shake of his head. “On the contrary. The best designs are challenged.”

You glanced sideways, and though he kept his eyes ahead, there was something… different in his tone. He wasn’t joking. “You always analyze like that? People, too?”

He paused briefly, the sound of your synchronized footsteps bridging the silence. “Yes,” he replied at last, his tone steady but not unfeeling. “It’s less about analyzing people and more about observing. Recognizing patterns, behaviors, speech rhythms, eye movements, and reactions to stress.”

You huffed, amused. “So you’ve been profiling me this whole time?”

“I wouldn’t label it profiling,” Tech responded, finally turning to look at you. “That suggests a judgment. I would rather view it as collecting information to gain a clearer understanding of your operations in the field.”

“In the field,” you echoed, lips twitching at the implication. “Is that the only place you’re trying to understand me?” you test.

He paused mid-step. Just slightly. Barely noticeable, but there.

“I suppose,” he said carefully, “that depends on whether the data is confined to mission parameters… or if it encompasses something broader.”

You turned your head, watching him closely now. “And what’s your conclusion so far?”

“You don’t fit neatly into models,” he admitted. “Your decisions aren’t always the most efficient, but they’re extremely effective. Your intuition defies probability. Statistically speaking, that should be frustrating.”

“And yet?”

He met your gaze directly. “It’s not.”

The city loomed nearer, the recognizable hum of its outskirts becoming audible. You walked beneath the final set of perimeter lights, your pace slightly slowing as the road transitioned to cracked pavement.

“You said earlier you liked challenges,” you said softly.

Tech nodded. “Yes. Intellectual ones, primarily.”

You smiled faintly, eyes forward. “What about emotional ones?”

He exhaled through his nose. It came out as almost a laugh, almost a sigh. “Those are significantly harder to quantify.”

You came to a stop near the cantina entrance, the familiar glow of Cid’s aging sign flickering above. The sounds of your squad drifted out into the night. Wrecker’s distinctive laugh layered with Omega’s softer giggle beneath it. Before stepping through the threshold, you looked up at him again.

“Thank you. For everything today. I’m not sure how I’ll return the favor.” Your voice laced with the utmost sincerity.

He shakes his head, “There is no need. I was happy to assist.”

As the night wore on, the cantina thrummed with its familiar hustle, and the Batch was savoring their final moments of relaxation before the mission launch tomorrow. You sat on a bar stool with your legs crossed and a datapad resting in your lap. One hand held a nearly finished drink from the bar, while the other casually scrolled through something clearly unrelated to the mission.

You appeared completely engrossed. Tech across the room at a table with the rest of the squad was not.

Hunter noticed first, of course. His eyes flicked from his own drink to where Tech’s gaze had been fixed for the past ten minutes. “You gonna keep staring at her all night,” he said calmly, “or eventually walk over there?”

Tech didn’t even flinch. “She appears focused. I don’t wish to interrupt.”

Wrecker let out a laugh, elbowing Echo. “Focused? She’s been reading the same page for the last five minutes.”

“She has dismissed two other males already,” Tech said, as if he were listing off mission variables. “Both within a five-foot proximity. One attempted small talk about speeder specs. The other complimented her posture. She rejected both without hesitation. Her current body language, the shoulders angled away from us, her legs crossed, both suggest she does not want to be disturbed.”

Wrecker snorted. “And what makes you think you’d get the same treatment?”

“I didn’t say I would. But, I—”

“She’ll reciprocate because it’s you,” Hunter said simply.

Tech paused. “That is not a quantifiable variable.”

“No,” Echo agreed. “It’s a fact.” Tech’s brow furrowed. He looked down at the empty cup before him, then slowly, carefully stood.

Wrecker grinned. “Atta boy.”

For Tech, the walk across the room felt longer than it should’ve. You sensed him before he spoke, looking up as he stopped beside you.

“If you’re attempting to remain undisturbed,” he said, voice low but steady, “I’m prepared to leave. But... I was hoping you wouldn’t be opposed to company.”

Your eyes met his, and you set your drink down. “Depends,” you said. “Is this about mission protocol, or something more interesting?”

“I would… very much prefer the latter.”

You nudged the stool beside you with your boot. “Then sit, Tech.”

Tech settled onto the stool beside you with more care than necessary, hands resting neatly on the counter. You took a sip of your drink, still watching him over the rim of the cup. “You always think that hard before talking to someone?”

He tilted his head. “I find small talk inefficient.”

You smirked. “I’ve gathered.”

A beat passed before he added, almost sheepishly, “But… I’ve come to understand that inefficiency is not always a negative.”

That earned your full attention. You turned slightly toward him, resting an elbow on the bar. “That sounds dangerously close to a compliment, Tech.”

“It was an observation,” he corrected, pausing, reconsidering. “With positive connotation.”

You chuckled. “I’ll take it.”

He relaxed, just a little. “You’re quite difficult to categorize,” he said, tone matter-of-fact. “You favor independence, but show fierce signs of loyalty. You enjoy solitude, yet remain highly attuned to others. You frequently observe without inserting yourself, except when someone needs help. That contradiction is…” He hesitated.

“Interesting?” you offered.

“Fascinating,” he corrected.

Your smile. “Guess I could say the same about you.” He returns it.

“Maker,” Wrecker’s voice boomed from across the cantina, “He’s smiling! Look at him, he’s actually smiling!”

You closed your eyes for a moment, trying not to laugh. Tech’s shoulders tensed like he’d just been called out in front of a command unit. “I… regret that this moment has drawn unnecessary attention.”

You leaned closer, voice low enough that only he could hear. “We could head somewhere else if you’d prefer.

Across the room, Echo cuffed Wrecker on the arm, muttering something you couldn’t hear. But Tech ignored them now.

“I’d still like to finish this conversation,” he said, more confidently this time. You caught his glance, then tilted your head toward the stairs winding up the side wall.

He followed your gaze, noting the narrow balcony that overlooked the street and the scatter of stars visible through the half-dome ceiling. “That would be… acceptable.”

The balcony was quieter than you expected. The cantina’s noise fell away as the door swung shut behind you.

You leaned against the railing, elbows resting on the metal as you looked out. “Nice view.”

Tech stood beside you, a little stiff at first, then gradually relaxed into the space. “I’d argue the angle is limited and the field of view is obstructed by nearby structures. However… the stars are visible.”

You glanced at him, amused. “You always talk like that?”

“Frequently,” he admitted. “I’ve been told it’s off-putting.”

You smiled into your cup. “I think it’s honest.”

He turned toward you, studying your profile in the soft lighting. “You don’t seem particularly unsettled by who I am.”

You met his gaze, your tone quiet but sure. “ Should I be? I like people who know who they are.”

“I’ve never been especially good at… this,” he said, gesturing vaguely between you. “Interpersonal dynamics.”

You leaned just a little closer. “You’re doing fine, Tech.”

The sounds of the city drifted below, but up here, everything felt still.

Then, after a pause, he asked, “May I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“Why did you choose to come with us? You could have gone anywhere. You’ve essentially signed up to be hunted by the Empire again. The logic is rather… flawed. ”

You let out a slow breath, considering. He waited.

“It sounds ridiculous,” you said, voice soft. “But it just felt…like something I was supposed to do. Drawn to it almost. That’s how I found you all in the forest on Pantora.”

Tech’s brow furrowed slightly, confused but not dismissive.

“I spent years on the Jedi Council, learning to ignore that feeling, suppress it. Mine didn’t always align with the others on the council.” You gave a dry laugh. “But before the war, before all that… I used to trust it. And maybe I was supposed to start doing that again.”

He didn’t speak, but his expression shifted.

“And the clones…” You looked back out at the city. “We fought beside you for years. Watched you risk everything again and again. I couldn’t turn my back on that. On you.” You swallowed, then added more quietly, “I had a squad once, too. I don’t think I did enough for them. Being here now… it feels like a second chance to do it right.”

Tech looked at you for a long moment. “I hadn’t considered that perspective,” he said quietly. He looked back toward the city, then down at his hands for a moment. “I still don’t understand why you’d put yourself at risk for us.”

You bumped his arm lightly with yours. “Because I wanted to. That’s reason enough.”

“Noted,” he said softly.

[nauticaltrain]

idk how to word this properly 💀 BUT with your StEx universe (?) thingy and art ive seen. if a piece of rolling stock is injured i noticed their 'outer' layer is missing, revealing their inner mechanics (like it's thin- can't get a link to the exact art pieces cos im on mobile 😭)

but i find it really cool! is it similar to the interior of real life trains? or is it just how you imagine their internals looking like?

(hope this isn't too poorly explained ppftt)

The answer is both! I'm trying to strike a delicate balance between the actual inner workings of real rolling stock and the vaguely automaton versions that exist in StEx. Not an easy task, as it's almost impossible to be completely realistic with it AND have giant humans running around on rolling skates. I'm a little unsure on it still, so it's subject to change but I've got the core concepts down methinks.

(More detailed explanation of train anatomy under the cut, this may be more info than what you asked for lol)

So, what we perceive as their clothing/skin is a steel casing that is similar to non-newtonian fluids in that it is flexible until touched by something that's Not A Train. For all intents and purposes, the casing looks and acts like there is a human body underneath,(muscles flexing, tendons contracting, the in/out of breath), but make no mistake, there is nothing organic inside. There is no "skin" underneath their clothes/armor. If you take off a piece of them, you will expose machinery. Lots of dead space!

What is inside however is something colloquially referred to as the "armature". The armature is held suspended within the casing by telescopic stints, anchored at the joints, that extend or retract in accordance with the flexing of the casing. All rolling stock can move their bodies in secondary configuration regardless of having a human designed power source, but on those that do, the armature acts as a support framework for all the relevant mechanical bits and bobs. (sidebar, engines are stronger because they have actual power sources on their armatures.)

I should like to mention that in the world of StEx, the understanding of rolling stocks' secondary configuration is murky at best. They are notoriously difficult to maintenance/repair as literally all of their parts are in a different configuration than in their train body's, and most engineers do not want to deal with the headache. There is a small but growing number of biofactoengineers working to solve this glaring issue though. Luckily, rolling stocks' sense of interoception far surpasses humans and when any problems arise, can identify exactly what and where the issue is!

[seat-safety-switch]

There is a sort of obsession among a certain kind of car owner with original parts. They want to keep the original engine, no matter how bad things get. They insist upon replacing every busted-ass interior clip, every bit of undertray, the original hood insulation, and even that annoying little spring that flew off into a workshop sometime in the 1970s.

For these folks, "numbers matching" engines are an essential requirement. Any car that's had a new engine thrown into it at the neighbourhood Goodwrench back in the 80s is an abominable, compromised car. They would never do what I do to rebuild a car. My technique is abhorrent to them. What I do is this: I visit the junkyard, find the cheapest motor I think will fit, and then bodge chunks of scrap stolen from the railroad together until it actually fits. Some days, you're lucky if I get an engine of the same make.

All this is to explain why occasionally I have a Soviet tractor engine, or an old mail-truck four-banger, or a small wad of starter motors in an elaborate belt-driven configuration, in the front end of my car. Whatever makes motive power and gets to work: I'm not too picky about "original," because original is what blew up and left the previous owner stranded. I don't owe it anything for being the first one to fuck up.

Now, sure, this does compromise the resale value of my cars a bit. Any collector is going to take a look at a 1978 Plymouth Volare with the approximate mileage of twelve moon missions on it, and decide that the 1976 Slant Six stuck into the engine bay is where all the money leaked out of it. Not at all the old "thin ice" sign that went missing from a nearby lake and is pop-riveted to the floorboard. Not the eight-track player zip-tied into the place where the passenger seat once sat. And certainly, most definitely not, the diesel locomotive turbocharger occupying most of the engine bay.

[knight-a3]

Now we're getting into the realm of OCs. To preface, I was strongly inspired by THIS COMIC. I was also playing with an alternate face design for Random in a couple of these.

Anyway, this is Smokestack!

More below.

I started drawing @mfdragon 's OC, then kept making my own alterations until he became mine. I researched steam-powered locomotives for this y'all. I'll explain in a minute.

Final tidbit of context: I was playing with an alternate design for the Random face, just so it matched the other two a bit more. How I feel about it goes back and forth. I like Random's OG design, but it's just so different from the others that is doesn't quite fit in.

Okay, ramblings and train info dump under the cut. Get ready to learn stuff you never cared about.

So basically, the idea is that an allspark fragment brought some old abandoned steam engine to life. Like in the comic, it used Blitzwing as a blueprint, so Smokestack is the first naturally occurring triple changer. Which also means he doesn't suffer the same mental instability as the previous triple changers, he's just naive in a similar way that Wreck-Gar is. He is neither Decepticon nor Autobot. He's too sweet to be a Con, but he's too loyal to his "Dad" to be an Autobot. He's also full of train facts.

Time for trains info dump! Disclaimer, I'm not at all an expert and I am simplifying.

In the steam era, each locomotive was custom-made, so there weren't any industrial standard models or anything. Different companies had different classing systems at different times. I tried to figure it out once and gave up. Instead, steam engines are categorized by their wheel arrangements. There are leading wheels, driving wheels, and trailing wheels. The driving wheels are the only required ones cuz those are the ones that move it. The leading and trailing wheels are for stabilization and weight distribution. Different arrangements were better for different things, such as freight vs passenger. I don't know the science behind which ones were good at what.

The kind of trains that built the transcontinental railroad were 4-4-0 configurations, commonly called "American Standard" due to their prevalence during the westward expansion. They had two sets(four total) of leading wheels, two sets of driving wheels, and no trailing wheels. Like: <••⊙⊙]▣□□□ They're little guys.

The single most produced type of steam engine was the 2-8-0 "Consolidation". <••⊙⊙⊙⊙]▣□□□□ It was a good multi-purpose design. So I chose to make Smokestack 2-8-0 because it gave me the most wiggle room for when and where I wanted him to originally be manufactured and in service. By making him a random abandoned one, I didn't have to think about what museum pieces could be in the Detroit area (Nobody but me would care, but I got hung up on that for some reason).

Anyway, when he only has one vehicle mode, Smokestack is his original 2-8-0. Once he upgrades to having two alts, he becomes a 4-8-8-4 "Big Boy" <••⊙⊙⊙⊙-⊙⊙⊙⊙••]▣□□□□, which is LARGE. 16 driving wheels, which are at least as tall as a person! The purpose was to have enough power to handle the steep grades in the Rocky Mountains and similarly difficult terrain with heavy loads. These days, rail companies will just hook up multiple diesel engines to the train to get the needed power. There is only one currently functional Big Boy type train, which occasionally does tours. It came by my place on the anniversary of the transcontinental railroad in 2019, but I didn't understand trains enough to properly appreciate it.

Next, I'll be getting into drawing other characters, and making human designs.

[usafphantom2]

Blackbird pilot tells why the SR-71 could fly at Mach 3.55 so long as 427C weren’t exceeded

The Blackbird

The SR-71, unofficially known as the “Blackbird,” was a long-range, Mach 3+, strategic reconnaissance aircraft developed from the Lockheed A-12 and YF-12A aircraft.

T-shirts Habubrats 2

CLICK HERE to see The Aviation Geek Club contributor Linda Sheffield’s T-shirt designs! Linda has a personal relationship with the SR-71 because her father Butch Sheffield flew the Blackbird from test flight in 1965 until 1973. Butch’s Granddaughter’s Lisa Burroughs and Susan Miller are graphic designers. They designed most of the merchandise that is for sale on Threadless. A percentage of the profits go to Flight Test Museum at Edwards Air Force Base. This nonprofit charity is personal to the Sheffield family because they are raising money to house SR-71, #955. This was the first Blackbird that Butch Sheffield flew on Oct. 4, 1965.

The first flight of an SR-71 took place on Dec. 22, 1964, and the first SR-71 to enter service was delivered to the 4200th (later 9th) Strategic Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base, Calif., in January 1966.

The Blackbird was in a different category from anything that had come before. “Everything had to be invented. Everything,” Skunk Works legendary aircraft designer Kelly Johnson recalled in an interesting article appeared on Lockheed Martin website.

The SR-71 could fly at Mach 3.55

Today there are many rumors about just how fast the SR-71 could go. The J58 engine temperature limited the top speed. The speed limit for the airplane ironically had nothing to do with the airframe; it had to do with the engines. Right in front of the engine compressor was a temperature probe that reported the temperature to the pilot; when the temperature was around 427C, 800 degrees Fahrenheit, that’s as fast as they were allowed to go.

However, a cold blast from frigid weather could make a difference in reducing the temperature. This would enable the airframe to go faster without harming the engines.

David Peters, former SR-71 Blackbird pilot, explained to me;

Blackbird pilot tells why the SR-71 could fly at Mach 3.55 so long as 427C weren’t exceeded

This print is available in multiple sizes from AircraftProfilePrints.com – CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS. Dawn at 80.000ft – SR-71 Blackbird

‘A little clarification on the speed thing. You are absolutely correct on the 427C. The issue is that I have been limited to less than Mach 3 on a few occasions because the outside air temperature was quite above standard and 427C came up at about 2.95. On other occasions like the Murmansk deal I got above 3.4 (3.49 on the one occasion) and wasn’t close to 427C. The actual limiting airspeed is around 3.55 that is where the spike being at full retraction loses the intercept on the shock wave and can no longer position it correctly in the inlet. ‘Also the overflow of the shock starts to go over the wing and interfere with the flight controls. So the limiting speed as configured would be about 3.55 so long as you don’t exceed 427C.’

Mike Relja, who worked on in with the SR-71‘s for over 30 years, added;

‘I don’t know of any warranty that P&W had or any other parts manufacturer for that matter.

Don’t exceed 427C

‘On the March 6th [Mar. 6, 1990] speed run Ed Yeilding stated that Don Emmons gave them permission to fly the max limit of 3.3 M, they asked Lockheed if they could exceed that number and Lockheed said no if the aircraft had an unstart above 3.3 it may go out of control and come apart hard to keep the pointy end forward. Also, no fuel flow limits established above 3.3 M were ever tested.

‘P&W did give them clearance to exceed 427 CIT for 30 minutes to a limit of 450 CIT but that wasn’t needed they stayed at the book limit of 427 CIT.’*

The engines maker Pratt & Whitney would not warrant or guarantee anything beyond 427; after that, all bets are off the engine could come unglued or you could shed turbine blades. The SR-71 crewmembers were too responsible to risk and exceeded the temperature limit. They wanted to keep the warranty on the engines, the J58’s.

*SR-71 pilot Ed Yeilding (who along with JT Vida as RSO flew the Blackbird during the speed run of Mar. 6, 1990) told me that another reason they didn’t exceed 3.2 is that they were afraid they’d run out of gas before they got to Dullas airport.

Be sure to check out Linda Sheffield Miller (Col Richard (Butch) Sheffield’s daughter, Col. Sheffield was an SR-71 Reconnaissance Systems Officer) Twitter X Page Habubrats SR-71, Instagram Page SR71Habubrats and Facebook Page Born into the Wilde Blue Yonder Habubrats for awesome Blackbird’s photos and stories.

Blackbird pilot tells why the SR-71 could fly at Mach 3.55 so long as 427C weren’t exceeded

@Habubrats71 via X

[randomness-is-my-order]

wwx is sooo smart! in a modern setting, what subject do you think he would teach? what about in college?

seriously, i can wax poetic about wwx’s intelligence, ingenuity and smartness any day!! and ooooh, your question puts me in a bind because i cannot just name one subject. i think wei wuxian is good at too many things and the younger generations deserve to have his mentorship for an array of subjects. but i’m gonna try my best to just discuss one for this post!

see, i don’t want to mention fine arts because i think wwx would be a hobbyist about it and prefer to be one of those guys hopping around museums and galleries and curating a small but insightful review blog to engage with that side of the arts. an aspect of him that his students would probably find a bit later once they go stalking their professor’s social media profiles (which wwx would be VERY lowkey about) and find that, oh, the cool professor is so much cooler still.

also, because this got me thinking way too much, before we get to the subject, imagining wwx as a full time faculty member–i’ll go out on this fanfic fuelled limb and say he would totally be the teacher coordinator for a university play and/or the debate society! the latter especially, because if the second siege showed us nothing else, it made clear that wwx knows how to frame his arguments logically w/o getting too personal/emotional (not that some debates don’t need an emotional input!) and knows how to keep the audience hooked to his words. the same goes for the deft way in which he handled his defence at the nightless city. so, yeah.

okay, so the subject i think wwx would teach has to be....

physics!!!!!

like this is the one that pops in my mind first and foremost and it fits wwx so well and not just in the realm of engineering. not that wwx’s inventing streak won’t be profoundly useful there but when it comes teaching the subject, when i say “physics” i mean the pure science. that would be wei wuxian’s jam!! he would come up with elaborate setups to simply but elegantly explain and exhibit a complex physics law or phenomenon. he would assign practical-oriented projects to his students and allow for fun which is sorely lacking in intensive pure science classes! he would make time to go over some relevant historic trivia about some theory a guy in the 18th century came up with and he would TOTALLY gossip about the scientists of the past and the scandals so many of them were engaged in. and the most important part!! he would conceptualise different and unique experiments for his class to practice for that part of their grade! alot of the time we forget how important the practical ingenuity of physics professors need to be when it’s not applied physics because the emphasis on the theoretical classes overshadows it. but wei wuxian would plan the practical course himself, even discuss the experimental configurations with his students, and design a whole booklet with them! and ykw?? he’d teach them coding too! which is one aspect of our technological era that i think wwx would excel at because there is so much craftiness required for coding and since coding is so essential for simulations and analysis in physics, wwx could teach them...some python, lol. 😭😭 also, i want to add, wei wuxian would 100% be that college professor with a league of papers published and held in high regard so that for each course he teaches, his own work could be a relevant reference which his students would find SO cool and maybe even funny.

okay, i’m done feeding you my physics professor!wwx agenda but i also think him teaching an ethics class would be fun. and also P.E. no but imagine a sociology course with wei wuxian? or a music major? the possibilities are literally endless but you probably won’t catch wwx anywhere near a culinary school.

[kiyzeiin]

little update in the story !

There’s gonna have to be some rewriting to the story. It’s the pacing and flow of this story that I realize needs to make better sense. The change that i’m working with is:

Uluwehi is the founder of a growing gaming and technology studio for some time until years later she becomes a big time CEO of a conglomerate company she initiated. To clarify, Wehi’s investors/higher ups did not hand pick people to work at her studio/company. Uluwehi recruites those who were interested in working with her in large consideration of budgeting (as in how many people she can financially afford to hire and split the revenue. which wasn’t a lot of people in the very beginning. maybe about 10-14.), as well as friends and others who she’d already trusted their skills in to adapt her vision. Uluwehi does the overwhelming majority of the engineering by herself, all of the prototype models/versions as well as their updates. But of course there’s the serialization of the product and its programming, operation, configuration, data, memory, etc… to be discussed with their team of engineers and artists. As well as the teaching of her process. When finalized and troubleshooted, Uluwehi’s products are serialized and mass produced/manufactured to be given to the public.

There is no huge factory for that until later on.

Before putting herself out there, gathering a team and being offered more through networking, there is just scientist engineer Uluwehi building robots and creating worlds in video games all by herself. She believes she can make the world a better place and help people with her intelligence.

That’s to explain Uluwehi’s thing she has going on in the beginning of the story right now before the huge problems/conflict arise or make themselves apparent to the main characters’ viewpoints.

*** Also I’m close to finally finding a name for the story!! I hope to announce it soon when I’m more secure enough about it. I’m so excited!

[earthling-wolf]

An Echo and Arches' critique

(This is a slightly rewritten version of a post I made on Reddit months ago before GS left TEP and TSR was de-canonized.)

I must preface this by saying I love the Echo trilogy; they are some of my top ten favorite FVNs. However, I also struggle to describe what I like about something; it's much easier to explain what I don't like. So, I figured I could be more constructive by pointing out areas in which I believe Echo/Arches could have done better.

I also did a similar thing with Adastra a while back if you guys are interested.

Echo Nitpicks

First, there's the art direction. It's so inconsistent that it's debatable if Echo even has an art style. It is self-evident that multiple people did the sprites, CGs, and backgrounds; the whole thing is a patchwork. I understand that that's due to how the development went down, and honestly, it doesn't damage the experience; after a while, I don't even notice it anymore. That is why I put it under nitpick, but I also noticed how unvaried the sprites are. Even with the main character, the torso and head are almost always the same, and the arms have very limited configurations (I mean, Leo only has two poses: crossed arms and hands on the waist). This is especially noticeable compared to the rest of the TheEchoProject library; even Adastra has significantly more dynamic sprites despite being made simultaneously.

Then there's the plethora of continuity errors. I heard an engine problem makes returning to fix small mistakes a pain. I believe The Echo Project team is just waiting for The Smoke Room to finish to align all the continuity in one go. I also noticed a section on Flynn's route where Chase looks at the town records. I believe they are planning to revamp that section so that every file he checks alludes to each route from TSR. I also heard they plan to rewrite Carl's route, which I hope is true.

Jenna's Route

I was going to have a section on my problems with how Jenna's route is written and how that damaged how the fanbase sees her, but blindseer0 made a post that pretty much refutes all my points.

Carl's Route

There are a couple of big problems with Carl's route.

First, it feels disconnected from the rest of the Echo. Looking at the game as a whole, this route feels like a filler arc, but even the characters don't seem to care about the plot of this route. They are essentially being dragged at knifepoint by James and John, but no one, not even Jenna, cares about the mystery, and if the characters aren't invested in what they are doing, then why should we be?

The other big problem is how repetitive it is. The "puzzles" in the ghost mansion get old fast, but beyond that, how the characters play off each other is also kind of all the same once we enter the ghost dimension. The character dynamics are one of Echo's greatest strengths, but this route isn't the best display of it. All the interactions boil down to Carl and Jenna fight, Chase peace-keeps between them and comforts Carl, and Raven is comic relief. Speaking of Raven, many people complain that Raven doesn't fit in the story and should be replaced with someone more connected to Carl. I partly disagree; all the route-specific characters serve an important story and thematic function. They all allow the main characters to connect with someone unrelated to their collective baggage. However, Raven's out-of-placeness isn't without reason. He doesn't have a strong dynamic with the other characters; he just serves as comic relief and fades into the background until the plot needs a fourth person to watch Jenna while Chase is with Carl.

So here are my hopes for a possible future Carl's route rewrite:

To streamline the ghost dimension section, cut the first mansion and cabin sections in half and either remove the second mansion section or merge it with another section.

Make Chase more invested in the mystery; as I said above, the characters don't care about the plot of this route. I figured Chase would be the best candidate for the role of "detective." It is established that he wanted to study history before his parents vetoed it, and the end of this route heavily implies that Chase has become serious about being a journalist; all the pieces are there for a nice arc for Chase if he would only show more interest in solving the James/John mystery.

Add Flynn to the ghost dimension. Adding him would be the spice that the character dynamics need (and I'm not just saying this because I'm a shameless CarlxFlynn shipper). Flynn would be better in Carl's corner when Jenna gets aggressive. He could interact with Chase when Carl and Jenna are fully possessed. Not to mention his dynamic with Jenna herself. His pessimism would contrast with Raven's optimism. If you have him look after the possessed Jenna, it would free Raven to have more character-building interactions with Chase and Carl.

The Route Order

If you ask most fans, they are sure to give you similar recommendations on route order: Carl>Leo>Jenna>TJ>Flynn; Carl and Leo sometimes switch places, and people who like happy endings tend to recommend playing Jenna last, but it doesn't tend to deviate a far from this pattern. The problem is that this order is completely unintuitive. Most people going into the game blind without a recommended route order will likely play the game like this: TJ>Leo>Flynn>Carl>Jenna, and here lies the issue. Playing TJ's route first actively damages the experience of reading the Echo. If you play TJ first, not only do you get revealed on one of the game's biggest mysteries less than halfway through the game, but the way his route is written heavily relies on the reader having played at least one other route. TJ's route is not so much horror as it's suspense, as we see Chase's mental state slowly deteriorate, which loses a lot of its punch without having read other routes to have a point of comparison to Chase's normal behavior. And then there's the fact that the Hysteria doesn't even happen in this route, which should be a big deal, but you won't even realize anything is unusual without playing at least one other route first. TJ's route is fundamentally incomplete. The TEP crew themselves expressed frustration with people consistently choosing TJ first (I guess they assumed that Leo's sheer sex appeal would be enough to make most go for him first?). I sincerely believe that Echo needs a route-unlocking system so that you can't play TJ before playing at least one other route first (and also make sure you can't play Flynn before TJ).

Arches's One Problem

Arches is almost perfect, in my opinion; the only problem, and it is big, is that the set-up is very contrived. From the moment Cam and Dev first try to leave Echo, you can feel the hand of the author railroading them into their eventual meeting with Brian, and you can say that there are reasonable explanations for why things happened this way; Artie was oblivious to the danger, Cam was being manipulated by the town, etc. But that doesn't change how it feels like the author is cheating to get the story to go the way he wants. From the second the characters become aware of the danger of Echo, we, as the audience, can no longer suspend our disbelief when the characters find excuses to NOT leave as soon as possible. And what's especially baffling is that there is one very easy fix, just tone down that first haunted motel scene. If instead of getting their shit scared out of them, things just go the way Dev thought they would, it would remove the in-universe urgency for them to leave Echo, and so it won't be frustrating to the audience when they waste time NOT trying to go. Dev had already decided before that first scare that he didn't want Cam to come back, and we, as the audience, saw the first scene with Brian, so we knew Echo was dangerous even if we didn't play the other games. So, the tension is preserved either way. What it would change is that Cam wouldn't look unreasonable for wanting to stay in a town he knows is dangerous, Dev wouldn't look like a spineless enabler caving to Cam's demands that would put him in danger, and Artie wouldn't come off as annoyingly oblivious for not treating the situation seriously and indirectly placing everyone in danger as a result. Also, they should've made it so they find Cam in the forest after his freak out instead of the road because Artie suddenly needing to pee at that moment also felt contrived.

[lynnbecks-mainblog]

Hey you! Yes, you! Learn how to use GZDoom!

Also if you see this post, please reblog it if you think it's good, like I don't think Tumblr's algorithm (that kinda exists) will like it.

Hi, I'm Lynn "WJB" Beck, and I'm here to tell you about an exciting new old game engine that is extremely easy to use for not just making original games, but also mods and animations and stuff!

And this engine... is GZDoom.

GZDoom is an enhanced sourceport of the 1993 first-person shooter, demon-punching simulator and stress-test for pretty much any technology that contains a computer. As opposed to more low-key and/or "vanilla" sourceports like Chocolate Doom or Boom, GZDoom allows for a lot more options, including Build Engine-style voxels, several types of dynamic lighting, and even stuff that was originally exclusive to specific Doom Engine games, like Strife's light RPG mechanics, This means that it can be used to make extremely impressive "total conversion" mods, and even fully original games with entirely custom stuff!

This guide covers how to get started, and a basic overview of how certain things work (get ready to learn about lumps!).

Getting Started

Ok so before you can start Doing The Thing, you need to... install some software! Don't worry, it's only like 4 and they're fairly lightweight.

Go to this website here and download the most recent version of GZDoom. You will need this to actually run your game.

Go here and get Slade. You will need this to import custom graphics and audio, as well as to use text-lumps (which are basically necessary, even if you're making a basic custom level set, and I will explain why further down).

This ZDoom Forum topic is where you can get Ultimate Doom Builder. While there are other Doom mapping tools, UDB is what I personally use, and it's extremely beginner-friendly while also being fairly versatile. It even has a built-in script editor, so you can modify a script and then immediately jump into testing to see if what you've done has worked!

Finally, you need a copy of specifically Doom 2. You could use Doom 1, but in my opinion Doom 2 is better because it has a lot more stuff than the first game, and - let's be real - you'll probably be doing a lot of vanilla mapping to get to grips with the editor before you can start making your big ambitious game (which is what I'm doing over on my modding sideblog, check it out). I'll leave this one up to you. EDIT: I forgot that Freedoom exists. That's also good.

Mounting stuff into Ultimate Doom Builder

Next, you'll need to get UDB set up. This is fairly easy. First open UDB and, as soon as it starts up, go to the top-menu and click "Tools", then go to Game Configuration. Select "GZDoom: Doom 2 (UDMF)" and click "add resource"; using the attached file-explorer, locate the Doom 2 folder on your computer's file system and add DOOM2.WAD to the list of resources, then do the same with gzdoom.pk3 in the GZDoom folder (making sure to switch the "Add Resource" tab from "From WAD" to "From PK3". Click Ok, and you're done!

If you want to put your custom graphics into the game, you simply create a WAD file in Slade, put your graphics in (more on that later) and save it; then when creating a map in UDB, this box will appear:

If you click "Add resource" here, you can then select your custom wad and use any assets, code etc. in your map!

How Slade works

This bit is a bit more complex because it deals with multiple file formats and methods of importing stuff, but I'll start simply by explaining textures, flats, sprites and patches.

Before I do that though, I need to talk about Markers. To define images as a sprite, patch or flat, you need to put them between a pair of Markers with specific names, which you can create by clicking the "New Entry" button:

"Empty (Marker)" is selected by default, so all you need to do is name it. The naming format is [LETTER]_START to start a section and [LETTER]_END to end one; S_Start/S_End are for sprites, P_Start/P_End are for patches, and F_Start and F_End are for flats. You can, additionally, further subdivide this by making another pair of Markers inside a Start/End pair with a number after the letter, but I'm not sure if this does anything (my only experience with it is that the Doom 2 wad file does this).

Now to explain how these things actually work! First, sprites. A sprite is an image that represents an object or creature in the game, and a cool thing that GZDoom does is let you use generic PNGs instead of Doom's proprietary GFX format. Sprites use the following naming scheme: a four-letter identifier, a single character denoting what frame of the animation the image represents (the Arch-Vile, which has the most sprites out of any monster in Doom 2, has frames that go from A all the way to Z, and then [, \ and ]), and finally a number from 0-8 that indicates the angle the Thing (that's the technical term for a Doom Engine entity, by the way) is at. Using the Imp as an example:

The "0" angle just means that the sprite should look the same regardless of the player's angle; this is used for items, decorations, the death animations of all monsters (including players), and the two sprites used for Doom II's final boss.

A cool thing about sprite angles is that you can actually make a sprite work for multiple angles; by adding an extra frame-letter and angle-number after the first set, you can do things like have a monster whose left and right walking frames are the same but mirrored by formatting the sprite's name as something like NAMEA2A8 (in fact, the Imp uses this technique for all its sprites apart from its death animation).

Next up, flats! Flats are square textures that are designed to go on floors or ceilings (though you can use them anywhere, including as sky textures!) but lack the flexibility of patch-based textures. You literally just. Import your texture and put it between F_Start and F_End. That's it. That's how a flat works.

And finally, patches. Patches are complicated, but very easy to use when you know what you're doing. First, put your image between P_Start and P_End, then right click it, put your mouse over the "Graphics" dropdown, and select "Add to Patch Table". You will then be prompted to create a TEXTURES lump; click "Ok" with the default settings. This creates a Texture1 lump, and the "Patch Table" (which is just a list of patches, which I will explain soon), alongside P_Start and P_End if they aren't already present (and a dummy texture). Double-click Texture1 to open it, and then select "New Texture" (you can adjust the scale, too):

Once this is done, go to the top-right corner and click "Add patch":

By default, you only have access to any patches you have assigned, but a cool trick I use in my own mapsets whenever I want to modify an official texture is to copy its Texture1 entry from the Doom 2 WAD, then paste it into my WAD's Texture1 and rename it. This does create copies of the constituent patches in your own wad's P_Start/P_End section, but you can delete those and it will still work fine.

Both patches and Flats are limited to 8-letter names, so be warned.

The actual final thing to talk about is converting PNGs to GFX; this is a simple process, but it can cause issues with colour. Basically, Doom has a very specific palette:

While this can look pretty good, on images it wasn't designed for or that use colours it doesn't feature, it can look pretty bad. For example, if I put this random image I made through the conversion process:

Then it comes out looking like this:

All the more cyan-adjacent hues become more blue, it nuked the antialiasing, and some of the gaps in my colouring are now much more obvious (especially on the fifth character's head and legs).

My point is, only do this if you want your mod to be compatible with more vanilla sourceports, or if you want to reduce the filesize. Otherwise, you're better off just using a strict palette when making the sprites and keeping them as PNGs.

Custom palettes are possible, but like. Literally all you do is click "New Entry", select "palette", name it, click the "Import from" button (purple page with a diagonal arrow on the top-middle of the palette-view window), set the filetype on the file explorer to "PNG", and import your custom palette image (which should be square (non-square images get squished and lose some colours) and 16x16 at the smallest, though the images I normally use are 128x128 because for some reason they're scaled up by a factor of 8, even though they display the same when imported regardless of size). You can even test them out or add them to the in-built palette list, which is nice. If you want it to override the default palette when your WAD is loaded, name the lump "PLAYPAL", which is what Doom's palette is called.

Now we get to talk about text lumps! I don't have much to say. Do the "New Entry" thing, select "Text", and name the file. The ZDoom wiki - which I will be linking to at the end - has information on each type, so check those out.

Map making

This is the final main section of this, and I'll try keeping it fairly brief and simple. Doom maps use four main elements; Vertices, Lines, Sectors, and Things. A Vertex is, well a vertex; it's a point in 2D space that acts as a starting or connecting point on a Line. Lines can be either walls or walkover triggers, depending on how you use them. Sectors can be rooms or shapes on the floor, and have properties such as damaging floors, being "underwater" (the player can swim and sound is muffled), or even having different gravity. Finally, a Thing is any entity that isn't one of those, ranging from monsters to player-starts to decorations, plus some complex technical ones I can't even begin to explain.

Useful resources

I am not good with words, but these places are!

ZDoom wiki - covers both regular ZDoom and GZDoom, plus other sourceports like the multiplayer-focused Skulltag and Zandronum. It has guides about ACS and ZScript, two of GZDoom's most useful tools for scripting maps and Things, respectively, as well as the obsolete "DECORATE" language which ZScript incorporates many elements of.

Dragonfly's Doomworks - mapping tutorial resource. I use their portal tutorial a lot whenever I want to put portals in a map.

Doomwiki - good for looking up monster and weapon stats for if you're making custom Things.

[runwayrunway]

Miss Conenginality No. 3 - Boeing 757-300

Don't get me wrong. I like all types of 757. I think it's a wonderful little airframe, a nice mid-range plane, sort of what Boeing has been trying to turn the 737 into instead of leaving her stubby like she was meant to be. But there's just no getting around it.

Boeing 757-300 is the world's longest type of normal girl*.

*single-aisle twinjet airliner

I don't think I need to explain any more, so instead I'll just show you a few more of her.

The long straight line on the aughts' United livery really just makes it even clearer that this is as stretched as a plane can get. I think this plane is longer than most racetracks.

Normally a plane needs to have teeny rear-mounted engines and really set-back wings to look this long, but the 757-300 manages it by just taking an existing airframe and putting it in a taffy puller until it's 8 rows longer and needs a special new design feature to avoid tailstrikes because of how darn LONG they made her. Literally so long it's inconvenient!

You could use this airplane as a horizontal divider! She seats more people than a two-class-configured DC-10! You can fit an actual jumbo jet's worth of people into this long long long long girl!

She even wears the condor nightmare livery decently because I'm so distracted by her length that it starts looking less like a candy cane and more like the start of an optical illusion! It's like putting a pencil in dazzle camouflage when the only pigment you have on hand is blue food coloring! You could use her lines as a ruler.

She is perfect.

[amalgamasreal]

So in this world of rising streaming costs and license holders unilaterally deciding to pull content from streaming channels I figured I'd compile a few guides for people who want to cut those cords. As a rhetorical exorcise I'm going to list out some guides on how someone might want to create their own local media streaming service and how to automate management and supply of content to it. ALL RHETORICAL

I'm not going to explain how to build a media server, people who go that extensive won't need these guides, but if you have the cash, and don't want to build your own server you can always buy a higher end NAS from synology or QNAP that runs docker engine and you should be good.

Please make sure to follow the instructions for each individual guide in order depending on your choices. RHETORICALLY.

First you install Docker:

https://www.virtualizationhowto.com/2023/02/docker-compose-synology-nas-install-and-configuration/

Then you install your download clients:

Newsgroups (you'll also need an account with a hosting service like Newshosting or Giganews as well as access to an indexer): https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2021/07/30/setting-up-nzbget-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Torrents (with this you'll need access to either public or private trackers): https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2021/09/13/deluge-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Then you install Jackett (this'll auto-manage all of your torrent trackers and create feeds for Sonarr and Radarr):

https://www.smarthomebeginner.com/install-jackett-using-docker/

Then you install Sonarr:

https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2021/05/03/setting-up-sonarr-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Then you install Radarr:

https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2021/07/30/setting-up-radarr-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Then you install Plex or Jellyfin:

Plex: https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2021/12/06/plex-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Jellyfin: https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2022/09/03/jellyfin-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas-no-hardware-transcoding/

Then you install Overseerr or Jellyseerr:

Overseerr: https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2022/03/19/overseerr-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

Jellyseerr (only use if you picked Jellyfin): https://drfrankenstein.co.uk/2022/09/04/jellyseerr-in-docker-on-a-synology-nas/

[madame-mortician]

Key differences between the Hellraiser book and movie!

So I’ve probably mentioned this before, but I’ve read the original novel the Hellraiser film was based on, and it has a lot of key differences from the film. It’s not that the film was supposed to be upgrading the original story, just telling a slightly different one but both are written by Clive Barker so it’s not like the film purposefully changed things due to different staff, anyways to the list.

In the film, Kirsty is the teenage daughter of Larry Cotton, and the stepdaughter of Julia, though she isn’t that close to her due to them being wed after Kirsty was already grown. In the novel, Kirsty is the same age as Rory (Larry’s original name) and is not related to him, or Julia. In the original story, it’s shown she had a crush on Rory, hence her close relationship with him, but she never shoots her shot because he married Julia, who she also isn’t close with, in the novel.

In the novel, the Cenobites are more morally good than in the film. In the film's opening, once Frank opens the Lament Configuration, he is instantly torn apart and dragged to Hell, with the Cenobites being very willing to take Kirsty as well. In the novel, when Frank uses the Lemarchand Box (another name change) the Cenobites appear before him and talk with him, asking repeatedly if he consents and explaining vaguely that he’s not going to get what he thinks. Only after he consents do they begin to torture him. In the film, after Kirsty gives Frank to the Cenobites, they betray her and go after her, in the novel they tell her to leave when they go after Frank, and they never pursue her after Frank’s taken, not going back on their deal.

The film ends with the Eremite grabbing the Lament Configuration and preparing to sell it to a new victim, however, the book ends differently. In the book, he doesn’t appear until the very last scene, where he gives Kirsty the box and she comes to the conclusion that she is now the keeper of the box, and takes this role wearily. Whether this implies Kirsty herself became an Eremite or she’s just supposed to protect the box from curious fingers, it’s up to your interpretation.

Speaking of the Eremite, his lack of appearance in the novel means the film and novel start with different contexts. In the film, the Eremite sold the box to Frank, designed as a trick which he falls for, making him out to be a rather villainous figure. In the novel, Frank heard of the box through word of mouth and presumed the box brought pleasure, which was half true. Then he specifically sought out the box and was told exactly what would happen. So the film starts with Frank having no clue what awaits him and being killed for it, whilst the novel starts with Frank having literally set up a shrine for the Cenobite's arrival. That said, the Eremite does appear briefly at the end of the book, though in the novel he is implied to be the Engineer.

In the movie the Lament Configuration is a puzzle box with golden designs etched into it, making it rather regal-looking and not too hard to solve. In the novel, Lemarchand’s Box was pitch black and in its default form it had no shadow or light reflections, and thus you couldn’t really see anything on it to help with solving it. When she completes the first step to open it, she sees weird reflections on the box’s face, showing presumably lost souls, Kirsty recognises Julia and Frank's faces, but notes she can't find Rory's. The novel box was so hard to solve that it took hours for both Kirsty and Frank to solve it.

The Cenobites were described differently than they appear in the film. In the film, there was Hell Preist, with the pins in his head, Deep Throat, with the fucked-up throat, Butterball, the fat one, and Chatterer, the one with the weird teeth. (Also the Engineer but he’s not that important.) In the novel, only really two of them are described, with it being rather vague. There’s one with jewelled pins in their head, and bells in their neck that sound like Church bells when they approach, which is obviously the novel version of Pinhead. There’s also a female Cenobite who, like all the other Cenobites, appears androgynous and sexless, however, she can be recognised as a female because she opens her coat to reveal her p_ssy. She’s essentially the original Deep Throat. Butterball and Chatterer could very well be here, but the other Cenobites are described only as sexless, androgynous, things with disfigured flesh strewn about and fixed as oddly fashionable. This means if you want an accurate depiction of the book Cenobites, the 2022 film designs are the most accurate. In the film it was obvious Pinhead was a male, along with Butterball and Chatterer whilst Deep Throat was female, which is another difference since again, the novel had them all be genderless, except for the female one.

Since Kirsty is not related to Larry/Rory, she also isn’t related to Frank. In the film, she recognises him as her sleazy Uncle, and it’s implied he might’ve been predatory towards her, but in the novel she barely knew him but was always attracted to his brother Rory. The line "Come to Daddy" is said in both, but the context is again, different. In the film, Frank said it to trick Kirsty into thinking he was her dad, Larry, but in the novel, since they have no relation, he was just being a creep.

In the film when Kirsty escapes Frank and Julia, she wakes up in the hospital and after solving the box she walks into Hell and is tormented by the Cenobites. In the book, she also wakes up in the hospital, but after solving the box, one of the Cenobites (I believe it was Pinhead) appears before her, and she strikes the trade, with it being calmer than in the film scene. Also, it is shown that only she can see the Cenobite, as a staff member enters and doesn’t see the Cenobite, which implies only people who solved the box can see Cenobites, meaning Julia never saw them.

Back to that Cenobite I failed to discuss earlier, the Engineer is rather different in both stories. In the film, it’s a weird, grotesque monster thing, which appears very briefly but in the novel it appears in a wedding dress and veil, which Kirsty mistakes for Julia’s corpse, implying it looks humanoid, however when it unveils it is shown to be a blinding light, so it's true form is unknown. It’s also implied that the Eremite who appears in the novel's last scene is actually the Engineer, which is very possible.

A small one is the novel takes place in England whilst the film is set in America. This was mostly done to boost sales, though they went even further as to dub over some of the British accents.

In the film, Kirsty has a boyfriend who assists her, though he’s a very one-dimensional character and not very memorable. He’s just kinda… there. In the novel, he doesn’t exist because half of Kirsty’s character is that she had a crush on Rory.

The movie got a load of sequels, most being shitty slasher flicks, with only like… 3 of them being decent. The direct sequel, Hellbound: Hellraiser 2 is a direct follow-up to the film, continuing Kirsty and Pinhead’s story and not being based on an existing novel. In 2015, however, a sequel to the original novel was released, nothing like the films before. The basic gist of the sequel novel is that Pinhead wants power and becomes like, a horrible villain more akin to fucking Thanos than to movie Pinhead, but is stopped by another Clive Barker character, a detective named Harry D’Amour. Honestly, the book (titled The Scarlet Gospels) doesn’t sound the best, it gets super religious and I mean SUPER religious, but hey, whatever, it’s unique I guess.